waterproof options for the top bunk aka giving up night time nappies (advice, please)

[Convex]

hi all

son has announced he will no longer be wearing pull ups at night. this is fine, except he sleeps on the top bunk and its incredibly hard to change sheets esp as i am quite pregnant atm.

any top tips? I'm thinking of a pad which doesn't have to be tucked all the way around which i can buy 2 or 3 of, and make up the bed in layers so i can just strip a wet layer off leaving the dry underneath (does this make sense)

do i need a duvet protector?

any advice welcome.

[goldilocks]

I haven't done it with a bunk, but this is what worked for us:

1. I didn't let him have no pull ups until he had been dry for 10 nights in a row (know some people won't agree with this as you should seize the day re their interest, but I had no appetite for loads of washing plus they get really tired if you have to keep changing their beds in the night).

2. Waterproof mattress protectors (the ikea ones are nice and not rustley x2 and making up the bed 'twice' (ie mattress protector, sheet, mattress protector, sheet) so that if they do wet then you can just whip off the top layer and theres a ready made bed underneath. Not sure how easy this would be on a top bunk, but we found it easiest if we both went in so that one of us could change pjs whilst the other sorted the bed, so perhaps you could do the PJs part?

3. Boys will wee all over the duvet I'm afraid. I just had a spare one with a cover readily on it so could swap when required and stuck the other in the washing machine

He only wet the bed maybe 4 times in total but it made the process much smoother.

The other thing is to sit them on the loo when they do wet as sometimes they have started to wee and woken up and then stopped, so its worth checking they aren't about to wee again!

[Convex]

thank you this is really valuable and things i would not have thought of!

[Crokes]

Just a quick tip - asda do some own brand disposable waterproof mats which have no adhesive on the back (making them very easy to put on/off in the middle of the night, especially useful for a top bunk).

[Specklemum]

We found the waterproof mats a bit of a Godsend after a few nights of (painful!) sheet changing. I got 3 washable ones from Amazon. We did use fitted mattress protectors too, but the mats did the job. Easy to replace in the middle of the night, and if you pop in the wash in the morning are dry in time for bed again.

[goldilocks]

With the waterproof mats I think it probably works best if a) the ones you buy are pretty large and cover most of the bed and b) your child doesn't move around so much in the night. Our eldest never ends up sleeping with his head anywhere near the pillow so when we tried the mats he'd just scooted straight off them and wee'd on the non protected part (thankfully also had a waterproof mattress protector underneath)!

[edanna]

We've got two of these in the cot bed size https://www.hippychick.com/products/waterproof-mattress-protector-flat-tencel?v=204&gclid=CjwKEAiA3NTFBRDKheuO6IG43VQSJAA74F77rTrWh1eGsCDqniHWTuk59PWWFF082oXqMxtGelw2HhoCCD_w_wcB They are waterproof but don't feel plasticky so they can go on top of your usual sheets. In that size they cover a big area of a single mattress without being tucked in, so you can just whip one off and swap for the other one.

[Convex]

thanks everyone. much appreciated.

[esme]

I'd move him to a low bed (even a z-bed or something like that) and also try Brolly Sheets which are great if a bit pricey. Good luck!

[Convex]

we got some mats from amazon and thats been really good. only had a few mishaps and overall seems to be getting on ok so i guess he really is ready!