How I helped my daughter stop wetting the bed.

Hey everyone, Madison here from Ohio and I'm just going to say it. I was a bed-wetter! I was not one of those kids who wet the bed once or twice a year or even once or twice a month. I wet the bed on a very regular basis and was still wetting the bed up until I was 13 years old. I remember waking up in the mornings next to my sister (we shared a queen size bed) sleeping on the edge furthest away from me in hopes that the warm liquid would not intrude on her precious space or worse, touch her delicate skin (okay I know, it is gross and I'm sure I wouldn't want someone else's urine soaking me in the middle of the night either). I remember being old enough to wash and change my friends bed sheets and blanket in the middle of the night because my worst fear had happened, I pee'd in her bed. I remember at around the age of 9 going to a sleepover and my mom sneaking a pull-up into my pillow case so I could try my best to keep it a secret. I would have been horrified if my friends found out I still couldn't control my bladder while sleeping.

One of the biggest problems concerning bed-wetting is that unlike allergies or asthma, bet wetting is not frequently talked about outside the home. The secrecy of bed wetting is not only hard on the parents but also on the child. Many children think they are the only ones who wet the bed, which is far from true. Here are some stats for you, 5 to 7 million kids wet the bed most nights, twice as many boys than girls. After age 5, about 15% of children continue to wet the bed and by age 10, 95% of children stay dry at night. I guess I was in the 5% that continued to wet the bed at age 10.

So, why do some kids wet the bed?? Well there is actually a bed-wetting Gene!! That's right, it most likely came from their own DNA! for 3 out of 4 children either a parent or first degree relative also wet the bed as a child. After we potty trained our oldest daughter I knew pretty quickly she was going to be a bed-wetter like me. We're both very deep sleepers and as much as we tried she couldn't wake up to go potty or hold it all night.

One of the most important things you can do as a parent for your bed-wetting child is to be understanding. My husband had a very hard time having compassion when it came to this issue because he's never had to go through it. It is vital that your child knows that there is nothing wrong with them. I am thankful I was able to tell me daughter that I wet the bed as well, in fact, she most likely got it from me, when she heard these words I could see the relief in her face. Becoming frustrated, upset and disciplining her over this would do absolutely nothing but hurt her. I admire my mother in many different ways but I am truly impressed with the patience she had with me. After 13 years of wetting the bed I have no memory of her ever being upset with me, and that my friends is impressive. While you're practicing your patience, or biting your tongue when you're once again washing sheets in the middle of the night, know that this can be fixed!! 

There is hope!!! 

Okay, Okay so how can you fix this problem that seems impossible to fix? Well, my husband did some research on it and he found a bed-wetting alarm. We decided to invest in this alarm when she turned 6 and was still filling her pull-ups nightly. And guess what? It actually worked!!!!  I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical and had my doubts, my daughter is a massive deep sleeper and there was no way some alarm was going to wake her up when she needed to pee. NO WAY!! I was shocked when she started going weeks at a time with dry sheets. We used the DryEasy brand which not only beeped but also vibrates to help them wake up. The link below is the exact alarm that we've used on now two of our children.

DryEasy Bedwetting Alarm with Volume Control, 6 Selectable Sounds and Vibration

Because our oldest is such a deep sleeper it took about 2 months for her to wear the alarm, and then we thought well lets move on to the next kid who had just turned 4. She only wore it for 1 week!! Seriously you guys I was so shocked! My daughter is so happy that she doesn't have to wear a pull-up anymore and we're so happy because we don't have to buy pull-ups anymore! Those things are not cheap.

So if you currently have a child who wets the bed, first be understanding and kind about the situation. Second, go buy this bed-wetting alarm!!! The DryEasy brand has worked so well on our older 2 and we plan on using it again once our younger 2 are potty trained. IT'S WORTH EVERY PENNY!