Alternatives to nighttime pull-ups for older pre-schoolers?

**Shoshana** · 10-22-2008, 12:49 PM

My dd just turned 5 and I haven't been successful with nighttime potty training. She wears the Goodnights pull-ups. I saw on another thread that you could use maxi-pads for girls?

Has anyone done this? Does it work? Do you use a maxi-pad (which brand?) with underwear? Are there significant leaks?

Thanks for your help!

**ri*smom** · 10-22-2008, 01:27 PM

There were some really cute cloth trainers ds had called Ditto Daddies. . . and they make them for girls too. I don't know if you are wanting something washable or not. Each costs about what a pack of pull-ups cost, but you can just throw them in the wash and dryer and they are ready to go again.

**ri*smom** · 10-22-2008, 01:29 PM

Here's a link to the WAHM I bought from:

http://hyenacart.com/brandysboutique...?c=143&p=47875

HTH

**MommyinTX** · 10-22-2008, 01:56 PM

I tried this with my son, but it did not work. The volume of urine was more than the pads would hold. However, I haven't tried the incontinence pads, like Poise. Maybe they would work better?

This summer we tried no pullups for 3 weeks, but no change. Everything was soaked every morning, even if I got him up during the night to potty. So we are back to Goodnights. I just try to catch good sales and use coupons.

I think the alarm system may be in our future, but I'm gonna wait it out another year or so.

Becky in TX

**Shoshana** · 10-22-2008, 03:05 PM

I finally gave up on the training -- she's just not biologically ready, and the pediatrician concurs. Sometimes I'm okay with depriving a child of fluid, but not if it's hot, or if she's been playing hard, or if she's thirsty. I could never predict WHEN during the night to wake her up. To make matters worse, we co-sleep. Changing the bed in the middle of the night is NOT on my list of fun things to do. Plus, it was creating more anxiety for her. She wants to wear underpants to bed, but the deal is she has to be dry for one week before she can try again. She's lucky to make it two nights in a row.

I'll check out the recommendations you all made! Thanks for the tips!

**joyofsix** · 10-22-2008, 08:19 PM

Well, I have the waterproof mattress covers. I was known to reuse pullups if they weren't wet. As a wise grandma told me, she won't be wetting her wedding gown.

**LBD301** · 10-25-2008, 10:05 AM

My 5.9 y/o DS has been day trained since he was 2.5, but always wets the bed at night. I have been using Goodnights since he grew out of the diapers/pull-ups. The Ped. told me to talk to him about it if he's 8 y/o and still wetting at night. Not a big deal.

**ironmaiden** · 10-26-2008, 04:08 PM

My son was also potty trained under 3, but was very wet every single night.
Last summer at 8 1/2 he found out that one of his friends stopped using pull-ups and was pissed. So out of sheer will he decided that he would stop using them. He does get up almost every night and uses the bathroom. He just didn't like being left behind by his buddy. We've only had 3 accidents.

**Patty A** · 10-27-2008, 07:53 AM

Pull ups was the best thing we found to use. Others leaked and just didn't work as well.
Bedwetting can also be caused by a lack of a hormone called ADH (antidiuretic hormone). Some children fail to produce enough of this. It can be given by a doctor as a simple nose spray, and it works. Some children have this hormone in very low volumes, be sure if it continues to ask your doctor to check the levels. It corrects a lot of bedwetting problems.

**cheles2kids** · 10-27-2008, 09:58 AM

I know someone else mentioned that this didn't work for them.

But once I started setting my alarm clock and waking up every night around 2:00 am. and waking my son up and taking him to set him on the toilet, this is what ultimately got him out of pull-ups.

It took about 2 good months of doing this every single night, but he finally started getting on his own routine of waking himself up at night, if he felt the need to go.
He was completely trained by 3.5 yrs. old, no accidents during the day or night-thankfully.

**kallierollo** · 12-27-2008, 09:40 PM

A friend of mine layered the bed plus woke her dd up twice a night. By layered I mean she did plastic sheet, regular sheet, plastic sheet, regular sheet, etc...that way if she wet she could just take off one plastic and regular sheet and the bed would still be made and ready to go. Much easier then putting all new bedding on.

**momof2joys** · 01-05-2009, 10:27 AM

Great suggestions!!! Ds is just a little over 3 and for the first two weeks of wearing underwear to bed, he had no accidents, I actually thought that it was going to be an easy ride from there, well two nights ago he had his first accident, and last night he wet the bed twice, so I am currently looking in my storage area for more sheets!!!

He gets up and changes his underwear each time he has an accident and comes and tells me that he had an accident, I just can't get him to wake up before the accident happens!!

Thanks again, I now have a few more tips I can try!!

**MoonMommy** · 01-05-2009, 10:37 AM

I used to layer the crib bedding as well so that it was easier to change the crib sheets if the baby spit up or wet through her diaper during the night.

Do you stay up later than she does? Most nights, my hubby just tries to take the kids to the bathroom before he comes to bed. He is a night owl though and is up until about 1. They also get up pretty early in the AM (around 6-7). My problem wasn't so much that they would wet the bed but that they wouldn't sleep. They would need to go, but hold it and stay awake. He is able to basically just carry my daughter (3 yrs old) to the bathroom, and sit her on the potty. My son he 1/2 wakes up. I can't say my bathroom doesn't suffer from a 1/2 asleep 6.5 year old with bad aim, but I think they sleep better.

However, as her mom, you know her best. If she isn't ready, and she understands why she needs to wear the pull-up, then keep doing so.

**3LittleMonkeys** · 01-10-2009, 10:58 AM

Are you still having problems at night? Have you contacted a Pediatric Urologist?

**JessieMom** · 01-10-2009, 12:33 PM

My DD still wets at night. We see a pediatric urologist for it. We have not found anything that works as well as the goodnights. We also have a waterproof cover for her matress. What works best for her as far as reducing accidents was when her urologist told us to have her go to the bathroom every 2 hrs during the day - she has never had an accident during the day so I didn't think that would do anything but it really did. We also wake her once at night, we don't allow her to drink/eat anything with sugar within 2 hours of bedtime, and we make sure she is regular with bowel movements.