Bedwetting Part III: The soggy saga continues…
February 26, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Filed under Parenting
I have a confession to make. Remember when I bragged that my son’s bedwetting issues were over? Yeah, well, call it the parent-of-one-child intoxication, but after a week of dry sheets, I am now swimming knee high in smelly, wet bedding on a daily basis. I’ve gone through one of those large jugs of Tide-with-Bleach in one week. What’s that, like 42 loads? Insane.
I mentioned this problem at my book club and one woman – the mother of two grown boys – said the bedwetting at her house got so bad when her kids were young that she would literally let the bed air dry during the day and then stick her son right back in those putrid-smelling sheets the next night. I haven’t gotten to that point yet. I am, however, now tossing a towel over the wet spot and then stuffing him back in bed in lieu of changing the sheets in the wee hours. The next day I continue my never-ending laundry dance.
My husband decided he would get my son up at 3 a.m. to go pee. (Taking a cue from you, Feefifoto.) The first night he tried the bed was already wet but my son hadn’t woken up yet. The second night – last night – I was awakened at 12:30 a.m. by my son sobbing about his wet PJs. What’s worse is that he woke up again at 7 a.m. with a second round of pee-soaked jammies! I’m telling you, he didn’t drink a drop after dinnertime. So what gives?
Oh hey, did you know the official, medical term for bedwetting is Enuresis. What a gross-sounding word.
I’ve tried luring Truman back to pull-ups with those weird paper boxer-style ones, but he says they’re uncomfortable. Plus, even looking at pull-ups makes my break out in tears. I did find this strange potty training gadget from Potty Training Concepts. It’s a Bed Wetting Alarm. The thing is, we don’t need an alarm. Most of the time he wakes up right after he pees. I know this because the sheets are still warm. (TMI) Just read the details though…do you want your son to go to bed with a 9-volt battery attached to his groin? Yeah, me either.
The company also offers other bedwetting solutions, like homeopathic meds. Um…no. Don’t think so. Maybe some of those overnight undies? Ruber pants? What do you think? Has anyone tried any of these things? Or any other bedwetting solutions? I’m desperate, folks. I’m not sure my washer can take much more of this constant, daily use.
It takes time. We have been waking my 4 1/2 year old up at 1:00 to go to the bathroom everynight for about the last year. Just this week she has gone four nights in a row without wetting and without us waking her up in the wee hours of the morning. Hang in there!
Oh…I love a good humble mother story! Hang in there, and remember they will not be bed wetting when they go off to college…it does get better! Good luck!
I read something recently that said that some bedwetting issues were due to food allergies that had not ‘expressed’ themselves anywhere else other than in the bedwetting. No idea if that is the case for your son, but it may be something else to look into. Good luck!
How much will you be paying for Truman’s therapy after he finds out you wrote this article?
Ha! Good thing therapy runs in my family!
hey jen! fun to read about your hippy parents! remember the old vw pop-up campers we traveled in? took one from nyc to holland and return. what great times — we were young and enjoyed the flow.