Friday, January 27, 2012

Night-time

I've put off writing about this for quite a while, mostly because I was hoping that the problem would resolve itself and would no longer be something to write about, but since nothing seems to be changing, I figured I'd put it out there and see if anyone has any advice for me.

The problem is that Annika is no longer dry at night.  In fact she's been wet almost every night since September.  Some of you may remember this post from the beginning of August last year, when we were just getting ready to start putting her to bed without a Pull-Up.  She had been either dry at night or waking up to pee for about 2 months at that point.  And before that, she was wet maybe once or twice a week.  So, we took the plunge, put an extra layer of sheets/waterproof protection on her bed (so we could quickly strip it in the middle of the night, if necessary), and she slept quite successfully without a Pull-Up for a few weeks.  Then September came.  She got sick (just a cold) at the beginning of the month, and after a night with 2 accidents, I decided to put her back in a Pull-Up until she was feeling better.  She also started preschool in September, a major change for her, but one that she seemed to adapt to quite well.

We planned to get rid of the Pull-Ups after her sickness passed, however, Carey and I were also planning to go away for a few days at the end of the month, and the kids would be staying with their grandparents, so we kept her in Pull-Ups until after we came back, so the grandparents wouldn't have to worry about wet sheets (and it wouldn't be a big deal about having to wear a Pull-Up at Grandma and Grandpa's house).  I figured after we all got settled back at home, we would make the switch back.  Except by then, she was wet almost every night again.  She'd have the occasional dry night, but it was the exception, not the rule.  And now I can't even remember the last time she was dry at night.  It's probably been at least a month or more.  Nothing has changed in her routine otherwise (she doesn't drink much after supper, and goes pee before going to bed; no other big "life" changes).

Just a side note - most of you know that we use cloth diapers, so you may be wondering why we buy Pull-Ups for Annika, and don't use cloth trainers.  There are several reasons for that.  One, she loves the princesses on them.  Two, initially I had a hard time finding a cloth trainer that fit well and didn't leak (if anyone can recommend one, let me know).  Three, before Emmett came along, I didn't want to worry about washing cloth trainers when I didn't have any other diaper laundry (I guess that excuse is no longer valid, now that I'm washing diapers twice a week :P).  I have been thinking about trying cloth trainers again lately, as I'm getting so sick of buying Pull-Ups each month, and I hate the stink of a wet Pull-Up.  Anyways, just wanted to address that.

So, now she'll be four in a few months, and she's still wet every night.  It feels a bit frustrating, because it seems like such a big step backwards.  I'm torn between trying to do something to "help" the situation (should we wake her and try to make her go pee before we go to bed?  Should we take her out of the Pull-Ups and let her wet the bed for a few nights??  Is there a different solution???), and just waiting for it to resolve on its own.  After all, we didn't do anything the first time around and her body figured it out.  Does she just need more time?  Anyone have any advice for us??

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

if she loves the princesses on her pull-ups, there isn't much incentive for her to not wear them. i would suggest either getting plain pull-ups or cloth trainers (sorry don't have a recommendation on that).
tara

Andrea said...

I agree with Tara - get her plain pull-ups or cloth trainers so that they're not exciting for her.

Other than that, I wouldn't stress about it too much. I think their bodies just figure it out when they figure it out. I might try a week of no pull-ups just to see if she 'gets it' within that time frame, and if not...I wouldn't worry about it.

We didn't have big bed-wetters, so I'm not talking from experience or anything, but this is still my opinion. ;)

pam said...

Thanks for the advice, but I don't think that the princesses on the pull-ups are the issue. It was more just initially that she was excited about them. She also really likes her underwear (which also has fun designs and patterns). As to buying plain pull-ups, do they even make them plain? Don't they all have designs or characters on them?

Gin said...

You know that I'm not coming at this with any experience with kids so take what I'll say with that in mind. Has she gone through a growth spurt that maybe her bladder is not keeping up with the rest of her? I agree with Andrea - I would try no pull-ups for a week and see how it goes. After my surgery, I get up at least once a night so our bodies do change.

Unknown said...

I would leave her and let it resolve on it's own. If she's fine during the day, there is no issue. Some kids have smaller bladders and it doesn't wake them when in a deep sleep. It's very frustrating, but I'd rather clean a pull-up then sheets and a mattress every night. Even waking her, might not work. I had a friend who woke her kids and all it did was mean she now had to clean the bathroom because the kid wasn't fully awake when peeing. Her bladder will catch up, nights always take longer.

Meghan said...

I doubt the design on the Pull Up has anything to do with it, Wyatt loves his Tow Mater Pull Ups but stays dry (although I am not brave enough to do underwear overnight yet).
I would try not to worry about it too much, I don't know if there is much you could do - I mean, you didn't do anything in August to prepare her for it (did you?), so she may just have to come back to it on her own again.

PamJ said...

No advice really here. Just want to say I am in the same boat with JJ. He still wets at night and I put a cloth diaper on him. We tried the 'dream pee' before we go to bed but weren't consistent enough and would end up forgetting. I think they will learn in their own time...