As soon as my mother-in-law is put in bed she starts taking off her pajamas and underwear. Is this common?

Lol, not uncommon. Mine gets up and starts getting dressed again! Or she will try to get ready to "leave" as she needs to "go home and sleep in her own bed." Never mind the fact that they have lived in this house for 12 years now. Either redirect and get the clothes back on, or provide plenty of blankets and a incontinence pad in the bed (if that is an issue) and let her sleep in the nude....

I went through that with my Mom, she got up, stripped, peed on the floor and got back in bed, omg it was awful. I bought unstrippable pj's at buck&buck online, then made my own after that. This is a rough stage to go thru, but you'll make it!

I observed the same behavior in some of my friends as your mother-in-law. I thought it was their habit. My husband sometimes does the same. I know he is either hot or uncomfortable of something. As far as he does not do in public, I usually let him does it. After all, he is a decent man. I remember that some people told me, half year or so before they passed away, that they wanted to call or visit their loved ones (who were already deceased). I had let them talk, and listened. That's all what I could do. Peace.

My mom does just about the same thing at 92. I put her to bed and about an hour later she will have her pajamas off and her pants back on. Last night she got dressed in the middle of the night. I just let her sleep in her pants last night because I was too tired to put her pajamas back on. She also says she needs to go home all the time, even though she has lived with me now for more than a year. So must be a pretty common thing.

dont laugh, but have you asked her if shes too warm? maybe her blanketts make her sweat? or joke with her and tell her 'shes not you type, please dont strip for you?' she could just be playing with you... got to keep your sense of humor..

This is very common of dementia patients. My mother did the same thing for years and years. She even undressed herself..bra and all while we were sitting in the living room watching TV. She FINALLY stopped doing that but it went on for several years. I'd just REdress her and laugh ..to get her to laugh about it. She didn't realize what she was doing. Glad we're done with THAT stage!

The comment by Reverseroles just made me think of this. My mother-in-law, too, was getting up at night on occasion, and taking off her depends or undies, whichever she was in at the time, and peeing on the floor in a nearby spot, I did a few things to try to change this, one being taking her to the toilet as late as possible at night, usually around 11p.m. right before going to bed myself. That was hard because she had become less and less keen on getting out of bed for this. Then I discovered adult diapers by Tranquility, which I purchased through the Alzheimer's Store online. When I called to inquire about them, they sent samples first to make sure that size would be right, that we liked them, etc., before actually purchasing. They even paid the shipping cost, and sent several pairs in a couple different sizes and styles. These were great!!! This source sells in quantity, so they must mostly sell to facilities, but now we have dozens and dozens of the best pants. We particularly like the pull-up ones for overnight. They have not leaked, and they wick urine away amazingly, but have a very nice feel to them, much more pleasant than the store brands we had been using. We have not had a wet bed or night clothes since then, either. Nights have become much more restful for both of us, and I'm sure much more comfortable for her. Just thought I'd pass it along to anyone else who may be going through this, too.

I placed a pottie chair in my mom's room just so I could get some sleep at night. She uses it most of the time, but she does not like it. At first she would pee in it and then kick it over, always denying it, luckily for me I have a great carpet shampooer. She has not knocked it over in a while now, and last night I was talking to her about it, I reached over and jiggled it and said, " they make these so they don't fall over." and she looked at me and said, "I know, I have to kick it pretty hard." Oh mom, sigh.

Variations of this seem to be very common among those with dementia. For the past couple of years, my 92 year old mother-in-law has gotten up and put layers of clothing on, either taking off her nightgown or putting other clothing on over it, saying she has to go to work, or school, or home. "Going home" has been a frequent request of hers for the past few years. She has lived in this house for more than 30 years, but it isn't this home she's talking about. She also talks about her parents being sick and poor and needing her help, or her brother or sister. They have all been gone for many years, but she no longer knows that. She is living in another time and place and there is little that anyone can do, other than to reassure her that she will be with them all again "one of these days". Having to try to provide some comfort for her yearning is probably the hardest thing I've found in being her fulltime caregiver. From what I've read and heard from others, none of this behavior is uncommon.

This is not uncommon at all. My mother has been in Long term care for 4 years now. She will be sitting in the TV room with the others, and all of sudden you turn around she has he top off. Everbody on that ward does it, at one time or another. Even the men do. Part of the disease unfortunatley. They don't strip everyday. It seems they go through cycle of doing it.