Still in pull-ups at age 5

OK, I bet if I did a search I posted this last year too. A&B are 5 yrs, 5 months. Both still wear pull-ups to bed. Honestly, if I knew that they genuinely peed in their sleep and couldn't help it, I would be fine with them being in pull-ups until they could stay dry. But, I really don't know if they just pee in the pull-ups because they are on, or what the deal is. I've "caught" them peeing in the pull-ups before they fall asleep at night. Like, they get their pull-ups on when they put their pajamas on, and then we do books and brush teeth. Sometimes, they have peed during this time when there was no reason for them not to go to the bathroom. I'm also pretty sure they pee in them in the morning. I've tried taking money out of their piggy banks when they do this (reimbursing me for the cost of pull-ups, they ain't cheap!). This bothers Bea, and she's better about not peeing in them before bed. Ainsley doesn't care.

I don't relish the thought of changing wet sheets at night. I would rather wait until they are dry for a few days before letting them sleep in underwear. But seriously, I am tired of buying pull-ups if they don't really need them. Do I just take them away and see what happens? Or should I wait until they stay dry? I just find them peeing in them when they are awake to be so gross, I can't believe they do it. Bleh.

 

I might give it a try if you think it is a convenience thing. Tell them that they will need to get up starting tomorrow night, remind them during the day of the change and just before bed and say"see big boy underwear, no pull ups. If you have to go potty, you need to get up and use the bathroom or you and your bed will get all wet"

Or have them us the bathroom before putting the pull ups on.

 

I would just give it try without the pull-up. They know it is okay to go in the pull-up so they will. If they were just wearing underwear they would think twice.

 

Nolan is still in a pull up at night. He sleeps so soundly that he definitely does not wake up. Meghan started sleeping without them last summer. I waited until she had 4-5 nights of dryness in a row. If you think they are just doing it because they can, I might try it for a couple of nights.

 

Aaron is 6.5 and still wearing a pull up at night. We went through several trial runs because I thought the same thing you did. Turns out he soaks the pull up (or bed) in his sleep. :unknw: Put several layers of sheets on the bed with waterproof liners in between (so you can just strip off wet ones and get back to bed) and offer rewards for keeping the bed dry. If after a few days they are still waking up wet, go back to pull ups without another thought for several months. Don't even mention it. Our ped said up to about age 8, it's really not a big deal.

 

Ooh I like that! Will make it much less annoying to change sheets. Thanks!

 

Ian is still in pull ups and he's almost 5...I know he pees in his sleep because he'll wake up dry some mornings and some mornings he's not...my dad thinks he should be out of pull ups at this point but its only one per day (and sometimes we can get 2 days out of them if they're dry in the morning...)

 

Jessy was actually night trained before she was day trained (jazz not long after 4 1/2):umm: but I agree with pp I'd try it for a night or few and if they are still wetting after that then put them back in pullups. It's not worth the anguish on either side

 

From your description it sounds as if they are doing it because it is easier. Because of that I would put them in underwear. If they wet the bed I would also have them clean it up (helping at least). If they are still wetting after a few days then I would say they probably can't help it.

 

From your description it sounds as if they are doing it because it is easier. Because of that I would put them in underwear. If they wet the bed I would also have them clean it up (helping at least). If they are still wetting after a few days then I would say they probably can't help it.

 

A good waterproof (and cheap) option is to buy the big rectangular vinyl/flannel lined tableclothes and cut them in half.

 

I have nearly 5 year olds. One is dry at night (and has been since about 3 and a half. The other one is not dry at night every night , but we are seeing a trend in increasing amounts of dry pull ups. First, he would have 2-3 dry nights in a row (i.e., dry pull up in the am), then 3-5 nights. Now sometimes he goes 7 nights in a row being dry. But then, there is a morning with a soaker of a pull up! When he first made it to 7 nights, I tried him in underwear and had to change his sheets at about 3 am. I decided then that pull ups were fine for a bit longer!

Our pedi said that, after 30 nights in a row of being dry, the kid is considered officially night trained. She also said not to worry yet -- some kids sleep deeply and just don't get the brain signal to wake up to go!

A few suggestions that I have not tried (but have heard about) are: Put underwear on underneath the pull up, which will make a feeling of uncomfortable wetness, especially if your girls go in the pull up before bed or in the morning. And, its much easier to change out underwear/pull up at 3 am, than wet sheets! Another suggestion was to purchase (and prominently display from time to time) extra special underwear that gets "earned" once they are dry for a number of mornings in a row. That way, if its incentive, you can work towards it.

If, however, it is beyond their control, then I guess its just a matter of waiting it out.

Good luck!

Meg

 

I would say give it a try, and I LOVE the layered sheet idea! I would probably restrict liquids before bed, have them go right before they get in bed and then maybe even wake them to go once in the middle of the night ( I remember my parents doing this with me) 'just in case'...good luck!!

 

I don't think it's that uncommon to still use a Pull Up at nite at 4/5 these days. The reason kids were overnite trained earlier years ago is there were no pull ups. I would not beat yourself up over it. My goal is to get my girls (5 next month) overnite trained this summer. It's hard though, because I hate to deprive them of drinks in the evening. We go lots of nites where one wakes up dry but some mornings even with little to drink the night before, one pees to the max and soaks the Pull up.

 

Annie just turned 8 in December and was in pull-ups until December. She was a very sound sleeper who just wouldn't wake up to pee, or so I thought. Over the summer she told my sister she just didn't want to get up and go to the bathroom. I just shrugged when I heard that, but I wasn't ready to test that theory.

But then the Friday night came and she ran out of pull-ups. She didn't tell me she was low or out. We live in a kind of rural area and I wasn't doing the 30 minute round trip to get diapers for an 8yo. So she went cold turkey. She still has an accident every few weeks, but it's well worth ditching the pull-up expense.

So I wasn't going to push the issue and it just happened on its own.

 

I too would just go ahead and try them in just undies. But, put the plastic pants over the undies so not too much of a mess and they can feel the pee.

 

Thanks everyone. I'm going to go ahead and try it this weekend.

 

Ava is still in a pull up with no end in sight. Addison has been trained at night for a year now. Another thing you could try are those plastic underwear over their panties. That would make them not want to wet them on purpose at least?

 

Sarah does this sometimes too. It grosses me out, and we've tried reminding her not to do it, but she just doesn't seem to mind. However, I know she does also pee in her sleep, so I'm just not pushing it. She seems proud when she (once in a blue moon) has a dry pull-up, so I don't think it's just that she doesn't care. I think it's more that she thinks it's a hopeless cause anyway, so why should she try?

I also DREAD changing sheets (even just to strip off a wet one -- they have un-bunked bunk beds, and changing the sheets is a royal PITA because the mattress fits down inside the wooden "box"), and am willing to pay for a lot more pull-ups to avoid that.

 

OK, I wimped out this weekend, so no progress to report. Maybe next weekend. ardon: Thank you for the ideas though, I at least have a plan and it doesn't seem so daunting.

 

Kelly, thank you so much for bringing this up, it has been on my mind too. :good:
I talked to the pedi about it at their 4 year checkup and he said before age 6, he won't do anything about it.
I hope the suggestions work for you!! :good:

Me too. I think mine does it as soon as she wakes in the morning because once the pull-up is off and she goes potty, there's nothing there. <_<

Where did you get the waterproof liners?

Good idea!!

 

I have seen them at Target in the aisle where the mattress pads are. They have the clear waterproof ones.

 

I'd give it a try if you think they only are using them because they feel it's easier than using the toilet.

As for my twins who will be 5 in April i have a feeling that they will be using Goodnights for awhile yet. They don't even realize that they wet themselves or wake up to use the bathroom. My oldest ds was the exact same way. He needed them till he was 11 or 12. His doctor said he had an immature bladder.

GL with everything!

 

I use the flat ones from their cribs. I put it right in the middle of the bed so it has a good chance of catching everything. I bought one of the plastic ones that fits like a sheet but it split down the middle pretty quickly. Had nothing to do with him jumping on the bed, I'm sure! The crib ones are flannel but have the waterproof inside. They work just fine for us.

 

This is what I use too.

 

That is what I have under the sheets on my girls bed. I have it over the waterproof mattress cover. Works out great then there is a problem since you don't have to take the mattress pad cover off .

 

You could try an Alarm like THIS my cousin used this years ago (early 80's).... so it's been around for a minute. I also remember my parents giving me some type of little blue pill that was supposed to 'dry me up' for the night.. LOL That was prescription but it looks like they sell some type of OTC pills now.

I've seen those alarms MUCH cheaper in some sales magazine (just can't remember the name) I'm sure if you dig around you'll find something way more affordable. But at their age, you might just need something to help remind them to get up at night.

It definetely sounds like a convenience thing to me. Aside from making sure they Pee before putting the pull-up on and using the potty as soon as they wake in the morning - you might just need something else to help.


Good luck.

 

So many good suggestions! wow!
I would say try out a whole list of things for a few week or two and see how it goes. I would put the extra layers of sheets on the bed, make them sit on the potty before bed (put the pull-up on them the very LAST thing before they climb into bed), start a reward chart and they get a sticker for each dry night (when they get say 3 or 4 stickers they get a "prize" or some sort), then I would also wake them up and take them potty right before you go to bed yourself (this is what my parents always did for us and it worked like a charm) as this will help get them in the habit of waking up to pee. I also really like the idea of underwear with a plastic cover overtop (altho that might be just like a pull-up to them). If they have an accident at night, just strip the sheets off and back to bed, and then the next morning I would have them help wash the sheets. You might have to try it for a week or two to see if they catch on. If they dont, then I would put everything away, and back to pull-ups for a month or two and then try again. The big thing is not to get angry or upset if they have accidents, as kids love positive or negative attention, and if they get either they often continue that behavior.

Good luck - give it a try and let us know how it goes.

 

Thats the same with Jack. He doesn't do it because he has a pull up on because I have accidentially sent him to bed in his underwear and he has soaked the bed. Even when he doesn't have a drink after a certain time.

Kelly, I would try without one and see what happens. Remind them to use the potty before putting them to bed. HTH

 

Hi,

My guys are also 5 years 6 months old and still in pull-ups at night. We've tried leaving them out of them only to have them pee on the mattress pad and sheets. The pediatrician said it's perfectly normal for boys until age 8ish.

 

One of my older daughters was in pull ups till EIGHT!!!! YES!!! And I can't even tell you how many sheets I had to wash when I went cold turkey. Washed them for WEEKS. HATED IT. But she did eventually begin to be dry more and more and now has not had an accident in months.

That said, I went cold turkey with the twins last month when I found them pottying in their pullups when they were awake. Kara has not had an accident yet. Ella pottied in her bed for many nights till I went back to putting her in pull-ups, but Grandma is still offering a sleep over when she is dry one week. Today she is dry two days!!!!!

 

Kelly, have you given it a try yet?

 

No, I haven't. :blush: Just haven't been up to dealing with it yet.

 

Gotcha! :hug: Will you keep us posted when you decide to dive in? I'm curious to hear what will/won't work since I'm right behind you with one of my chicks and almost ready to try something. :good:

 

Just thought I would throw this in the discussion. My Sarah was very back and forth on staying dry at night. She'd be dry for 6 months at night, and then just seemingly incapable of staying dry for 2-3 months. Then she'd be back to 6 more months of dry. It was frustrating for both of us. She desperately wanted to be dry. I was frustrated because I couldn't find much of a pattern or a reason. The only concrete thing was is she was getting sick, I knew the accidents would start.

Well, today we're heading off to a pediatric urologist to set a surgery date. She had undiagnosed kidney reflux. Her bladder puts urine back in her kidneys. Once her bladder empties, it immeadiately fills with the urine it had sent back. She literally never has an empty bladder. It's something that she was born with and has lived with her entire life. But we didn't know until Thanksgiving last year when she got a raging bladder infection. Then 2 weeks later, it happened again. Then we did a vcug and found then reflux.

So the moral of the story. Stay calm and patient and loving about it. It might not be their fault.

Marissa