Stopping Night Nappies

Rummer

Hello

Thank you so much for this post as it is something that has been worrying me about my daughter for a while. DD is 4 (nearly 5) and has always wet through the night. We tried her without nappies and she just wet every night until it got too distressing for us all. One of the main problems is that when she wears a nappy she will just wet it instead of going to the toilet so it is difficult to know when to try again. It is reassuring to know that others have this same issue and I wondered if there was any more good advice out there?

Js_Other_Half

Rummer wrote: »

Hello

It is reassuring to know that others have this same issue and I wondered if there was any more good advice out there?

This is a link to 7 pages of an older merged thread on the subject :
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=113201&highlight=bedwetting

hth

Primrose

Does your daughter have ample opportunities to go to the toilet when she isn't at home? Is she frightened to ask if she needs to go?
Also, if she's frightened of the dark, get her one of these little night lights which plug directly into the socket and sit with her in the dark explaining all the friendly shadows that are in the room and all the little noises like gurgling radiators which can seem quite eerie when you don't know what they are. Also, could you get her a little hand bell she can ring if she starts feeling anxious? If you can delve a little deeper into her fears, maybe something quite minor (to your eyes) might come to light which is really major for her.

Murdina

I shared dinkydido's experience with my son. He wet bed till about 9/10.

I did ask a health visitor when I had another child - as she happened to be in the house and it was an easy way to raise it - he was about 5 then and she just suggested leave it a bit then ask to see an enuresis nurse. We moved and I never followed it up. However someone I knew who worked at a boarding prep school told me quite a few of the boys there still wet the bed.

I understand that the urge to not go in sleep is hormonal and some of us take longer than others to develop that. My husband has a sleep disorder and one side effect of it is that this hormone no longer kicks in so well, so he has to get up a lot in the night.

I would not worry if she is only 4 - it's just a pain. The enuresis society are good for mattress covers etc.

jellyhead

Primrose wrote: »

Does your daughter have ample opportunities to go to the toilet when she isn't at home? Is she frightened to ask if she needs to go?

That's what I wondered. If she isn't using the loo at school she might have an irritated bladder. Some children don't feel confident about using the loo at school, or are frightened to ask the teacher. some just don't seem to go at breaktimes etc. because their friend isn't going.

My son seemed to lose bladder and bowel control for a couple of days when he got worms.

gravitytolls

I think getting children dry through the night is possibly one of the hardest things for parents.

As she's only four, I wouldn't worry too much. It's very common for young children to regress to bedwetting, and complain of fear of the dark. At the mo our 3 yr old is refusing to go to the loo unaccompanied, despite almost a year of using it freely. She claims there are monsters ~ ditto going to bed alone. I presume she's heard a story about monsters and as going to bed and the loo are often the only things she may do on her own, perhaps this is why her discomfiture manifests itself at this time.

Your daughter is four. Has she just started school/nursery? It often takes very little to disrupt a previously well routined child into a kind of babyhood regression.

Try not to make a fuss, high praise for being dry,getting up for the loo. 'Oh dear, never mind's' for accidents. Perhaps put a potty in the bedroom for 'just in case'. It may be enough to reassure her.

homeaway

elljay20 wrote: »

she doesn't seem worried or concerned about anything. she is wetting the bed everynight even though she gets lifted.

both oh and i have had chats with her about it and she4 told me she's scared of the dark. however, she has been consistantly dry before.

i'm at my wits end with it and don't know what to do. HELP PLEASE!!!!!!

I agree with the comments of the others here. I can give you some advice on how to deal with wet beds though. I had a waterproof cover on the mattress with a normal sheet on top and i then put a soft cover which had a waterproof membrane in between it sideways across the width of the bed on top the normal sheet. During the night i would then just pull the extra cover off and hey presto there was a dry bed. The advantage of this was also i was not having to wash a big sheet every day.

KellyWelly

homeaway wrote: »

I agree with the comments of the others here. I can give you some advice on how to deal with wet beds though. I had a waterproof cover on the mattress with a normal sheet on top and i then put a soft cover which had a waterproof membrane in between it sideways across the width of the bed on top the normal sheet. During the night i would then just pull the extra cover off and hey presto there was a dry bed. The advantage of this was also i was not having to wash a big sheet every day.

I second this - I do this and it's great for the middle of the night when you're half asleep and can't find clean sheets!!

masonsmum

My son has been dry during the day since September however I want to try and stop the night nappies. He will be 3 in June and I was looking for advice on whether it was too early.

His nappies are still wet in the morning so is it a good idea or should I leave it a bit longer

Thanks in advance for any help

Curious_George_2

unless your willing to put him on the potty during the night (but unless hes a sleepwalker, i personally wouldnt bother..., i dont believe in waking a sleeping child! )
i woud be tempted to leave it a bit longer if he is still wet in the morning,
i only gave up night nappies with my DD when she had been dry at night for a week or two

does he drink a lot before bed? maybe cutting that down might help