Keeping bed dry

BA writes that her 5 year old is dry at night about half the time. She wears disposable pants to bed so mom doesn't have to do as much laundry. Some of the time, her pants are dry and sometimes they are wet. Disposables are very costly and mom wonders is there are other options to help her daughter during this stage where she is learning to stay dry at night.

Many families struggle with knowing when to discontinue disposables without having a large increase in the daily laundry. Washable waterproof mattress overlays are a great product for this. Overlays are reusable, waterproof absorbent pads that lie on top of the sheet. When wetting occurs, It's easy to remove the pad and replace it with a clean one. Since the overlays have a soft, quilted top layer, kids find them very comfortable to sleep on. The overlays with the tuck in sides are the ones I recommend. The extra length of cloth on each side of the pad enables it to be tucked between the mattresses, securing it in place for the entire night.

This is a good time to transition from wearing disposables every night. Not only will you save money, but your daughter will begin to sense what wetness feels like and may begin to experience more dry nights. If she does have a wet night, all you have to wash is the overlay. Overlays are nice for travel, too. They can be used in hotels for extra protection or inside sleeping bags for kids who are dry most nights but want extra assurance. Overlays are available in several sizes; to fit twin, full or queen sized beds.