Pullups at Night

Updated on September 25, 2009
D.P. asks from Dublin, OH
15 answers

My son is almost 4 and using pullups at night (he's been potty trained about 6-7 months). I'm not sure the best time or way to get him out of these. He is wet over night. He doesn't wear one during his nap and has wet himself occassionally as he doesn't wake up, which is my concern for the overnight. Thanks for any advice!

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all of the information. I've talked to a few other parents whose children the same age and younger aren't in pullups, so I wasn't sure if this was normal or not. I feel alot better knowing this is normal and I won't rush to get him out. On his own, he has cut back on liquids and he usually pees right before bedtime. It's just a toss up whether he has a heavy pullup or a light one, but there's always something! Thanks again.

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L.K.

answers from Cleveland on

I was having the same problem with my Daughter. My sister-n-law said she just stopped using the pull ups and her Daughter was fine. I did the same thing with my Daughter and it worked. I was really worried becuase she was always soaked when she got up but I found that really it was the "morning pee" when she 1st woke up is when she would soak the pull up. She did have a couple accidents at first but we have been pull up free for almost 1 1/2 years :). I do think all kids are diffrent my brothers daughter had to wear a pull-up till she was 6 but it's worth a try :) Good Luck!

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S.F.

answers from Mansfield on

I have a 3 yr. old boy, 5 yr. old boy, and 7 yr. old girl and they ALL still wear pull-ups at night. My husband and my brother and sister all peed to bed until they were 9-10, so they say it is genetic and they will eventually outgrow it. I wouldn't worry too much at this age:) I figure they won't still pee to bed when they leave for college, right?? It is a pain to buy pull-ups all the time (and expensive!) but better than washing sheets every day, like my mom had to do (before the time of big kid pull-ups!) Good luck!

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L.A.

answers from Cincinnati on

my opinion is keep him in the pullups at night untill he wakes up dry consistantly,it beats changing sheets every morning. Many kids have small bladders or are very sound sleepers and wet the bed till they're 7 years old or even older. I see nothing wrong with him wearing a pullup at night and during a nap. I am a mom of three and a grandma of seven. I wish they had pullups when my kids were little.
L.

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T.V.

answers from South Bend on

I have 7 girls and three of them wear pullups at night. Yes, it is very expensive but in the long run not letting the house smell like pee and doing forty loads of laundry isn't worth it! One of my girls who is almost 9 just recently stopped wetting the bed. We don't let her have too much to drink and make sure she goes before bed and she has had much more success! I have one that is going to be 7 and 5 and one that turned 3 that we are still working during the day. Their bladders are not mature and forcing the issue just makes a headache for you, don't sweat the small stuff! Use the pullup, I prefer the nighttime ones, they don't leak through. Hope this helps!

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A.D.

answers from Toledo on

D.
My son just turned 4 at the end of July and when I spoke with his Ped. he said DO NOT TAKE THEM AWAY because his body isn't ready yet. It will cause you and him more frustration.

He is it is totally normal and not to worry. My son is a VERY heavy sleeper and most of the time he wakes up dry but he still has issues with waking up wet.
Don't sweat it mama.....our Ped said not to worry about it until he is like 6-7 and by then he body (when sleeping) will catch up.

Best Wisher!

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S.E.

answers from Cleveland on

I would save the sheets and keep the pullups. If he is waking up wet, he would likely wake up wet in underwear. He will start staying dry at night on his own. Let his body be on its own schedule with this, there is not much you can do anyway.

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L.S.

answers from Dayton on

my son is almost 4, and has been toilet trained for about as long as yours....here's what we do:
cut off fluids by 8ish, as he goes to sleep right about 9.
he gets a sip of water in the bathroom (with a cute cartoon cup) IF he goes pee right before pj's go on. we then use a pull up UNDER an overnight pullup. i know it sound expensive, but actually (esp if you have coupons ;0 ) it's a lot cheaper than the amount of laundry i was doing when i had to wash sheets & maybe even the mattress pad every night. i've noticed in the last few nights his pull ups have been a little drier in the AM & he's asking to go pee as soon as he gets up. i have been told by other moms that eventually they will learn to 'hold it' overnight, but not to worry if they're still in pull ups into ages 6+.

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K.W.

answers from Youngstown on

My daughter is will be 4 in October and wears a pull up at night still too. She has been potty trained since 2 1/2. I am not too concerned about it at this time. I know she will eventually grow out of it. Your son will too. Good luck.

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K.V.

answers from Columbus on

According to our ped, it not unusual for a boy to have accidents up until age five. I am not a fan of pull ups or any other traing pant as they don't let the child feel the wetness and the child is unaware that they are wet. We did not use them for potty training but our sons were them to bed at night due to the frequency of accidents. Our older son was opposed to this but as soon as he can go one whole week and remain dry then he can sleep in his underwear again.

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A.M.

answers from Cincinnati on

My daughter is going to be 6 in October and we still have her in pull ups at night. She is wet every morning. I talked to the peditrician about this a few weeks ago when we were in with my son who is now 3. He said there are a lot of variables that can occur and that if they are in a pull up at night that is better than cleaning bed sheets every day. But that one thing is that the childs bladder is not matured enough to hold through out the night. The other thing is that the child could be in such a sound sleep at night that they can't wake up. At night you are going in to a longer deeper sleep so there are many things that could effect it. The dr said don't wake them up to go to the bathroom. It might works for some but for the most part it really does not work. You and your son will not get enough sleep if you do it that way.

He gave us a couple pointers in that we already were doing and that it no fluids the hour before bed. Have him pee after brushing his teeth. and No cafeine or cafeine products will also help.

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M.R.

answers from Cincinnati on

If he's still wet every night, he's not ready to be out of pull-ups yet. There isn't anything you can do.

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S.F.

answers from Indianapolis on

I'm going through something very similar with my daughter who turned 4 in May. She has been trained for about a year with the exception of night time. Some nights she would go in her pull-up & others she wouldn't. She wants to wear panties to bed allot recently . So, what I have started doing is cutting off any fluids around 8:00-8:30 because she heads to bed between 9:00-9:30. Then, I make her go right before bedtime even if she says she doesn't have to go. She does good for a few nights, then she may wet the bed two nights in a row, just depends, but I praise her when she goes all night without & I told her she gets to go to Chuckie Cheese or something really fun after she doesn't wet the bed for 2 weeks in a row. Seems to at least get a good start. Best of Luck!!!

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C.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

My husbands nephews had this problem and they went to docs in Chicago and this is the deal. Nighttime wetting is not uncommon until around age 6. If after this age they are still doing it on a regular basis it is something to look into. What it is..is that their brain isn't receiving signals from their body that their bladder is full and they need to wake up. Stopping fluids will not help, waking them at night only makes them more tired because they aren't getting the sleep they need, etc.

Their kids were still doing it regularly after the age of 6 so they did this device thing that they wore at night and I can't remember if it could sense the bladder being full and alarmed or if it sensed the least bit of wetness and alarmed and woke them. What this does is help train their brain to realize when they need to go. They had 2 boys that both had the problem and literally at most they wore this for 2 weeks and have been perfectly fine since.

So, don't take all these drastic measures and don't worry about it for now. If he needs the pull-up so be it. Most kids will grow out of it by age 6 and if he doesn't deal with it then. Goodluck

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K.B.

answers from Cincinnati on

My son is six in pull ups because on most nights he still wets the bed. If you find out the magic trick let me know!
We have tried letting him sleep without one for two full weeks to see if he would catch on. He sleeps through wetting himself, is soaking wet and cold by morning. (And my house starts to smell!!)
My sister was a bedwetter. My brothers were sleep walkers when they had to go pee. My ped. said that waking him up could lead him to be a sleep walker--and it's MUCH MUCH easier to deal with pee in a pull up in bed than in the closet, in the hall way, bathroom, and living room because they think it's the bathroom when they are sleep walking.
We are just waiting it out. Most bed wetters grow out of it adventually....I think! ;)

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T.P.

answers from Indianapolis on

Hi D.,
My cousin's son went through the same thing. He is 7 and just stopped wearing pullups at night. His Doctor told them that some kids sleep so hard that they can't wake up to use the bathroom. The Dr said it could continue until he's 8. My cousin started waking him up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. This helped and now he doesn't wet himself in the middle of the night. I don't know if her waking him up had anything to do with it or if he was just becoming aware that he needs to go but it's worth a try. It will be tiring for you but helpful for him.
Good luck!!

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