My little pee monster

I have one ds who drinks water all day long...and all night long. The daytime drinking I don't worry about at all, but lately he'd been going through as many as 4 sippy cups full of water through the night, and as a result he ends up sleeping in a big wet spot by morning. I have gotten into the habit of changing him before I go to bed (he barely wakes up while I do it), but usually he's STILL soaked through by morning.

I don't like to deny him water if he's asking for it (after all, I get thirsty in the night sometimes too), but surely he doesn't need that much water, right? Should I try to limit him to one sippy a night and tell him that when it's gone it's gone? Has anyone else gone through something like this?

On a related note, does anyone have a good nighttime diaper recommendation? I'm normally a Pampers girl, but my usually reliable Cruisers are failing me, and Baby Dry diapers have proven themselves as anything BUT dry....

 

That's a LOT of water over night! Is his bedroom super hot? Is he sweaty when you go in to check him (and fill sippies)? He might need to sleep in a cooler environment and I don't do refills myself, but oy that's a lot and a lot of Mommy up in the middle of the night.

I might actually talk to the pedi about that amt. of water. If it's affecting his food/nutrition intake, it could be an issue. Probably not, but I might check! :hug99:

 

I would (if I were you) take him into see your pediatrician tomorrow (Monday), long term constant excessive thirst/urination can be a sign of diabetes insipidus or diabetes, both of which can be tested for with a pee sample.

He should be drinking around 150 ml per kg or roughly 5 oz per 2.0 pounds. If he weighs 28 pounds, he should drink around 70 oz of water a day (technically less, but I always round up for mental math). That includes milk and juice, not just water. Assuming that he drinks 24 oz of water during the night, he should have roughly 46 oz (eight 6 oz drinks) of milk and juice and other stuff during the day.

OTOH, he could just drink a lot, like I do. I can easily put down 2 gallons of liquids in a day. And you should have seen me with my water when I was pregnant. 54 oz every 2 hours at work, so over 200 oz just at work. And I'd drink almost as much when I got home. Plus eat all the ice in the cup.

 

We don't have a/c, and he does drink I bit more on hot nights, but we haven't had a very hot summer, and he still goes through at least 2 sippies of water on a cool night.

I do know about diabetes danger signs, and I have mentioned this to their doctor in the past - he didn't seem very concerned. I think that when I consider all of his liquid intake in 24 hours he's probably not at much more than 70 oz., though he definitely drinks more on hot, humid days (who doesn't?). On a normal night he'll drink 2 sippies of water, and only on the hot nights (like last night) does he go through 4.

It is true that I'm often up in the night getting him water, but he drinks the majority of it before I go to bed at night (sometimes he'll down one whole cup while we read him his bedtime story). Even when I do have to wake up, it takes me less than a minute to walk to his room next door, fill his cup, then stumble back into bed. I don't even fully wake up, so I fall right back to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

I suspect that he's using his sippy as a soother. Both my boys are finger suckers, but lately I've noticed he's not doing that in his sleep. I wonder if he's sucking on his sippy to help put himself to sleep.

 

QUOTE(megginmj @ Aug 24 2008, 12:53 PM) [snapback]945205[/snapback]
We don't have a/c, and he does drink I bit more on hot nights, but we haven't had a very hot summer, and he still goes through at least 2 sippies of water on a cool night.

I do know about diabetes danger signs, and I have mentioned this to their doctor in the past - he didn't seem very concerned. I think that when I consider all of his liquid intake in 24 hours he's probably not at much more than 70 oz., though he definitely drinks more on hot, humid days (who doesn't?). On a normal night he'll drink 2 sippies of water, and only on the hot nights (like last night) does he go through 4.

It is true that I'm often up in the night getting him water, but he drinks the majority of it before I go to bed at night (sometimes he'll down one whole cup while we read him his bedtime story). Even when I do have to wake up, it takes me less than a minute to walk to his room next door, fill his cup, then stumble back into bed. I don't even fully wake up, so I fall right back to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

I suspect that he's using his sippy as a soother. Both my boys are finger suckers, but lately I've noticed he's not doing that in his sleep. I wonder if he's sucking on his sippy to help put himself to sleep.

Can you give him something to substitute the water then? If you are correct, and I suspect you are....I would give him something else to suck on. My son used to suck on his lovey. So that's a distinct possibility!

 

Unfortunately, he's never had nor wanted a lovey. We had terrible sleep problems between 18-24 months, and I tried everything to get him to accept a lovey, thinking it might help his sleep. I have a bad feeling he finally found a lovey, and it's his sippy cup! I could try to find something else for him to suck on, but I don't really want to reintroduce a soother at this age (he hasn't used one since he was about 6 months old), and I can't think of what else to use!

 

Both of my girls were always waking up soaking wet. We stopped giving them a sippy right before bedtime and it helped alot. They still occasionally wake up wet, but at least they are not just soaked. Also, we have found out that Huggies work alot better at keeping them from getting soaked. With pampers and luvs they were always waking up wet. So we have started putting Huggies on them for nighttime and Luvs for during the day(since they are cheaper).

 

Since the doctor did not check for diabetes you really don't know and he needs to be checked right away. I'm a nurse and previously from canada so I know how some docs can just ignore things. You need to insist and at least then you will know. The ER, walk-in clinic heck even someone with a glucometer can check his blood sugar levels. It is really important since there is a condition called Diabetic coma if left untreated. Put your mind at ease and find out for sure. dont take no for an answer.

Heather

 

Jayden does this too ! Sometimes he will go through as many as 4 sippies in one night. Not sure why .. he isnt diabetic and he pee's a ton at night. So far the best diapers I have found for no leaks at night are just regular Huggies. They arent fool proof .. but they hold alot of pee !
Not sure how I can stop him .. he just wakes up at night wanting to drink .. I try to fill it up just about half way ... I DO think he's using it as a soother .. but he's much to old to offer him anything else .. he should have outgrown this by now I would think. I'll just have to hope he outgrows it like Jesse did.

 

About the diaper question... we use Pampers for daytime and switch to Huggies Overnites at night!! Only have a leak when we put them on bad!!!
Lanie

 

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone! I will definitely get the doctor to check him out just in case, but I really think this is just a way to soothe himself at night - it was nice to hear one pp say her son does the same thing. The only time he drinks a lot is at night or when he's trapped in his stroller or carseat for a long time. If he's having fun he'll play for hours without a drink.

I'm definitely going to give Huggies a try. Anything to stop having to wash the sheets every day!

 

Do not the fill the sippy you give him all the way up....decrease it by half and see if you can lessen how much he drinks that way.

Cindy

 

QUOTE
we use Pampers for daytime and switch to Huggies Overnites at night!!


ditto

 

QUOTE(LanieK @ Aug 24 2008, 03:50 PM) [snapback]945366[/snapback]
About the diaper question... we use Pampers for daytime and switch to Huggies Overnites at night!! Only have a leak when we put them on bad!!!
Lanie

Huggies Overnites are the best - and for even more absorption, you can go a size up on the overnites and add a diaper doubler. Just be sure the doubler is tucked within the diaper and not sticking out the top at all, otherwise it draws the moisture out the top of the diaper and onto the kid's belly and pajamas!