Bed wetting on a budget

[plain jane]

I have two bed wetters and a two year old who is not potty trained. Let's just say costs are getting out of hand. The older two (7 & 5) wear pull-ups at night. I also use plastic bed liners under their sheets. My 7yo has finally, in the last couple months, stopped wetting so much that the pull-up leaks and I have to do laundry. The 5yo leaks on average once to twice per week. Both wet the pull-up every single night.

 

We limit drinks at bed time and the hours leading up to it and they are required to use the bathroom immediately before bed. Neither of these have helped. They simply sleep too deep. In fact, both will wet themselves during an afternoon nap, even if they go to the bathroom before going down and they only sleep for an hour. So, on days they nap, we go through 4 pull-ups and a bunch of diapers, for the toddler. The costs for this are crazy. They usually also wet themselves if they fall asleep in the car. We are probably one of the few parents on earth who dread having their young kids fall asleep while on drives because for us it means cleaning out car seats. Yes, we use piddle pads. No, they don't work enough to not have to do the whole car seat.

 

I am working on getting my 2yo potty trained but it is slow going and so far I can only get pee into the potty. It's a start. :)

 

If I let the older two wet the bed they are miserable. They will pee whether in pull-ups or underwear. Dh and I used to take them potty in their sleep but if they weren't already wet by 11pm, they would pee in the toilet and yet still wet the pull-up by morning. It didn't seem to do good either way and sometimes only resulted in waking them up and ruining their sleep.

 

They see a chiropractor regularly and it's not a chiropractic issue. Their medical doctor isn't concerned or wanting to do anything at this point. I'm not really concerned either but I'm wondering if there is a better, less expensive way to deal with this?

 

Neither seem especially bothered that they wear pull-ups at night, but they do get pretty sad if they wake up to wet sheets so I would need a reliable/effective alternative.

 

Is there anything I can do, short of getting a part time job to pay for all this??

 

I've considered putting the toddler in cloth diapers, but I have a front loader and while I have used cloth extensively in the past, I have never had much success getting them clean enough once we switched from a top loading machine.

[Melissa in Australia]

I don't have any advice regarding pull ups. I never used them.

 

 I always took the kids to the toilet at around 11 at night.  and again early in the morning. The idea was to interrupt their sleep, getting them in the habit of waking up to go to the toilet.

 

 

[FriedClams]

I feel your pain. I had one who was like that - she'd fall out of bed and never wake up. I wish I were more helpful, but my kid just had to out grow it. We tried the alarm - she'd sleep through it. We limited drinks - didn't matter.

 

The only thing that did help was a *great* mattress cover, limited bedding, and before my DH and I went to bed we'd pick her up, carry her to the toilet, have her use it, and then carry her back. Most nights this would make sure she didn't have any accidents. In the morning the bed usually had to be stripped and washed. I kept Clorox wipes in her room for a quick sweep of the mattress cover. She did out grow it. Despite knowing it was completely beyond her control, it was exhausting and at times frustrating. Hang in there. You have my sympathy. This too shall pass... :-)

 

ETA - we never used pull ups, so no help there.

[bettyandbob]

How much dairy do they have? I understand bed wetting can be a sign of dairy allergy. Bed wetting was related to some other allergies for ds. Eliminating foods cut down on wetting, but did not eliminate it completely .

[plain jane]

I don't have any advice regarding pull ups. I never used them.

 

I always took the kids to the toilet at around 11 at night. and again early in the morning. The idea was to interrupt their sleep, getting them in the habit of waking up to go to the toilet.

We did this for months and it never helped. Then I read somewhere that it wasn't a good idea.

 

They would pee, I would change their pull-up, and they would be wet again in the morning, so then I was using two pull-ups per night. It didn't seem right to put them back into a wet pull up. We tried taking them earlier and sometimes then they would be dry, but again ,not by morning.

 

Gosh it's expensive. I tried cloth diaper pull-up type pants and they didn't hold enough liquid to keep the sheets dry and the kids didn't like them- too bulky or something. I didn't force them to wear them as I don't want them to have any shame associated with this.

[plain jane]

How much dairy do they have? I understand bed wetting can be a sign of dairy allergy. Bed wetting was related to some other allergies for ds. Eliminating foods cut down on wetting, but did not eliminate it completely .

Absolutely none. We are dairy and gluten free, along with a few other foods. I thought it might be allergy/sensitivity related too but I have seen no difference and it has been well over a year since we have taken dairy and all that out of their diet.

[plain jane]

I feel your pain. I had one who was like that - she'd fall out of bed and never wake up. I wish I were more helpful, but my kid just had to out grow it. We tried the alarm - she'd sleep through it. We limited drinks - didn't matter.

 

The only thing that did help was a *great* mattress cover, limited bedding, and before my DH and I went to bed we'd pick her up, carry her to the toilet, have her use it, and then carry her back. Most nights this would make sure she didn't have any accidents. In the morning the bed usually had to be stripped and washed. I kept Clorox wipes in her room for a quick sweep of the mattress cover. She did out grow it. Despite knowing it was completely beyond her control, it was exhausting and at times frustrating. Hang in there. You have my sympathy. This too shall pass... :-)

 

ETA - we never used pull ups, so no help there.

These kids fall out of bed too and then just spend the night on the wood floor. Or the tile floor at relatives' houses. Sigh. They sleep like the dead, which is nice because we never have to worry about being quiet or even not turning on their bedroom light. Nothing wakes these two kids.

 

We tried going without pull-ups for a bit but they both cried because they would wake up in the morning sopping wet and smelling. :(

[plain jane]

I wonder if it would e cheaper to let them sleep in underwear and do laundry? I suspect not. Maybe I need to set an alarm for myself and take them a few times in the middle of the night? That sound exhausting. Plus my 7yo is 60lb and sleeps on the top bunk- getting him down is no small feat.

 

Man. My older kids never ever wet the bed. For my 7yo, this has been almost 5 years of bed wetting. Ugh.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Don't know if it would be possible for you, but my ds's insurance covers his diapers and bed pads.

 

Prior to insurance, there were plenty of times ds slept without a diaper. He'd need a bath in the morning and I'd wash his blankets. But he was never bothered by it.

 

You could ditch the store pull-ups and get medical. Tranquility was great but mine ended up being allergic to them. DryTimes are working well so far. Just look for pull-ups or even bigger tabbed diapers with higher capacity and high waists (for boys).

 

I used to try and wake my ds for the toilet, but that was a huge fail. He would pee as he was waking. I got peed on too many times.

 

Before his 8th birthday, he averaged 1-2 dry nights per year. Since turning 8, he seems to slowly be having more and more dry nights. He even went a week recently without wetting.

[bettyandbob]

I wonder if it would e cheaper to let them sleep in underwear and do laundry? I suspect not. Maybe I need to set an alarm for myself and take them a few times in the middle of the night? That sound exhausting. Plus my 7yo is 60lb and sleeps on the top bunk- getting him down is no small feat.

 

Man. My older kids never ever wet the bed. For my 7yo, this has been almost 5 years of bed wetting. Ugh.

We never did pull ups. We did laundry daily. From age 7-10, frequency reduced from daily to 3-4 days/ week as we changed diets. Then we learned about chiro and got down to once a week . Then, it just faded over a couple years and stopped sometime between 11and 12. Ds was responsible for stripping his bed and helping with laundry. He was also in a top bunk.

 

I think we never did pull ups because ds didn't start wetting until age 5, he was toilet trained by 3.

 

I've realized ds probably has sleep apnea. His younger brother had really bad apnea and after surgery has mostly stopped wetting . My younger ds has disabilities so i didn't really work at figuring out bedwetting for him. While my oldest ds is often unwakable, I suspect the poor quality of sleep plays a role. Do your kids snore?

[plain jane]

We never did pull ups. We did laundry daily. From age 7-10, frequency reduced from daily to 3-4 days/ week as we changed diets. Then we learned about chiro and got down to once a week . Then, it just faded over a couple years and stopped sometime between 11and 12. Ds was responsible for stripping his bed and helping with laundry. He was also in a top bunk.

 

I think we never did pull ups because ds didn't start wetting until age 5, he was toilet trained by 3.

 

I've realized ds probably has sleep apnea. His younger brother had really bad apnea and after surgery has mostly stopped wetting . My younger ds has disabilities so i didn't really work at figuring out bedwetting for him. While my oldest ds is often unwakable, I suspect the poor quality of sleep plays a role. Do your kids snore?

No snoring at all.

 

When I let them go without pull-ups they wake up soaked- pants, shirt, blanket, sheet, often it has wicked into their pillow case and pillow and their hair from tossing around. They don't wake up a little bit wet- they're sopping!! And miserable. After reading the responses here I feel like I should be able to let them sleep without pull-ups but I don't know how. They're just so gross in the morning.

 

It's not so bad at nap time. It's usually just a bit wet.

[Angie in VA]

Magnesium changed my life. Write me for more info.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Mine is soaking if no pull-up. He has leaked through more than one layer of pads on the bed.

 

Get a $2-$3 waterproof pillowcase cover to protect the pillow.

 

You could also not change them at night. Use a single pull-up per kid to reduce the leaking.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

There are plenty of sleep disorders that do not involve breathing or snoring. There's no way to know if any sleep disorder exists without a sleep study (IOW, severe obstructive sleep apnea can be assumed before a study, but the absence of an "obvious" sleep disorder does not rule this out.)

 

Mine sleeps 11-13 hours per night. If you look in on him, he's sleeping soundly. What you don't see is a handful of sleep disorders disturbing his quality severely. Without a sleep study, he looks like a long and peaceful sleeper.

[plain jane]

There are plenty of sleep disorders that do not involve breathing or snoring. There's no way to know if any sleep disorder exists without a sleep study (IOW, severe obstructive sleep apnea can be assumed before a study, but the absence of an "obvious" sleep disorder does not rule this out.)

 

Mine sleeps 11-13 hours per night. If you look in on him, he's sleeping soundly. What you don't see is a handful of sleep disorders disturbing his quality severely. Without a sleep study, he looks like a long and peaceful sleeper.

Would there be other symptoms? Mine seem and act well rested in the morning. As far as I know, a sleep study will be $200+ right now and I am trying to cut back on spending.

 

I did have one who had tonsils out for sleep issues but that one never wet the bed. And the sleep issues were obvious- waking with dark circles, always tired or low energy. I don't see the same thing in these guys but it could well be I don't know what to look for.

[momofkhm]

When my ds had this issue, I read something about honey being good.  I don't know why though.  

 

We ended up getting an alarm.  It took way longer than they said it would.  He would sleep through it.  I'd say it was weeks before it actually woke him up.  It took long enough that dh and I were both ready to give up.  Then suddenly it turned around and he stopped.  There was at least a year when his underwear would be wet but more like a spot that came through.  Enough to change his clothes, but not his sheets.  Now he's fine.  I don't think he even remembers the alarm nights.

 

 

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Without symptoms I personally wouldn't spend the money for a study.

 

If the only issue is wetting, that *could* be a symptom, but not enough if you're broke, IMO (ds has always had Medicaid).

 

My son's studies started because he is developmentally delayed, hyper, behavior problems, family history of OSA, and had his tonsils and adenoids out (still very hyper with behaviors 6 months after surgery).

 

He's had 3 studies and an overnight EEG. All show "stuff," nothing to really treat. He should have another in a year or so to see if the spontaneous arousals are still decreasing.

[Ravin]

Given the ongoing problem and number of children, I'd switch to cloth night pants.

[fairfarmhand]

I know it upsets them right now to wake up all wet, but it may become the new normal. MAtter of factly they go to the shower, bathe, and then go strip their beds and toss all the stuff into the laundry. I would not make a big deal over it. Yes, they will start out whiny and annoyed, but 30 years ago, this is how it would be handled.  They are not used to waking up wet, so they hate it. I understand that, but they may (depending on how badly you want to stop buying pull ups) just need to deal with it.

[City Mouse]

I have a older bed wetter (but only 1). We also tried just about everything with no success. Now that he is 11, he is down to less than once per week usually but not always.

 

One thing that I found was when the pull up leaked at night it was time for a larger size even if he was not past the suggested weight on the package. I also went to generic Night Pants designed for bedwetters over Pull Ups designed for potty training.

 

A suggestion that I read somewhere was to make the bed in layers so that if they wet at night, you take off the wet stuff and have a dry set underneath. That way you don't have to change everything in the middle of the night.

[RoundAbout]

I would try a bed wetting alarm. With 3 kids in disposables it could pay for itself rather quickly.

[momto10blessings]

One suggestion- when potty training the 2 yr old do not use pull ups at night. My oldest 2 were the only ones peeing in their bed and dr suggested not using pull ups at night when potty training. This way they learn all at once to hold their bladder. Sure 2 yr old will wake up wet several times, but its so worth it not to have to buy pull ups.

[redsquirrel]

I don't really have any ideas aside from using cloth, but I just want to offer my support. They will grow out of it, their bladders just need to grow, but it is very stressful for you.

 

My friend also tried to switch from disposable to cloth and had the same complaints about bulk. However, switching to cloth would cut down on the cost. If they only need diapers at night you would only need a few, if you could wash them every day. 

 

I have a front loader and used cloth and didn't have any problem with the diapers getting clean enough. I thought front loaders had a reputation of not doing well with poopy diapers? I didn't know that pee could also be a problem. I've washed lots of pee pee sheets and clothes and diapers and they always seemed/smelled clean. But it seems that your having a different experience. That sucks!

 

What if you gave them a good rinse before you put the pee pee diapers in the machine, would that help? It just seems that being able to reuse cloth could save you some real cash.

 

[wendy not in HI]

There are some bed wetters who live in this house - we have done pullup$$$ and daily laundry and setting my alarm to get them up every 2 hours through the night, etc.  Getting my son up through the night seemed to cure him of bed wetting when he was 9.  But it did nothing for his older sister who turned 12 this year.

 

Earlier this year I read a couple of articles about constipation and bed wetting:

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2012/03/bed_wetting_the_simple_cause_your_doctor_probably_missed_.html

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120127135757.htm

 

That really made sense to me.  My daughter who wets the bed was terribly constipated as a toddler.  She was difficult to potty train, had accidents for years, and even when not totally wet, she was often damp...  She is older now and she doesn't seem to be constipated, but reading those articles made me wonder.

 

I started Miralax with her in the spring (a capful mixed with water each morning) and it has worked!  She is not 100% dry, but going from 0% dry to 80% dry is amazing!  Yay!  I only feel bad that I didn't know about this earlier.  It is not fun to have to wear pull ups to camp, you know?

 

I know it's not the answer for everyone, but it doesn't hurt to try! 

[Allearia]

Both of mine needed to use the bed wetting alarm. For each it just took a few days. We did it when they were each 8. I was completely amazed each time how quickly it worked.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

As far as cost savings, switch to cloth from pull-ups. The bulkiness is something they'll get used to. You can find quality cloth night time underwear online.

 

 

We woke our bed wetter up at 12am every night for a while, well DH did since he was awake still, to have him go to the bathroom. We limited drinks 2 hours before bedtime.  We kept the waterproof pad on the mattresses long after he quit bedwetting just in case.

 

Some kids just take a long time to quit bed wetting, their bladders aren't fully developed. 

[Moxie]

We used the Wet Stop alarm on our then 8yo. Worked great and he was "cured" within a month.

[Scarlett]

I don't have any advice regarding pull ups. I never used them.

 

I always took the kids to the toilet at around 11 at night. and again early in the morning. The idea was to interrupt their sleep, getting them in the habit of waking up to go to the toilet.

This worked for my ds, now 13, too.....he never had a problem....once he was potty trained he wet the bed maybe 3 times ever...the last time he was on vacation and over tired...he was about 11. Let me say thought that for some kids it just. doesn't. work. My dss12 wet the bed in huge volume every single night. For a few weekends we had him dh woke him up every 2 hours to go to the bathroom. Midnight, 2, 4, and at 6 his bed was soaked. That along with restricting liquids.....nothing works. So we protect the mattress and he does laundry every single morning. Even if he wears a Depends and 2 large pads on the mattress his sheets and blankets and of course his clothes are still wet. It is horrible...I feel so sorry for him.

 

To the OP, your kids are still pretty young.....good chance they will grow out of it soon....in the meantime, have you seen those reusable pads? It really holds a lot...it is kind of a pain to get it to the laundry room with out spilling, but it would save you a bunch of money in the long run. I think they are about $10 each.

[Scarlett]

This site has some great info on bedwetting.....http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/urinary/enuresis.html#

 

As far as my dss12 I am almost positive his is the hormonal issue....I think his body isn't producing enough, if any, of the hormone, ADH, that tells the kidneys to slow down when we sleep.

[Hypatia.]

We could never find cloth overnight pants that would hold anything and had a kid that was leaking through GoodNites and was tired of waking up wet.  We bought a bedwetting alarm (the Malem alarm, I believe).  This kid was a sound sleeper and is one of those that would fall out of bed and not wake up.  It took nearly 12 weeks (and some washable mattress pads that I just put on top of his sheets) and it finally worked.  The alarm was a bit expensive, but it has more than paid for itself with the savings in not buying pull ups.  After he was done, my then-5 year old used it and was dry overnight within a week, and of course the then-3 year old wanted her turn with the alarm and was dry after wearing it for 2 nights.  I now have it up in the closet to use with the younger two when the time comes.  

[fraidycat]

http://www.amazon.com/Priva-Ultra-Waterproof-Sheet-Protector/dp/B000FOA7C2/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_text_z

 

Lifesavers. Seriously. I had 4, but am down to 2 now-forgot one in a hotel and left the other with my family for when we visit. We've been using them since 2009, according to Amazon. They still work great, have not even started to wear out at all. I think they may be indestructible because they have been through the laundry more times than I care to count. Pretty much daily.

 

ETA, they hold a LOT of liquid, and it absorbs. We've never had a drip or puddly moment with them.

[KungFuPanda]

It seems like it would be cheaper to wash sheets daily and move baths to morning. You may be keeping them so comfortable that they have no physical incentives to become aware of when they are wetting the bed. They're old enough to strip beds and load wet things into the washing machine. They can learn to remake them too. It doesn't have to be a shame thing, just a matter-of-fact chore that they do until the need goes away. You may need to get some of those rubber-covered mattresses like summer camps use and unstack the bunk beds for a while.

[Kipling]

With my oldest, we used this bed wetting alarm

http://www.sleepdryalarm.com/

Best $60 we ever spent.  She was 6 and wetting consistently.  She would go to the bathroom before bed, we would wake her up and take her before we went to bed, and she would still wet the bed before morning.  We bought this alarm, and it snaps to the child's underpants (we had her wear two pairs of underpants so it didn't rub against her skin). It sounds an alarm the second it feels moisture;  it trains the child to wake up when he/she is peeing.  In less than a week, dd was waking up on her own in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  She continued to wear the alarm for a couple of months to prevent regression, and it worked.  We used it with my middle child as well.  He was younger, but we wanted to get him out of nighttime pullups.  It worked great. 

[athomeontheprairie]

We are in the same boat OP! I'm so sorry, it's frustrating isn't it? My doctor isn't worried about it either. One thing she has mentioned us genetics. My DH was 11, and I was older. (if it isn't TMI, I don't believe I've EVER woken up to use the bathroom. I just grew enough to hold it).

I hope you find relief soon and something that could help. I'll be looking into done of these things...

[twoxcell]

I wish I had advice but it just seems like something they have to outgrow most of the time. My oldest ds wet the bed regularly until he was 8 and then it finally slowed down and stopped all together. Luckily he has been my only bedwetter.

[Susan in KY]

....

 

Is there anything I can do, short of getting a part time job to pay for all this??

....

 

Yes. Purchase a fish tank over-flow alarm. Cut down the wire. Attach to a snap in the underwear at the point of wetting. Make a pouch for the alarm to fit around the child's waist. Sleep on floor in child's room. As soon as the alarm goes off, spring up and make sure the child fully wakes up. Usher him to the bathroom. Do this every time for 2 or 3 nights until he or she is no longer sleeping through the potty cues.

 

Most other alarms don't work because the urine has to soak through several layers of clothing. The trick is to wake the child up as soon as the alarm goes off so that he or she can begin to wake him or herself up. It worked in one night for my bedwetter. Others I have heard take up to 3 nights. 

[Melissa in Australia]

I know it upsets them right now to wake up all wet, but it may become the new normal. MAtter of factly they go to the shower, bathe, and then go strip their beds and toss all the stuff into the laundry. I would not make a big deal over it. Yes, they will start out whiny and annoyed, but 30 years ago, this is how it would be handled.  They are not used to waking up wet, so they hate it. I understand that, but they may (depending on how badly you want to stop buying pull ups) just need to deal with it.

:iagree:

 and in reality why wake up and go to the toilet if you don't get discomfort if you don't.

[Guest LakeKit]

Have you tried diaper "booster pads" sold in Toys R Us stores?  With our oldest son I put it in his pull-up just before he pulls it on.  It works great and is inexpensive. 

 

Someone mentioned medical diapers.  We use these for our younger son who has physical special needs (this is what we use http://bit.ly/1dizB8E ).  These work great, but the problem is these look like diapers which most kids will take issue with.

[Pretty in Pink]

The other bedwetting post showed that a good percentage of children are still wetting the bed beyond age 5.

 

My advice is to figure out how to make cloth diapers work for the little one so that you can continue to use pull-ups on the older kids. Cloth diapering a 5 or 7 year old seems humiliating. I know it would make my boys feel embarrassed.

 

If you are paying for electricity then I can't imagine it's that much cheaper to wash the linens everyday than it is to buy pull ups. I have a 5 and 7 yo in pull ups as well and it runs us probably $60/month in supplies, but that's because I also buy the disposable absorbent mats to go over their sheets so that I don't have to wash them all the time.

 

 

[Ameena]

I deal with this with my 7yo dd as well, and we are on a very tight budget. DD struggles with anxiety - she does okay using the potty at home during the day, but at night or when not at home she refuses most of the time.

 

I buy her pullups at thrift shops - I can normally buy the medical ones that someone else has donated for about $4 a pack here, sometimes as low as $1 a pack if I catch a sale. It's a big help on the budget.

 

I also second the idea of seeing if your insurance will pay for them - I need to do that myself.

[abacus2]

I don't know about insurance paying for them, but if you have access to an FSA or HSA, you can use those accounts to pay for Goodnights/Underjams/bedwetting pants.

[kiwik]

Washing and drying the whole bed every day is not cheaper in my experience and is really hard work. If you can have their bowels checked - ds6 has more leakage when his encropesis is bad. Get hospital/retirement home bed pads if you can they are much better than the cheap one. Make sure your bedding is easily washable. I have seen a lot of experts with ds6 and the only thing they agreed on is you shouldn't wake your kids to take them to the toilet. The argument really wasn't convincing but that may be because I asked the wrong health professional for information (she wasn't very nice).

[Scarlett]

I wish it was a choice between depends and washing the bedding every day. The only thing depends does is cut down on just how soaked he is in the morning. He still has to wash all bedding....sheets and blankets...every day.

[Wildcat]

One suggestion- when potty training the 2 yr old do not use pull ups at night. My oldest 2 were the only ones peeing in their bed and dr suggested not using pull ups at night when potty training. This way they learn all at once to hold their bladder. Sure 2 yr old will wake up wet several times, but its so worth it not to have to buy pull ups.

 

This. Looking back, I would bet lots of money that my child's problem was BECAUSE of the pull ups.

[Allearia]

Yes. Purchase a fish tank over-flow alarm. Cut down the wire. Attach to a snap in the underwear at the point of wetting. Make a pouch for the alarm to fit around the child's waist. Sleep on floor in child's room. As soon as the alarm goes off, spring up and make sure the child fully wakes up. Usher him to the bathroom. Do this every time for 2 or 3 nights until he or she is no longer sleeping through the potty cues.

 

Most other alarms don't work because the urine has to soak through several layers of clothing. The trick is to wake the child up as soon as the alarm goes off so that he or she can begin to wake him or herself up. It worked in one night for my bedwetter. Others I have heard take up to 3 nights.

I just want to say that this is not always necessary. I put off using the alarm too long because I dreaded waking up all the time. My boys each did this at 8 and I was surprised each time that they took care of it themselves. We used an underwear alarm that went off pretty much as soon as it got wet. My younger it took a bit longer, and I should have helped a bit more making sure the alarm was set properly before bed every night but he is the one who wants to do everything independently and is very self sufficient so it worked out fine in the end. I just really encourage trying the alarm as one of the first steps, and if it doesn't work go on to a lot of these other recommendations. My boys were very wet every night and now i cant remember when they last had an accident. We have saved so much not buying pull ups and doing laundry!

 

This is the alarm we used, although a much older model with a basic alarm tone and one wireless receiver:

 

http://bedwettingstore.com/rodger-wireless-bedwetting-alarm.html

[SMRB]

I second the advice to consider constipation. We were in the same boat as you, with my son flooding out of his Goodnites and soaking the bed every single night no matter what we did. Waking him up, stopping liquids at 3pm, nothing helped.The pediatrician said we had to wait it out, but DS was unhappy and smelly every morning. We found the info on constipation here and insisted on an x-ray even though he had a normal BM every day. Bingo - he was completely backed up. We took him to a GI and did a complete cleanout and then daily Miralax and also took him off of dairy. He improved, but at the next visit she said he was still backed up. We did another cleanout, but he still kept backing up (all the while still having normal daily BM's). We ended up having to take him off of gluten and add magnesium as well. After that, the results at the GI visits were much better, and so was the bedwetting. We finally added an alarm, which has been amazing. It goes off at the first drop and DS runs to the bathroom. Most nights, he gets up on his own without it even going off. He's had it for 3 months now, and I'd say it goes off once or maybe twice a week, but he hasn't soaked through or even really wet his underwear for months.

 

What happens is that their colon gets backed up and stretches out. All will appear well, but the stretching puts pressure on the bladder, making it impossible for the child to hold any amount overnight. So now DS is GFCF and takes Miralax, magnesium, and extra fiber every day, but his colon is shrinking back to size and he's dry almost every night.

 

It might not be the answer for you, but I totally understand the desperation, so it might be worth considering.