This is one of those posts I am going to preface with...I promise not to judge you if you don't judge me!
My five year old son still wets his bed...there I said it...I was VERY embarassed about this fact until I talked to a couple of other moms within the last couple of days who said their daughters still wet their beds.
So, I go to get my son out of bed this morning and he is soaked! Yes, soaked and he is wearing a Pull Up. Yes...a Pull Up. Why does he need a Pull Up and why am I embarassed to send him on sleepovers? Why, when I am hearing more and more from other people that their child wets the bed as well.
Now, why would I tell you not to judge me? Because I blame myself! Yup...you read right...myself! No, not because I feel mommy guilt or take my children's problems and make them my own, but because it really is my fault. When we were potty training my son, who I will call Luigi (after his favorite character), I was pregnant. After getting up two to three times in the middle of the night to a boy screaming because he was soaking wet and uncomfortable, I thought...that's enough! I'm sick of waking up in the middle of the night. I'm sick of washing and rewashing his sheets about 10 times in a week. I need my rest...I have a baby growing inside of me and I'll be no good with no sleep and no patience in the morning. So, I cut corners. My husband and I talked it over and decided, let's have him wear a Pull Up...he'll eventually grow out of it and it will be fine...
Well, let's face it...three years later and he's still wetting the bed...obviously, one of those last steps didn't work. So, I asked the doctor at one of our last appointments. He was so sweet (he's retiring in the summer and I couldn't be more disappointed!) and so...honest! He said, "You are going to have to repotty train him at night. By putting that Pull-Up on him every night, YOU told him it was okay for him to continue to wet the bed." My eyes welled up and I felt instant guilt for my son's embarassment. But, in reality, I shouldn't call it his embarassment because he doesn't think anything of it, really. We don't treat it like a big deal...because it's not. It's a fact of life...it happens. We all have accidents in our lives (after having four kids, let me be honest and say I don't know what bladder control feels like anymore!). I know that there could be some serious underlying medical conditions causing him to wet his bed and we will consider those options after we try the obvious solution...trying to naturally potty train him at night. One such condition that I worry about, but he shows no other symptoms of, is diabetes (it runs in my family). But, we will take this one step at a time for now.
Whew! I feel better now...a huge weight lifted off my chest. Thanks for reading and not judging me. We all make mistakes as parents. What I am hoping to accomplish with sharing my stories with you is a sense of unity. A sense of togetherness and a feeling that we aren't alone with our crazy mommy stories. Feel free to comment below and tell me some of your "Mama Confessions." Don't be harsh and, please, I ask that you not judge (as hard as that may be). That's not what this is about. I want people to share, openly and honestly, without worrying about backlash. No one is perfect.
Admitting our mistakes is what, I believe, separates the "goods" from the "greats."
"There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one." ~Jill Churchill
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