Help with Bed-Wetting

Back at one of our yearly check-ups, I can recall the doc saying, “Oh, you don’t need to worry about night-time dryness until 7.”  “Whew!” was my response.  We had plenty of time to get there.  I thought about the potential our family might have to write a post like this, but quickly shrugged it off saying that surely by the time it was necessary to write this post, the problem would be gone and we’d be home free.  Newsflash: We’re not.

In two shorts weeks my oldest, M, will be turning 7.  It is a magical time of boyhood full of imaginary play, toys and legos, increased reason.  I am really enjoying this phase and watching his maturity emerge.  I can’t even begin to describe the elation I feel when I’m able to sit down and have a rational conversation together.  It is one of absolute joy.  It has taken a long road to get here, still with bumps in our path, but many fewer. Thanks be to God.  Despite the increasing maturity, however, my almost-7yo is still wetting the bed.

He still wears Pull-Ups; he still leaks through almost every night; I am still washing sheets A LOT (but probably not as much as I should–I am one woman).  He’s inherited my deep circadian rhythms and sleeps like a champ.  Always has.  The one problem is that his brain hasn’t learned to shut off his plumbing while resting!  And we are all suffering through.  My main worry is he has begun to become self-conscious about the problem and ask us to help him find a solution.  We’ve also had to turn down sleepover invites because he’s embarrassed to be wearing a diaper to bed.  Poor guy!  Thankfully his younger brothers haven’t conquered it yet either, though our 3yo is dry most nights.  Sure enough, J has always been the lightest of our sleepers.

We’ve tried a few things with little to no success–reduction in fluids before bed, sticker charts for dry nights (these do nothing bc he has zero control!), waking him later before we go to bed…

The doctor has talked about putting him on a drying medicine to reduce his overall fluids, which I am adamantly against.  I do NOT want to medicate him unnecessarily, especially if there is a behavioral product that will help us.  We’ve also looked into the night-time alarms, but their sticker price has prevented us from going forward.  I’ve read mixed reviews on their effectiveness, so I’m not sure it’s worth the investment.  The kids who have done well with them seem to improve within days.  Anything that’s that good, I’m almost willing to spend any amount of money!

What to do?  Can anyone offer some wisdom on this front?  Should we go with an alarm and try it out?  And if so, which one do you recommend?