We've tried limiting fluids, sugar, salt, etc before bed.

We've tried waking her in the middle of the night. (She would often stumble to the bathroom, sit down, do nothing, then proceed to wet the bed the moment she was back asleep in bed, and have NO recollection at all the next morning.)

We've tried setting an alarm for her.

None of this has worked, and it's becoming more and more of an issue, for both of us. She's embarassed, I'm tired of doing laundry every day. I *know* it's not her fault, but I can't help feeling exasperated, and I'm sure she can pick up on that.

Trouble is, the bed wetting doesn't wake her at all. She sleeps right through it. I've had other moms tell that when their bedwetters wake in the middle of the night, they make them change the sheets. Our DD doesn't even realize it till the morning. Needless to say, this makes sleepovers, slumber parties, etc touchy.

I've researched a bit on those bed wetting alarms that are supposed to wake the child at the first sign of wetness, supposedly to trigger the "brain/bladder connection". I suppose I'm skeptical, and also leary that it really *could* wake her, as she's such a heavy sleeper.

Has anyone used such a device? Or have any other advice to give?

Have you spoken to a psychologist about this to see if you could treat the cause (provided there is one) rather than try to modify the behavior since she's obviously asleep and isn't doing it on purpose?

Incontinence pants would certainly be a solution to the changing the bed and laundry but I'd want a psychologist's opinion before I went down that road.

Or, there must be a pad you could put down on the bed over the sheet for her to sleep on until you get it figured out.

Perhaps someone will have just the thing that works to suggest. Hope so.

My middle child had the same problem until she was about nine.

I am not giving medical advice. Only your health care provider can determine what is the right treatment for your dd--but this is an option.

We have a 7.5 year old boy here, he had the same problem. (My kids are 19 and 16 and both girls so this is new to me.)

We got him the day before his 4th birthday and he came with a bottle and diapers.

The bedwetting I chalked up to being a 'boy' thing and tried everything.

The pediatrician recommended that it may be more psychological than physical. (totally against whats popularly thought).
He could fall asleep anywhere and wake up dry except his own bed!

Anyway I've tried everything and I've managed to get it down from 6 days a week to about 1 day in 10. This is what I did.

Bought a new mattress, new sheets, new pillows, everything.
Explained that he could sleep on just the mattress pad cause 'new sheets can't smell like pee". I explained that after 2 dry mornings he could get the bottom sheet. After two more dry mornings he could get the top sheet, etc etc etc.

Suddenly we started hearing the doors opening in the middle of the night! ! ! ! !

Finally one morning he announced that he promised not to make the sheets all nasty anymore. Now he attempts to make his bed, he fabreezes his blanket, and i'm not finding his wet underwear everywhere (he thought by hiding them we wouldn't figure out).

This child has lots of problems so its hard to pinpoint exactly how his mind works, his whole life is based on routine. We think he equated waking up wet with "getting" to take a shower. Once he was assured that he could take a shower in the morning whether he needed to or not he was ok.

Next trick, getting him out of the shower in less than 20 minutes! ! ! ! ! !

We've tried the Good Nites things...and that did not work well for us. Looked and felt too much like a pull-up, in DD's estimation. Plus, she's a tummy sleeper, and we found that frequently they would leak out the front, wetting her bedding and clothing. And we also noticed that instead of every other night, she'd wet *every* night with those things on. I guess some sort of mental "release" occurred.

My son did this till he was in the first grade (6-7yrs), so I just assumed she'd grow out of it by then as well.

And it's funny that you mention the shower thing, DataDiva. She loves baths, and of course, she gets them when she wakes up wet...so maybe we should tweak the bathing routine to ensure she knows she'll be able to soak every morning whether she's wet or not. Or better yet, only agree to a sponge bath if she wakes up wet, but a full bath if she wakes up dry.

I will ask her Ped about the spray, and I may go ahead and just order the sensor thing.

Thanks again!!!!!!

For sleepovers, she should take her special sleeping bag--a Barbie or whatever--that can be washed in the washing machine. Stow extra jammmies and/or undies inside and she doesn't have to let her friends know about this problem.
I understand about the laundry, but just go with it. Don't make it big issue, most likely it's out of her control.

Finally she took me to a pediatric urologist, who ran tests. I was 8 years old. Turns out that I had excess scar tissue (for unknown reasons) in my urethra, which prevented me from holding my urine in my sleep. I had a minor surgery in which they scraped my urethra. Problem solved. No more bed wetting. I'm 36 now and have not had a problem since.

The moral of my story is to run, don't walk, to a urologist and rule out any medical causes before trying anything else.

I'm calling her Ped this morning to inquire further about treatment options.

In our last appt with him, we talked about the problem, and he pointed out that she can go long periods of time with no problem. Like when visiting Nana's house, she can go a whole week with no accidents. But at home it's another story. Based on her medical history with him, and the fact that she *can* go without accidents, he really didn't feel she needed to see a specialist, but I'll pursue it if it will help.

So far, sleepovers haven't actually BEEN a problem, as she's been accident-free for every one. But the threat of an accident looms overhead and is a bit stressful.

Thanks again all. I'll let you know what her Ped says.

It may be something else, but I'd rule out the physical issues first with a specialist. It also sends a good signal to your child that you care and it's important to be thorough. If you can, find a woman -- she may find that more relaxing.

I wet the bed until I was 10...it's a very common problem. The alarm may help, when used right they are supposed to be very effective. They really need to train themselves to train their bladders. I will look for the info about my alarm and a reference article my ped gave me. Basically, it senses wetness and puts out an immediate racket, which gets you and the child up. They finish emptying their bladder (once they've calmed down from being so rudely awakened) and go back to bed. We've been talking about using ours again...

Does you insurance require you to get a referral to a specialist? Some insurances (like ours) no longer require a referral, so maybe you can just go ahead and make an appointment for her!

Good Luck!

Finally - her doctor prescribed an oral medication. It worked!
The best to you and yours Steph! :)

I'd wake him up and literally walk him to the bathroom, where he'd stand there and sway back and forth, go walk into his closet, pee in there, then head back to bed. Sometimes he'd use the trash can. He'd have no memory of it in the morning. He was such a heavy, heavy sleeper.

Sometimes it was best just to leave him in bed, at least I knew where he had the accident. We all laugh about it now, but he had the same problems, couldn't have sleep outs or sleepovers. Even now if he's going to sleep out, he won't drink anything after 7:00.

He's still a very heavy sleeper.

I had the same problem as a kid, so did his dad. And we were both heavy sleepers as kids. My son, also, unfortunately inherited my bladder size, so that doesn't help.

The pediatrcian just advised that we wait it out and didn't give medication. I worry so much about my kids taking medications, and since this wasn't anything physically painful, we decided to wait it out. It took awhile, but things are fine.

My younger two never had a problem, and both have bigger bladders than I do, I swear. They're not as heavy sleepers as the older one.

Good luck. I know how frustrating it can be (daily stripping of the bed, frustrated child). Personally, I'd try to wait it out if you can, although I don't believe the medication has any side effects you should be concerned about.

You know, Steph, she won't go to college wetting the bed. Do check with a ped. urologist but she's only 7- for a child with a genetic component of late noctural bladder control, that's still an immature nervous system. Small consolation, perhaps, when you're changing sheets at 2:30 am!

My older son used to have night terrors and sleepwalk. I once found him peeing on his little brother's bedside table. I think he just mistook it for the toilet...

My friend's son was a bedwetter for many, many years -- until he was finally properly diagnosed and received minor surgery.

Best wishes to you both. Those sleepover invitations will only increase. Of course, the kids don't sleep much and probably don't sleep well, so the accident possibilities are probably minimized.

Also, telling her she could shower/bathe every day seemed to really have clicked in her. It was as if (like posted above) she allowed herself to wet, knowing that it would surely lead to a bath in the morning. We started letting her take baths before bed, etc.

So far so good!