What age can they hold it (pee) overnight?

My girls have been potty trained for a very long time but they still wear pull ups to bed. One is fine she can hold it usually all night without accidents but the other one can't. I think my one just goes in her training pants/pull ups because they are on her. My ped suggested today to get up at night with them and start taking them to the bathroom because they shouldn't be going in them anymore but I treasure my uninterrupted sleep after having a baby and really don't want to do that. Our old pediatrician (we just moved) told me usually around the age of 4-5 they can start holding it overnight. Does that hold true with your little ones? I have withheld water before bed but we eat late suppers so they get drinks with supper. I was just a little confused after today's peds visit with this new pediatrician. Thanks.

Elizabeth

 

When were almost but not quite finished with potty training, DH suggested we should just ditch the pull-ups. He thought they knew they had a crutch so they used it (literally! :icon_biggrin: ). This was a couple months before they turned three ...but, they were usually waking up dry, anyway.

Well, the first month I'd say that one or the other would wet the bed every week. I always double sheeted their beds anyway (fitted pad, then sheet, then flat pad, then sheet), so if they woke up, I could just take off the top layer and get them back down pretty quickly. That was all over in a month, though. We've only had one accident in the nearly 2 years since.

 

I don't agree with the ideas of waking them up to go before I go to bed or getting up in the middle of the night to get them to go. I know it works for some but just not something I wanted to do. If they aren't ready, they aren't ready and I didn't think there was anything I could do to force it along. K&K did overnight train very quickly after day training, they were about 3 1/2 when they trained overnight.

I do remember reading one of our TS members who was concerned about the overnights and she too talked to her ped. She was told there is a certain chemical that has to be present in their bodies before they are able to go all night. Until that is present then the parent can do whatever they want to try to help the process along but the efforts will pretty much be futile until their bodies are ready!

 

DD night trained within a few months of day training, which she did at 35mo. Nathan is day trained at 3 but he will not be night trained for a while. He wakes up soaked still. Both my mom and brother were bed wetters until they were 8ish, so we have a history of small bladders according to my mom. Nathan looks like he will be the one to deal with it. No idea on William as he refuses to day train .

 

I'm 36 and I STILL wake up to pee at least twice a night . . .

-Rachel

 

My girls are just a little younger than yours. Jamie was potty trained just after 2 years of age and she had dry pull-ups every night too, so she hasn't worn them since then and is always dry. Nicole was potty trained just after Jamie but she still wears a pull-up at night. We have been discussing this with her and she actually wants to be rid of her diaper but she just is not physically able to wake at night when she has to pee, or hold it until morning. She is visibly disappointed on the mornings when her diaper is wet, but she is not dry enough to scrap the diaper. At their 3 year appointment, the pedi said it was just a matter of bladder development and not to worry. Nicole also drinks a lot more fluids than Jamie during the day, so I'm sure that's a factor. I really don't think it's age, but bladder maturity and drinking habits. Their 4 year appointment is coming up, so I'll ask the pedi about it again then. I have talked to a lot of other moms and having them still in pull-ups over night at age 4 is not unusual

 

My DD stopped wearing a diaper to bed at 3.5 years old. She was potty trained for about 6 months before that, but we still put a diaper on her at night, just incase. Then she would start getting up in the middle of the night with the diaper on to use the potty. Once she started doing this consistently and her diaper was dry we stopped putting it on her. She's only had one accident over night since.

 

Josh is 39 months and has been daytime trained since well before he was 2. He is still waking up wet about 80% of the time. He is also a big drinker.

 

I remember when I was on bedrest my friend came over who was in the process of training her son and she mentioned the 6 months after day training for night training, it stuck in my head forever! It actually took us less but I have since heard from others that 6 months is the average.

So, I went looking for more info about the chemical in the body that Ellen's ped told her.............here is a clip

QUOTE
Babies make about the same amount of urine around-the-clock. Most adults make less urine while they sleep. The reason for this is thought to be a nighttime surge of a hormone called Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH). The levels of ADH found in the blood are higher beginning in the evening. One study looking at ADH levels in bed wetters, compared to controls, found that there was a constant low level of ADH in the bed wetters. The nighttime surge did not happen. Perhaps this is a reason bed wetters tend to make more urine at night.


If you are interested in reading the whole article you can find it here.

 

Thanks for posting that Dianne. I remember reading this information before as well and I was looking for it to give to a friend who is horrified that Nicole still wears a pull-up at night. I'm going to forward this to her right now.

 

Jonathan potty trained at 3 3/4 years, and the day he pooped in the potty, was the last day he ever wore a pull up--day or night. Marcus potty trained at 3 1/4 years, and he finally stopped wearing a pull up at night 1 month ago. It isn't that he didn't want to--because he would try and then always wet the bed. When he did it one night by accident--DH forgot to put his pull up on, we let him choose which he wanted. Then we had to convince him to pee before bed. Now, I don't have to say anything, if he needs to pee, he wakes up and goes, and hasn't had a single accident since he went full time in underpants.

 

Well, my boys are almost 6 (in September) and I think we are FINALLY done with the bed wetting! I'm sure we will have accidents, but 99% of the time now they wake up dry. We tried everything (getting them up, pull-ups, thinking the pull-ups were a crutch so nothing on at all, star charts, rewards), but basically their bodies just had to be ready to hold the pee all night. It was simply a matter of time. Because my boys are super-deep sleepers, they will not wake up all night long -- unless they wet the bed

My advice: try not to get upset. Just find a system, like Pumpkinpie's (the double sheets) and stick to it. Whatever makes it easy for you so that you don't get frustrated or angry (that just makes them feel badly and self-concious about something they can't control). We had our boys in pull-ups for a long time, until they decided they didn't want to wear them anymore. Then I sewed up some mattress pads and did the double sheet/double mattress pad set-up. That way I could just pull off the wet sheet/pad, change their pjs and we could both be back in bed in a few short minutes.

It will happen! They want to do it, so just be supportive until their minds and bodies catch up to eachother. Hope this helps

 

Thanks for all your responses. Thanks Dianne for posting that article. Claire the one who wasn't holding it overnight finally did last night. I asked her if she needed to go potty to go. They have a bathroom right next to their room. She did get up and go by herself and she was dry overnight. Of course I don't know if that was just a one night only deal or if she really was using the pull ups like someone else mentioned as a crutch. We'll see how tonight goes but I've learned from potty training that they will do it when they are ready. Thanks.

Elizabeth

 

My boys are almost 4.5 & have been day trained since 2.5. Jason just stopped wearing a pull-up at night about 2 months ago. Justin isn't quite there yet, but getting close. My ped. said it could go on till they are 6-8 years old. The body just isn't ready until then on some kids. I do want to add that most nights my husband gets them up to pee before he comes to bed.

 

About once a week my 20 month old(Jess) is dry thru the night

 

One of my boys day trained and night trained at the same time right before he turned 2 1/2. He only took less than two weeks of potty training before he was in underwear 24 hours a day. My other son took a little long. He day trained in about two months, and then was night trained about two months later. They occasionally get up during the night to go potty, but it has been a long time since we have had to deal with a wet bed.

Good luck.

Laurie

 

We have been lucky to only have a few accidents since they have been trained since about 3 1/2. I know this is definatly not the norm though. Getting them potty trained day and night all heppened around the same time for us. KNOCK ON WOOD.....