Would re-introducing naps help out 5 yo's bedwetting...?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dream pee was a NIGHTMARE for my deep sleeper. It was so much work to wake him enough to get him to the bathroom and then he was wide awake and couldn’t fall back asleep. So then he was overtired and wet more.

If you don’t mind if he is awake later at night, try it.

OP here, sorry for just now responding!

So DS is currently sharing a bedroom with his older brother, who is an incredibly light sleeper. So waking DS in the night wouldn't nessecarily be ideal. In addition, he usually sleeps so soundly that waking him up for any reason is very, very challenging. (that's partly what we thought a daytime nap might help alleviate).

Anonymous wrote:Honestly it’s a perfectly normal part of growing up. Sleep is more important than whether he makes it to the bathroom in time. As long as he’s healthy and fine in every other area I would just let things go for now and not stress over it

Not sure if this helpful info or no, but I thought I'd say:

DS isn't really waking up to the feeling of needing to *go* and then rushing to the bathroom, but not making it in time. More often than not, we're more sure that he's instead just peeing in his sleep, without every being aware of needing to 'go' at all.

Anonymous wrote:No big deal. Just remind him he’s still a big kid and he should try to go to the potty as much as he can. Does he wake up on his own in the morning or do you have to wake him up?

We usually trust him and our oldest with most of their bedtime routine. He *usually* is able to wake himself up in the morning. Lately we've been leaving it up to him to dispose of his nighttime diaper in a garage container

Anonymous wrote:You mentioned he's wearing diapers now? Has the wetting increased since you made that switch?

It might be worth trying a couple nights of him wearing underwear, just to check. It may be that his body knows - even unconsciously - that "hey, I have a diaper on, I don't need to hold it!"

Are you limiting drinks before bedtime?

We are not nessecarily limiting what all her drinks in the evening. It's difficult to say if the amount he's peeing has changed at all, because we trust him to dispose of his own diapers first thing in the morning. He HAS had more consistently wet mornings as of lately, but that actually started quite a bit before we switched to what he's currently wearing.

Anonymous wrote:We do a dream pee with our 5-year-old. It's kind of a pain but not the worst. You just have to really direct him, or he'll bump into walls and stuff. He just recently became too big, but we used to just pick him up and carry him over, put him on the toilet, and carry him back. Not perfect, but it has worked most of the time.

I don't know how you would institute naps -- is he in school or daycare? Also, even if he starts, he is not going to be able to nap in kindergarten/1st grade next year. I really don't see the napping as related. Perhaps is could go to bed a little earlier to avoid being overtired if you think that is the issue?

We're currently doing homeschooling with him and his brother.

He's for certain been a lot 'busier' in general as of late, now that covid is easing and we're more involved in various things. DH and I were hoping the nap would help out with the overtired issue - but really, he already does go to bed fairly early (usually around 7:30 - 8).

[Anonymous]

How long before bed do you get him in diaper and pajamas? Does he go potty right before?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You mentioned he's wearing diapers now? Has the wetting increased since you made that switch?

It might be worth trying a couple nights of him wearing underwear, just to check. It may be that his body knows - even unconsciously - that "hey, I have a diaper on, I don't need to hold it!"

Are you limiting drinks before bedtime?

Respectfully, I think this is a very bad idea. If the kid is as deep a sleeper as the OP mentioned, you're only going to cause the family more headache. He's only 5, that's still very, very much in the realm of normal to not be potty trained at nighttime. Just let the kiddo wear a diaper and get some rest. He's still so young. It's much more important at that age for them to be getting a good night's rest, than worrying about getting him to wear underwear at night.

Also I'd suggest against limiting drinks if the child is legitimately thirsty. That just seems needlessly cruel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long before bed do you get him in diaper and pajamas? Does he go potty right before?

OP here. He does indeed try and use the bathroom before bed. Usually he brushes his teeth with the other kids, and then DH or myself will go up to help him out with pajamas and get his diaper on before reading a short book and saying a prayer before final goodnites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long before bed do you get him in diaper and pajamas? Does he go potty right before?

OP here. He does indeed try and use the bathroom before bed. Usually he brushes his teeth with the other kids, and then DH or myself will go up to help him out with pajamas and get his diaper on before reading a short book and saying a prayer before final goodnites.

Sounds like he’s doing well. When he wakes up in the morning he takes off diaper all on his own and throws it away?

[Anonymous]

No, he needs to limit fluids, go to the bathroom a few times and you wake up at night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly it’s a perfectly normal part of growing up. Sleep is more important than whether he makes it to the bathroom in time. As long as he’s healthy and fine in every other area I would just let things go for now and not stress over it

this. Don’t stress, I would not reintroduce a nap to a 5yo. If my kid napped at 4 she was up until 10/1030 at night. She went the bed a few times a week until she was 6 ish and didn’t completely stop until 8.5. It is what it is, keep doing the diapers at night and give it more time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, he needs to limit fluids, go to the bathroom a few times and you wake up at night.

Don’t limit fluids. Just going to make him miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, he needs to limit fluids, go to the bathroom a few times and you wake up at night.

Don't limit fluids...that's just mean! The kid is wearing diapers, there's no need to limit drinks at this age. Although OP, I would suggest allowing only water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long before bed do you get him in diaper and pajamas? Does he go potty right before?

OP here. He does indeed try and use the bathroom before bed. Usually he brushes his teeth with the other kids, and then DH or myself will go up to help him out with pajamas and get his diaper on before reading a short book and saying a prayer before final goodnites.

Sounds like he’s doing well. When he wakes up in the morning he takes off diaper all on his own and throws it away?

OP here.

Yes, he does. Sometimes we have to remind him, but he's generally quite responsible for his age.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, he needs to limit fluids, go to the bathroom a few times and you wake up at night.

Don’t limit fluids. Just going to make him miserable.

DS isn't usually interested in drinks later in the evening, even if offered. So not a major concern. Generally, if he asks, we do for most part let him have a cup of water.

[Anonymous]

Is his diaper generally pretty full in the morning? I know he’s throwing it away on his own but can you tell if he’s going a fair amount during the night?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is his diaper generally pretty full in the morning? I know he’s throwing it away on his own but can you tell if he’s going a fair amount during the night?

Truthfully I'm not certain, as DH usually transfers it to the 'main' garbage can outside before he leaves for work. However, I know for sure that he was leaking out of the pull-ups we were using quite litterally every single night for about two weeks straight recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is his diaper generally pretty full in the morning? I know he’s throwing it away on his own but can you tell if he’s going a fair amount during the night?

Truthfully I'm not certain, as DH usually transfers it to the 'main' garbage can outside before he leaves for work. However, I know for sure that he was leaking out of the pull-ups we were using quite litterally every single night for about two weeks straight recently.

When he wakes up in the morning does he play in his room or want to eat breakfast or watch TV? What does he do when he first wakes up?

[Anonymous]

I HIPPO'd, and had a reply typed up but just saw that everyone is talking about this kid still being in diapers at night.

OP, if he's only 5 in diapers, and sleeping 12 hours a night, then why on Earth would you be messing with your nighttime routine? That is a BLESSING, I'd be thrilled if any of my kids slept that long consistently.

Leave him be, and stick with the diapers for now if your DS isn't bothered by it, he's still sort of a baby, for goodness sake.

[Anonymous]

Unless he’s completely falling asleep in the middle of the day he probably doesn’t need a nap. If he does take a nap how long is he asleep for? Will he stay dry during that time?