Need Bed Suggestions for PDD Son

[happily single]

I am at my wits end here...I need a new bed for my ds9 who is a bed wetter.

We've tried waterproof sheets which he rips, chews, destroys. We've tried stapling the sheets to the frame, no luck. We've had air mattresses, futons, click-clack (like a futon) and regular beds. He prefers the air mattresses because he sleeps under them, but now the floor (carpet) is getting soaked. He does prefer to be on the floor as opposed to a bed.

He's quite a tosser/turner and will not keep any type of blanket/sheet/pad under him.

HELP! We've had two thoughts:
1. Gym mats,which could be hosed off outside
2. A hospital mattress, as we think they are made of heavy-duty plastic.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for bedding?

PS he does take meds for his wetting, which help slightly. We also eliminate night-time drinking and encourage bathroom breaks before bed.

Thanks!

 

[1stluvispooh]

Will he wear underjams. They are made for bed wetters? Also DD was going through this too as far as bed wetting, all of a sudden. So when DH and I go to bed 1 of us gets her up and gets her to go the bathroom. This has eliminated our problem...for now.

 

[KirstenB]

If he likes sleeping on the floor, honestly, I'd replace the carpet with linoleum, and just mop it up each morning. I hope that doesn't sound mean, but with all this on your plate, it'd be a way to minimize the damage to the carpet, and more importantly your sub-flooring.

 

[happily single]

Sorry I should had added that he does wear pull-ups.
We thought about the limeoulum floor but it just seems cold.
Thanks

 

[KirstenB]

Sorry I should had added that he does wear pull-ups.
We thought about the limeoulum floor but it just seems cold.
Thanks

I understand, but I'm finding out our kids have unusual preferences in textures. Our dd finds every hard-sided plastic toy she can put her hands on, piles them all on top of her, then goes to sleep. I can't imagine rolling over on Legos at 3 in the morning, but obviously it works for her!

Anyway, just trying to think of a practical solution.

 

[mechurchlady]

He definitely has sensory issues with the bed. I would rip the carpet and bed out. It is obvious that he prefers the hard floor to a bed or matress. You can kill yourself cleaning up carpeting and pinning sheets or let him lay on the floor. I know that at New Orleans Square at DLR there was radiant heating in an out door cafe. In theory it would be possible to do some sort of radiant heating. That or a space heater maybe.

When a person has SID or any sensory issues then it is hard to get them to do what you want them to do. In this case he abhors anything under him so either fight him or let him have his way. You can put the matress on the floor in case he decides the floor is too cold. Remember that millions of people around the world sleep on the floor, lol. 10 million people do it so it must not be that bad, lol.

 

[Forevryoung]

He definitely has sensory issues with the bed. I would rip the carpet and bed out. It is obvious that he prefers the hard floor to a bed or matress. You can kill yourself cleaning up carpeting and pinning sheets or let him lay on the floor. I know that at New Orleans Square at DLR there was radiant heating in an out door cafe. In theory it would be possible to do some sort of radiant heating. That or a space heater maybe.

We have radiant heating in the floor of our kitchen and upstairs bathroom. My dad did it himself to make it more cost effective and I don't think it was difficult (he's fairly handy though).

We love it!

 

[happily single]

I love the radiant heat idea. The only problem is I wouldn't sleep at night for fear that his pee would leak through the floor and electruoute him. Sorry, but I've learned anything is possible lol.

 

[mechurchlady]

The disneyland one was outdoors, I am certain that they take into account water seeping into the floor when the install them. There is electrical like the easy mat and there are hot water tubing type of radiant heated floors. You would be surprised to see that it is safe even in wet areas like bathrooms.

Have you tried a board on the bed? My grandmother had a board under the top matress but maybe you could place one on top of the bed. Or take the top mattress off and put the board on the bed. He would be off the floor and on a hard surface.

How water proof is radiant heating?
They use it for snowmelting and I think your son does not out do snow, lol.
http://www.wattsradiant.com/homeowner/snowmelting.asp
Watering turf must use a lot of water. Yep they use radiant heat for turf on golf courses, lol.
http://www.wattsradiant.com/homeowner/turfwarming.asp


I want that for my birthday second only to a WDW trip. ooh warm home and floors.

 

[ireland_nicole]

I agree; radient heating is very popular in Ireland (where we lived for a while); it is heated water (usually) running through coils under the subfloor. They're incredibly durable, and can be used in wet areas. The only think is you can't use regular hardwood over them, but lino or tile would be fine. It's probably worth checking out. And you could always keep a mattress in the room as well in case he wanted it.

 

[mechurchlady]

I have learned that you cannot give up without trying. Some things are unconventional or weird but if it works then do it. If I tell people about my retraining myself they would freak out probably. I have sensory issues and understand how it is to not like something. Don't ask why but he has his issues so do try the radiant heat and maybe in time he will adjust to sleeping normally through rewards for example. Stay in bed without making a mess and you get a gummy bear. Good luck.

 

[BeckyScott]

We had a hard time with Justin and the bed. It wasn't the bedwetting, so much as it was his sensory stuff.

He wanted to be nestled, or cozy, or snug in the bed. When he was a baby, he would only sleep in the car seat. We couldn't get him to sleep in the crib. This graduated to him sleeping in a papasan chair, then a papasan couch. Then we went to inflatables. He wanted that snugly feeling, being tight in the space. We finally got him on a flat bed but even now, he tends to scoot up to the corner of it.

The papasan is not very cushy, it's a hard bed as far as beds go. You can also pull the dish part off the base and it's sort of like a rocker.

I don't know if the idea would work for you, but if your son is sensory-seeking and likes the snuggly-pressure thing it might be worth a try. Worst case scenario, you end up with extra patio furniture. They sell couches (more like loveseats) that a child can fit in. I liked it because when it got dirty or something spilled on it (or in your case peed upon), I would take the cushion out to the backyard and throw laundry soap on it and hose it down. I only had one cushion, but you can buy extras and rotate.

 

[Piper]

My grandmother had a broken back (in the 1930's) and she slept on a "daybed" for the rest of her life. It was essentially a wooden box with a thick (about 2-3 inch) layer of cotton batting over it. It would be very easy to make a "mattress" like hers. Just cut plywood to the right size for a twin bed and wrap the batting around it. If you upholstered it in a vinyl material, you could cover it with a twin size sheet.

Believe me, it felt like you were sleeping on a pallet on the floor! I hated it when my mother made me take a nap on it!

 

[happily single]

We had a hard time with Justin and the bed. It wasn't the bedwetting, so much as it was his sensory stuff.

He wanted to be nestled, or cozy, or snug in the bed. When he was a baby, he would only sleep in the car seat. We couldn't get him to sleep in the crib. This graduated to him sleeping in a papasan chair, then a papasan couch. Then we went to inflatables. He wanted that snugly feeling, being tight in the space. We finally got him on a flat bed but even now, he tends to scoot up to the corner of it.

The papasan is not very cushy, it's a hard bed as far as beds go. You can also pull the dish part off the base and it's sort of like a rocker.

I don't know if the idea would work for you, but if your son is sensory-seeking and likes the snuggly-pressure thing it might be worth a try. Worst case scenario, you end up with extra patio furniture. They sell couches (more like loveseats) that a child can fit in. I liked it because when it got dirty or something spilled on it (or in your case peed upon), I would take the cushion out to the backyard and throw laundry soap on it and hose it down. I only had one cushion, but you can buy extras and rotate.

That sounds my my Joe! He never slept in his crib, he would only sleep (when and if he slept) in his bouncy seat!

I like the idea of buying a cushion and trying to cover it in industrial like plastic covering. of course then you worry, as I did with the plastic sheets, that he will put it in his mouth.

 

[Momma2dakidz]

ok odd suggestion but they make beds for dogs that are totally waterproof and honestly very comfortable. I actually fell asleep on my goldens bed one night. (dont ask!) The bed is around 54" long. and has a zip on cover and washes VERY well!

Honestly what i would do is get him an airmatress, a rubber mat on the floor, (horse stall mats work well for ball pits so i would imagine it would be better than tile) and a weighted blanket. If he is big enough the adult pull-ups hold more and might keep him drier.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Since he's on meds, it sounds like a doctor is treating him for this condition, which is good, but I do want to say that my late cousins' child (now being rared by another of my cousins and his wife [and their own kids]) had surgery to correct his bedwetting and it really worked. So, if the doc has suggested that to you (if not, ask him about it), I'd go for it.

 

[bookwormde]

I think studying the sensory issue is the best place to start. Also a sleep and dream study might be helpful since individuals with spectrum characteristics have different sleep patterns and due to the very strong visual creation characteristic dreams can be much more “real”. Also with the variability of sensory level “feeling” the need to “go” may not be in the average range so the clues during sleep to either wake and “go” or to “hold it” may also be impacted. I agree that thinking “outside the NT box” is important.

Has anyone who has a spectrum child not had bed-wetting issues at some level? Also in general toileting issues tend to be “delayed” for many of our children.

bookwormde

 

[happily single]

GREAT IDEAS! We are headed out tonight to look for gym mats and another air mattress. He has a weighted blanket, which he loved in the hospital but won't use at home I would love to be able to find the waterproof dog beds. Anyway in RI see them lately?

I wouldn't consider surgery to correct his bedwetting just yet. The doc hasn't suggested it and says that his internal plumbing is all normal.

 

[MousekeMommy]

We did vinyl sheets that zipped over the regular mattress (nothing's getting through that) covered by a regular sheet. 3 layers of this!!! The top layer of regular sheet kept him from shredding the vinyl and felt "warm" (we do flannel sheets). When he woke up wet, we stripped the top cloth and the next vinyl layer, which had a cloth then vinyl layer below it. It was common for our child to wet twice in a night, so we had another layer of cloth/vinyl to strip with another layer below. 3 total cloth/vinyl layers--6 layers total. We finally tried an alarm (the clinic recommended it only after age 6), and it finallyworked for our child (he's really good with routines) after 9 months of being extremely consistent with the recommended waking/changing sheets routine (they say it "normally" takes 2-3 months?) It's a lot of work (getting up and making sure he gets up with the alarm enough to change pjs & sheets 1-2 times each night for 9 months), but it eventually worked for us. Well worth the boost in his self-esteem (he was aware of the whole 'bedweeting taboo'--thanks cartoons! Not to mention not washing sheets each morning!!!) I know this system doesn't work for everyone, just wanted to offer another 'option'.
Good luck!
Prayers & Pixie Dust!