Nap Time & Pull-ups

[GirlMomma]

When DCK started with me at 3.5YO, I was told he still required a Pull-up at nap time. I was completely fine with that, as it’s better than cleaning up a mess every day. The child was completely independent in putting it on himself.

Until now. He’s 4.5YO and he’s urinating THRU the (overnight) Pull-up almost daily. He goes before nap and I am encouraging him to go to the bathroom if he has to
go during nap. I also have him change his dirty clothing and Pull-up.

When I approach his parent about it, DCP says the child is a “heavy” sleeper - which isn’t true. I think it’s just laziness and the parent is simply enabling it by putting him in a Pull-up. Any suggestions?

[JaeB]

Not sure what to say. I have a kid in pull ups here full time like they are undies He just turned 3 today

[GirlMomma]

Not sure what to say. I have a kid in pull ups here full time like they are undies He just turned 3 today

My issue isn’t the Pull-ups themselves. It’s the fact that he’s saturating the overnight Pull-up every day at nap time despite going to the bathroom before nap. Urinating threw it totally defeats it’s purpose.

DCK can change himself but I have to completely clean and disinfect the blankets, sheets and cot every day instead of once a week (kids are assigned their own cots)

I brought this up to DCP again today and DCP said they’d have to “try to find a different brand or size up” because he’s doing it at home too. The kids in the biggest size and it’s an overnight brand of Pull-up. I think I ticked DCP off when I told him (less bluntly) that the kid is clearly urinating more than the Pull-up can handle and it has nothing to do with the brand or the size. I told DCP that I believe the child simply doesn’t want to get up to go because I know he’s up half way through nap time.

I suggested to DCP to let the kid sleep in underwear so he learns to get up in the middle of the night to go. Of course there was an excuse as to why that wasn’t an option.

Oh and when I told DCP that the urinating out of the Pull-up defeats the purpose of it, DCP with a straight face said, “Well at least urine is sterile!” Oh okay

[e.j.]

Sterile!

I can see why the brand and size of pull-up might matter in some cases, but I would think Pull-Up brand Overnights would be one of the better brands to buy. Do you know for a fact that dcb is actually peeing prior to napping? I ask because I have a 5 year old who normally does fine without a pull-ups but every now and then he'll have an accident. Each time he's had an accident, he had told me he peed before nap time but later confessed that he hadn't actually been able to go. Once, when I sent him back to the bathroom to try again, I peaked in and caught him just sitting on a stool next to the sink rather than on the toilet.

Other things to consider would be how much he's drinking in the morning. If he tends to drink a lot, can you offer him enough to keep him hydrated but not so much that he soaks through his PU? Is there a pattern to when he pees? Does he pee during the first half hour of nap? If that's the case, is it worth getting him up just before that time to pee again? When ds was that age, I used to get him up to pee before I went to bed so we could avoid a wet bed in the early morning hours. The only other thing I can suggest is using an incontinence pad on top of his sheet. I have the kids nap on cots with sheets on them. For kids who sleep in underwear, I put a pad down on top of the sheets so that if they do pee, it doesn't soak through onto the sheets and cot and then onto my carpet. I still have to wash the pad and clean and change the kid but it cuts down on the amount of things that have to be cleaned and sanitized during my work day. A couple of other thoughts that just popped into my head...would those thick, cloth training pants under a PU help to soak up enough urine to keep everything else dry? Would dc parents be willing to buy one of those alarms that go off as soon as a kid starts to pee? We tried that and it worked well except for the fact that my son had auditory sensitivities and just the thought of the alarm going off scared him too much to make it worth using for us. The alarm wasn't loud, if I remember right, so it might be quiet enough if the rest of your crew sleeps soundly.

[GirlMomma]

I’ll try the potty pants and the potty pads - that’s a good idea and will eliminate some of the grief. They make a potty alarm?? 😂 I had no idea!

[e.j.]

Yes, there are alarms for bedwetters. As a last resort, we tried one similar to the one pictured in the link below. It didn't work for ds because he was so afraid the alarm would go off that he couldn't sleep but if I remember correctly, the alarm really wasn't that loud. He was just freaked out at the thought of it. The one we bought was similar to this one: https://www.amazon.com/Bedwetting-Vi...35987865&psc=1

[Cat Herder]

Is there a family history of diabetes?

[GirlMomma]

To my knowledge, no. The child actually had an issue with his sugar dropping a few months ago and had to go to the ER. Afterwards, the parent followed up with their PCP and an A1C test determined everything was normal.

[Alwaysgreener]

GirlMomma I use potty underwear on my ds. I bought a brand that has a layer of PUL, which is in cloth diapers to prevent leaks. And nap time I put a pull up over his underwear versus underwear over the pull up.

It sounds like she could be holding it all day like some one has pointed out not actually going when you send him. Or he could be like my daughter and hold it on nap and then p ee after she woke up.

Don't really love potty chairs but there is an advantage to being able to see that they've gone and how much they've gone. The chair that my son has, you can take the bowl out and snap it onto the toilet seat, so that you can see how much. When I was in the hospital after having my daughter they made me pee in a cup that attached to the bowl, it was to make sure that I was hydrated and urinating enough. It is just a thought that if you could do something so that you can identify that he has peed

Like maybe putting food dye in the toilet bowl before sending
him, always send him last after everybody else is laid down. Then you can wait by the door or close by so you can hear what he's doing.

As much as he's peeing during nap I think the key is that he's not peeing before nap. How many times during the day does he go to the bathroom on its own? How quickly does he fall asleep?'

Btw extra small adult diapers will fit child his age

[GirlMomma]

He goes quite a bit before nap and usually will have 8 oz or less of liquids before nap time.

I’ll let the parent know about the adult diapers and try the dye. The child is far too big for a potty chair. He’s about the size of a 6YO. Thank you!

[SailingSenorita]

I have experience with this with on child that's been part of a long-time family here. Very much learned from a trial by fire with this.

First off, make sure he's ACTUALLY going to the bathroom before nap. Not just going in the bathroom and standing around for a while before walking back out.

Secondly, if you can tolerate it, and DCM is on board with it--consider using diapers, instead of Pull-ups. I have a DCB that is 5, and wears them still overnight (doesn't nap much anymore). He's average size for weight, and the size 7 diapers fit him with room to spare. I've never found a pull-up that has the overnight/naptime absorbent capacity of a regular diaper, especially the overnight diapers. If he's truly peeing in his sleep, there's really no need for him to be able to pull it up and down anyways, so you may want to consider them, if he's consistently leaking out.

Lastly, this doesn't work for all kids...but try and have him drink later on in the day, and obviously avoid huge drinks just before he goes down to sleep.

Good luck!

[GirlMomma]

Thank you!