Friday Fav: Our Answer to Nighttime Bed Wetting

When I spoke with our pediatrician about the nighttime bed wetting that was happening in my household, I was comforted to hear that it’s common. Some children’s bodies just have a hard time waking up enough to tell them it’s time to run to the bathroom. Our doctor offered his advice, which we took. It worked for us, so I share it here in hopes that it can help others.

The first recommendation the doctor provided is that if it’s not bothering the child, then perhaps it is not a big deal at a young elementary age. Staying in diapers while sleeping wasn’t bothering us or our child. It wasn’t like we were hosting sleepovers or other events that tend to push the peer pressure for change. We kept the diapers on every night for quite some time. Once it started to bother our son, we took the doctor’s second suggestion.

We tried a potty alarm. I’d never heard of these before, but I’ve since learned that there are a ton of options on the market. We used the Wet-Spot3.

Basically, the way it works is that you clip the sensor to the child’s underwear. You then run the wire under the child’s shirt and clip the device to the pajamas near the child’s head. Once the child starts to pee, the circuit is complete and the alarm sounds. This serves as a signal to go to the bathroom.

We had our son wear underwear, put on the sensor, and then put on a diaper. This contained the mess a bit better so I didn’t have to change sheets every time in the middle of the night.

Our son did not care for the alarm (which is kind of the point). When it went off, he would shout for me. I’d run to unhook the sensor, and then escort him to the bathroom. For the first 10 days or so it didn’t seem to be working. He would pee at seemingly random times throughout the night, soaking his underwear and diaper. Slowly and over the next couple of weeks, when the alarm would go off, there would be only a spot of pee on his underwear. It was working!

After two weeks of dry nights, the alarm came off and we’ve been good to go ever since. Our son still doesn’t wake up to go to the bathroom at night, but he manages to hold it until he wakes up in the morning. I think his body told him to avoid that alarm at whatever costs. Ha!

I can’t believe it worked! Saving money by not buying diapers and sleeping better is definitely my Friday Fav.