A pee what?
By Heather Ledeboer | Category: Family Focus, The Journey of Motherhood
I have officially had it with wet nights. Every morning Quinten wakes up with a ripe poopy diaper (and usually clothes). Oh well, he’s only one, what can I expect? BUT his older siblings. . . well lets just say (hypothetically of course cause that wouldn’t be fair to have this on their public permanent record) that they are creating extra laundry for me each morning too.
I thought I had heard of every potty training aid out there but I couldn’t have been more wrong. No one had ever breathed a single word to be about the . . . “pee alarm.”
What?! You haven’t heard of it either? Well oh uninformed one, let me enlighten you!
The pee alarm (see photo above–oh and also note Ashlyn’s adorable collection of “retired” WubbaNubs which have had ’surgery’ to remove their Soothie pacifier) is a device that is affixed to your child’s clothing. The red squarish portion has a large diaper pin on the back which allows you to attach it to their shirt. The other end is a small clip that you clamp onto the front of their panties (or underwear). These two parts are connected by a cord that is long enough to allow the panties to be pulled down to go potty but still remain attached however, they can be detached in the case of an “accident” (which I will discuss below).
The point of the alarm is to wake up your child as soon as they begin to go the bathroom helping their brain to begin to retrain itself to recognize the feeling of needing to go the bathroom with the need to wake up. Once the alarm signals the child is then led (not carried) to the bathroom by the lucky parent who is “on shift” that night (we take turns in our home) and given the chance to finish what they started in the toilet. After this, the clip end of the alarm is rinsed out under water and fully dried.
Then comes the laundry–new panties, new pajamas and new bedding, re-affix the alarm and then back to bed! The tub has become our “pee” hamper holding all the night time soils and awaiting the morning trip to the washing machine.
After a few nights I got smart and realized that we should forgo the “modern bedding” and simply use towels for the time being. (By the way, do you like my $3 bed canopy yard sale find?)
Our pee alarm journey began just over a week ago. I am told that it can take several weeks to fully retrain the brain to wake up on its own when it is time to go potty. I am cautiously optimistic because the last two nights Ashlyn woke up dry, but we are holding out for a longer track record before she officially graduates from the alarm (it can’t be that easy, nothing ever is). The wonderful friends that are loaning us this pee alarm have boasted of its success for several families that have used it. We can’t wait to add our names to the list and begin the process again with child #2. I will be sure to share with you when we reach that milestone so that the celebration can be shared on a wider scale.
Oh, I almost forgot. In case some of you are crazy enough curious enough to want to consider this alarm for your child, you can find this bedwetting alarm here on Amazon. It isn’t cheep but neither are diapers and for moms who have HAD ENOUGH it just might be worth the try 
! I noticed the Amazon reviews are pretty glowing and if it was only mom invented I would likely carry it on Mom 4 Life 
!
Do tell: Have any of you used a bed-wetting alarm? Had you even heard of one (maybe you all have and I was just somehow in the dark)? Anyone else struggling with getting your older child(ren) to stay dry though the night?
Heather, I love the pictures. That’s just too funny. I’m crossing my fingers that is works for you. It sure made our lives easier.
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Well, I have a little to say about the pee alarm,lol. My husband told me that his mom used one for him. He was very late with being dry at night. The thing is, he still remembers that, and it’s kind of humiliating for him.
My kids are 3 and 5 and also still giving me ‘laundry issues’. I am not worried. I won’t push them. In fact, I have spoken to many people, doctors included, who say don’t push it. It is a natural process and involves a certain hormone being released in the brain. You cannot push it to happen. It will only humiliate your older child, and I really don’t want my kids feeling ashamed.
Anyway, my kids both have dry nights here and there. My 5 year old has dry nights the majority of the time. It’s just going to be a matter of waiting until he can do it.
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Heather Ledeboer Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
@Stacey, Thanks for your feedback. Did the alarm work for your husband? I can see that it might be humiliating for some kids but my thought is that my seven year old son is has the same chance of humiliation when he has sleep overs and still needs to wear a diaper. My thought with that is that because we are not forcing this on them, (they were excited to do it and looking forward it it), I feel differently (not like we are pushing it on them). I really agree with not wanting to rush things or push things (my son was 5 before he was potty trained). However at the same time, if they are ready to be done and I am ready to be done and there is something that might help with that, I am happy to give it a go:).
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Stacey Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
@Heather Ledeboer,
I’m not sure if the alarm worked or not. All of his siblings had the same issues, and I *think* that they finally grew out of it around 7 or 8 years old. Something like that anyway. I realize that sleepovers could be a challenge. I’m pretty sure my husband and his sisters never went on sleepovers with friends til they were much older
They are all super shy.
I think that if they are excited about it, then totally go for it! My husband remembers it being something his mom made him do, so it didn’t go over so well.
I really hope that you can find something that works for all of you! I know the frustration of wet beds every morning, and it’s not fun.
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Heather Ledeboer Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
@Stacey, I was doing some reading last night and a lot of sources were saying that they think that bed wetting at older ages is often hereditary (which sounds like it may be the case with your husband’s family).
I can totally see that if he was forced to do it, it wouldn’t go over very well. Aside from what could be humiliating, what child wants to be woken up by an alarm at night in addition to a wet bed unless they are really ready to do it?
My children go to bed about 3-4 hours before I go to bed. My children who have problems staying dry I get out of bed right before I go to bed, carry to the potty, and make them go in their sleep or half asleep. Has always worked for me.
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Heather Ledeboer Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
@Sarah-Kate*, Thanks for your comments. I have been doing this with my older child (while my middle child is using the pee alarm) and it often does help with dry nights. The problem is that some nights he has already gone potty by the time I take him. So although it helps keep the bed dry (no overflowed diaper), it is hard to “catch” it before it happens. That is what I like about the alarm is that I think it has a good chance of teaching them to wake up on their own. One thing I hadn’t been doing previously is making my kids get up and walk to the bathroom on their own to go potty at night (this is part of the instructions with the pee alarm). I am interested to know if this method is working for your kids to help them to learn to get up on their own or just helping with the laundry (which that alone is a helpful thing!)?
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Sarah-Kate* Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
@Heather Ledeboer,
Well, I make my older kids walk themselves. I had my little 2-year old girl in mind when writing. Yes, it’s taught them to go or just hold it.
Oh, and for those who have real difficulty– NOTHING to drink after dinner AT ALL! (Until they learn how to not wet the bed.)
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I’ve never heard of it! I have wondered before if such a thing exists or something similar or if I need to take out stock in mattress covers! Our 5 year old has a good internal alarm and only ever has slightly damp undies. It always wakes her up though and she finishes the job on the potty and gets fresh undies. Our 4 year old is getting much better but she sleeps like a rock and will sleep the whole night soaked without realizing it. That’s a fun smell in the morning. Our 3 year old has only woken up dry a handful of times and for that reason still wears a pull up. I’m to chicken to part with them yet and deal with all the laundry. And especially since our top bunk recently met with a sad end they sleep on the guest bed that doesn’t belong to us. I can’t stand thinking about ruining another mattress especially one thats not ours. This is getting ridiculously long and boring now. But one more thing. Where did you get Ashlyn’s bed? I love it!
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Heather Ledeboer Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
@Mandy, What is a bummer is that i found that once my son got older (he is now 7) the diapers he wears at night no longer hold all his pee so every night he was walking up with a wet bed (and clothes)–not a nice smell as you said;). While Ashlyn has been using the alarm, I have been getting him up at night before I go to bed to let him go potty and this has helped with the overflow issue but I don’t think it is helping him learn to get up on his own but perhaps it is too early to tell.
We got Ashlyn’s bed at IKEA about 3 years ago. They don’t have the exact same bed anymore but they do have this one http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S39847516 that extends as they grow (which Ashlyn’s does too). We really have been pleased with it.
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Mandy Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
@Heather Ledeboer, I thought it might be IKEA. Man I love that place. We’re going to Seattle in Dec to visit a Picasso exhibit and I’m trying to figure out how to convince my husband that I NEED to go to IKEA too! Thanks for the link. Ashlyn’s bed looks like it has a mattress that comes up on the ends kinda like bumpers, is that true? Is that a special mattress or did the bed come that way? Or is it not that way at all and my eyes are playing tricks on me? It looks sooo cozy. Thanks again!
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Heather Ledeboer Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
@Mandy, I love IKEA. We used to live really close to one but we don’t anymore. When we went to Seattle we spent almost a whole day there once;)!
You are right about the mattress, it curves up on both ends and each end can be lowered flat as they grow which I love. The mattress came with the bed. Maybe try doing a Craig’s List search for IKEA bed in your area and perhaps you will get lucky and find someone selling a used one?
Mandy Reply:
September 30th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
Heather, thanks again for the bed info. I’m gonna check around for sure since our top bunk just broke and we need an extra bed. Sorry my messages got so far off topic!
and yes, I can definitely spend a whole day at IKEA ( if I had my way)! 
mom4life Reply:
October 1st, 2010 at 4:56 pm
@Mandy, “off topic” is almost never a problem:). Good luck on your search!
Hi, we were actually referred to the “pee alarm” by my son’s pediatrician! My son was still wetting the bed every night at the age of 8. The alarm worked GREAT!!! It took a couple of weeks but it was the only thing that worked for us! In fact we actually had to pull it out again a couple of weeks ago for my son again (now 10). He must of had a growth spurt and was having bed wetting again. One week and he is right back on track! I hope this pee alarm works as well for you as it did for us!!!
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Heather Ledeboer Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
@Kelly, that is so great to hear, thanks for sharing your success (very encouraging)!
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[...] a little less than a month ago Ashlyn began the “pee alarm” adventure with the goal of training her brain to wake up her body during the night BEFORE having an accident [...]
Thank you for being open about this! It is so encouraging. I’m so tired of mothers kindly telling us the [obvious] things that worked for them or that we just need to wait, and I feel as though they assume we are imbeciles. We do all of the extremes for my almost 6yo son (oldest of three). He sleeps in the largest nighttime pull-up made. He has no daytime trouble but sleeps HARD. We even need a pull-up on him if we fear a drive is long enough he will fall asleep in the van. We limit all drink after LUNCH, allowing only some water with supper. He pees before and after getting ready for bed. We pull him up around 10pm and often have to change his pull-up already at that point, he pees again while up, and then many mornings he still comes walking out at 7AM soaking wet out of the pull-up. And even if not- the pull-up is ALWAYS full. He has had two dry pull-ups in the last 12 months. I remember them. He shares a room with his 4yo sister who has no such problems. He is mortified. He’s starting to be invited to overnights with friends this Spring and does not want them to see he’s in pull-ups. AND *I* know if the parent doesn’t limit his drink or help him pee at 10pm, she will likely be washing her sheets in spite of his pull-up, which makes ME as nervous as my son! I mentioned the pee alarm idea and he is interested. Maybe late summer when he gets his own bedroom, if there are still no dry nights, we’ll consider this. I had read about it in Waking Up Dry which is a very helpful book The doctors offer helpful suggestions and do support the pee alarm idea, explaining why the child has this trouble and how and why the alarm works. He shows no signs of improvement so I see this in our future, far if not near. I will share your story with him.
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Heather L (Mom 4 Life) Reply:
March 31st, 2011 at 11:56 pm
@Brenden, I feel so much for you! I really remember the frustration of the wet nights and am SO, SO, SO thankful they are behind us. I HIGHLY recommend trying the pee alarm if/when you are both ready. Hopefully you will find it to be a success for you guys as it was for us!
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