Well, there’s good news and bad news as it pertains to Night Two of our on-going experiment with bedwetting alarms.
The good news is that we are on night two of NO WET BED. I’m pretty sure this is an all-time record for efficacy of the product! Our six year old guinea pig is excited, very, very proud and pretty sure he no longer needs the alarm. He is very motivated by the “gold stars” he gets for dry nights. Two nights = two gold stars. We post the chart on the refrigerator so the whole family can share in his joy.
The bad news? I’m not so convinced this is a miracle cure yet. He’s still sick. Last night was not fun. He has an ear infection and spent half the night crying in pain. It’s pretty easy to stay dry when you can’t sleep in the first place! So when things level out with this yucky virus, we should see some more realistic results. I don’t expect 100% gold stars, for sure. We are definitely not putting the alarm away yet!
But back to the good news. The evening of night two was spent away from home visiting his biological mother so we couldn’t practice the “no liquids before bed” portion of the experiment. Throwing all caution to the wind, my husband also supplied a water bottle for comfort through the night. So, even with random sips and no abstinence before bed, he still stayed dry. Of course the bed did not stay dry as the water bottle, of course, leaked!!
The best news is that he actually only had two trips to the bathroom – one a few hours after bed and one at midnight. So he managed to stay dry – and mostly asleep – from midnight until 7am. 7 hours of dry sleep is, by far, an all time record for this guy!
So, overall, it is just too soon to even make a prediction. I’m feeling really good about the psychological boost the alarm has given but worry that after the first alarm rings, all bets will be off. I also worry that the sticker system, although currently exciting, will get old pretty fast as similar incentives have in the past. So time will tell.
In the meantime, Bedwetting Alarm 2: Wet Sheets 0!