Bed wetting 9 year old

[kghigh]

We depart in 8 days! My son is 9 years old and unfortunately still wets the bed. He wears pull ups but at this age it usually cannot contain everything. We always travel with extra sheets and plastic mats, but this is the first time that we will be away for more than a week. I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Curious if anybody else has a similar problem and how they handle it. TIA

 

[mco65]

My oldest son was probably 7 or 8 before he stopped wetting the bed. I simply got into a habit of getting him up around 3am and going to the bathroom... no fun but it worked.
The obvious things like going to the bathroom before you go to bed and don't drink much the final hour(s) before bed are likely already on your to do list.

I think the big thing is to NOT make a big deal out of it around him and don't worry about having SOILED sheets at Disney.. it happens.. yours wont be the first!

 

[Mama Lo]

Try not to be overwhelmed, this is vacation after all!

We started travel to WDW when our oldest was 13 months old and we've had our fair share of accidents with one of our boys being a bit late to be fully reliable through the night. If one did occur we would take the sheets off and leave them in a ball on the floor with a note that said sorry and a cash tip for their trouble.

If this is something that you will have to deal with in the middle of the night I would tell mousekeeping upon arrival and they could probably give you extra stuff to keep in your closet. I wouldn't pack sheets, they have plenty there. Maybe they could give you an extra pad that he could sleep on so it didn't cause such a huge clean up?

There is laundry available at all of the hotels so you will be able to take care of his stuff easily.

Have a super fun magical time!!!

 

[lanejudy]

We used Good Nites disposable bed mats when traveling -- really a lifesaver for avoiding laundry needs. (Well, yes, PJs need washing but it saves the sheets.) As PP mentioned, you can request an extra set of bedding to have on hand as well.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Heidi K]

I like the idea of asking housekeeping for extra bedding in advance. I also bring post it notes to let them know if a bed needs to be changed.

And a side suggestion from someone who's been there-- we started using a bed wetting alarm with my son at that age and it really helped improve his situation. We used it in the summer because it can be disruptive to nighttime sleep. After a few weeks, he became mostly dry at night. Now (at age 10) if he has an accident, we use the alarm for about a week and it sets him back on track.

 

[scurvyfreedman]

Have you tried carrying him to the bathroom at night and sitting him on the toilet and telling him it's okay to pee, so he evacuates again at night without wetting the pullup or bed? At 9 that may be a tough task because he's probably heavy, but we did that with our daughter until she was almost 7.

 

[Kiren]

I wet the bed and even daily accidents until I was about 9. My parents had to do everything to keep me from wetting. It got to the point where they would have to wake me up by putting me in a cold shower! It worked though. One day I was embarrassed and stopped all wetting almost overnight. My parents were very supportive and when I would have accidents in later months they would support me and say that the odd accident was okay. It might just be a matter of having to wake him up. I went to bed at 8 pm and they would wake me up at 10 pm to take me to the washroom.

 

[jolene63]

I feel for you. My 12 year old still wets the bed all the time. It makes traveling challenging. We drive to WDW so we can pack whatever we need. We have my son sleep on a vinyl blow up mattress that can easily be wiped down with Clorox wipes. I bring my own twin sheets for it, knowing that I will have to do laundry anyway because I don't want his soiled pajamas smelling up the room. My husband and his father both had this same problem so I know it's hereditary. Someday my son will outgrow this just like they did.

 

[whitneyanne]

My son was in his teens when he stopped wetting the bed. His doctor can give him medication for you to use while on vacation that help to reduce the amount of urine he produces overnight. If that's not something you're comfortable with, I would go with the Goodnite disposable mats or they also sell sleeping bag inserts that are waterproof. A good website is thebedwettingstore.com. I'm sorry you feel overwhelmed, I can definitely relate but have a great time!

 

[BuzzyBelle]

We used Good Nites disposable bed mats when traveling -- really a lifesaver for avoiding laundry needs. (Well, yes, PJs need washing but it saves the sheets.) As PP mentioned, you can request an extra set of bedding to have on hand as well.

Enjoy your vacation!

I used to use these for my older DD until she grew out of it. They were great since they are easy to pack and are disposable. She even used them in her sleeping bag for slumber parties and would just cover it with a sheet so no one saw it. I think these are an easy solution especially when traveling.

 

[belle1986]

I vote for the goodnite bed mats too! My 6yo uses a pull up at home and usually doesn't leak but I like the mats for when we are away for extra protection.

 

[dmoore718]

I have one who is almost 7 and also wets the bed. disposable bed pads sounds like a good idea! Enjoy your vacation!

 

[jtobykrauss]

Why not try the adult kind I am sure they hold more. In either case don't worry to much my DD got a really bad stomach virus and from both ends and had quite the mess on our hands and mouse keeping had to come out a few times I asked if she could just leave use stuff and I would clean everything up but she said that it is against Disneys policy and they have to do it or they get in trouble. She said they are all pretty use to it and was great about.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

My son is 9 now and we just got him out of the goodnight pull ups a couple of months ago. Mainly because he said they were the most uncomfortable things ever and we said well then stop wetting the bed, lol...It worked though, but vacations make me nervous bc he is such a sound sleeper! We had the pull ups for out April 2015 trip at the Grand Floridian but didn't really have any issues with leakage at that point...in 2014 we stayed at the Contemporary and I felt like I was on a first name basis with house keeping, LOL. He did wet the bed about 2 times that trip around 2 or 3 in the morning, but house keeping came up with in 15 minutes and had the soiled sheets off and made the bed and everything for us and they were very gracious. I think any hotel that is kid friendly understands that accidents happen.

 

[butterfly71076]

We used Good Nites disposable bed mats when traveling -- really a lifesaver for avoiding laundry needs. (Well, yes, PJs need washing but it saves the sheets.) As PP mentioned, you can request an extra set of bedding to have on hand as well.

Enjoy your vacation!

We used the bed mats too! Worked great!

 

[pmaurer74]

Those puppy pee pads may work too. I have a daughter that pukes the first night every time. She gets motion sickness from traveling. Luckily she can make it to the bathroom now but the first few years, Housekeeping was great!

 

[Disney Khi]

Like a PP mentioned, have you tried something for adults like Depends undergarments? They would probably hold more liquid. If those won't work, I'd try an absorbent pad.

 

[jknewberry]

My son had the same issue, and we tried waking him up to go to the bathroom once or twice a night, that didn't help, he was pretty much still asleep even when taken to the bathroom. My feeling is that he was so sound asleep that the urge to go wouldn't wake him up. We got a bedwetting alarm, and the harsh sound it made was enough to wake him up to use the bathroom. After about 10 days of that, he started not needing to go at all at night. That doesn't help for your trip of course, for that I recommend some type of disposable pad to go under him at night- we used Chux Pads like they use in the hospital beds, and waterproof mattress pads also.

 

[bdcp]

My youngest son wet the bed until he was 10. Literally within a week of turning 10, he stopped. My oldest son on the other hand, was completely dry at night at 3.5. Anyway, my youngest son is 30 now so when he was young, there was no such thing as pull ups and definitely not for a 10 year old, even though he was small for his age. I used something that I found at a children's store, that were washable pull up underpants that he slept in that were heavily padded, like a thick diaper, and he occasionally soaked through those too. So, I used a pad on his bed also. I would suggest disposable pads, maybe use two just to be safe and get him up to go to the bathroom so even if he does wet, it's not as much. It's frustrating and was an issue for him spending the night away from home, but we got through it and he's married now I also wet the bed occasionally until I was about 10 and DH did too, so it's more common than most will admit. DS doctor said it's an immature bladder and nervous system issue and almost all kids outgrow by the time they are 10, especially boys.

 

[EvilQueenT]

Had the same problem with my son as a child and now his daughter who is just a little older than your son. She's done pull ups, bed alarms, and had horrible side effects to meds the doc has tried. With pull ups she can't go all night either so we set an alarm to get her up half way through the night, have her use the restroom, and put on a fresh pull up when we're on vacation. One all night just doesn't do it for her. Having done that we're now finally at the point that she can set an alarm for every three hours and stays dry that way without pull ups.