Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Potty Train

Cloth diapers scare me. The thought of having to throw poo stained fabric in my washing machine just grosses me out. So do cloth wipes. I was thisclose to using both on my son when he was born, but I chickened out at the last minute. I swallowed my guilt and gladly accepted box upon box of Huggies and Pampers from well meaning friends and relatives.

My boy is two now and after the new year, I will begin potty training and will be, at long last, free of disposable diapers. Pray for me. My daughter's potty training experience was as smooth a transition as I could have hoped. Ever the sticker lover, a quickly drawn potty chart and a fresh sheet of pony stickers and she would pee every ten minutes if I let her. Two stickers for number two. But I have a sneaking suspicion my son will not be cooperative as my eager to please little girl. He's....independent to say the least.

An example of the aforementioned "independent attitude"
As of right now, he has ZERO interest in the potty. None. He will sit in poopy diaper until it crusts on his little bum if we let him and screams bloody murder if we insist he be changed. We tried to start sitting him on the potty before bath just to get a feel for things, but that ended with a hysterical naked toddler running down the hall and diving behind the couch. I know potty training is not something to be pushed upon a child, but being the planner that I am, I have been researching "green" potty training and am both excited and nervous about what I see.

He prefers naked.
 Green potty training centers around cloth training pants. I used Pull-Ups on my daughter but quickly abandoned them for daytime use. They were just as absorbent as diapers and if little K was playing and didn't want to take a potty break, she'd do her business then and there. When I would go to collect her for whatever reason, I'd find her in a squishy Pull-Up and sigh over my missed training opportunity. She wouldn't even know she was wet! Cloth trainers are different. Peeing in a cloth trainers FEELS like you are wetting yourself. Cloth trainers  look and feel like regular toddler skivvies but have an absorbent core, usually made by layering three to five layers of organic cotton together. Your child will feel wet and uncomfortable and hopefully, start heading for the potty.

For my stubborn little prince, I think these are a go. I'm still skeeved out that his pee won't be magically absorbed and that should we have an accident of a...stinkier kind...I cannot simply bundle the thing up and toss it. That may still happen. I'm not making any promises. Maybe between cloth trainers, Thomas the Tank Engine stickers and extra applause for doing the deed, my little man will be on his way to big boy-hood in no time! Check out these cute trainers I found on Etsy. They're called Super Skivvies. Though underwear look pretty easy to sew, this is NOT a project I'd like to take on myself. Super Skivvies are patent pending. I think they know what they're doing! A little online shopping is in order....

My favorite print in the shop: "Bacon and Eggs"
 
We'll keep you posted. All aboard the potty train!!

5 comments:

  1. I had/have a no pull up during the day policy! I feel that they are just a fancy word for a diaper. Something for the diaper companies to squeeze more money out of us parents! I used the training underwear with Leila and now Max. I love them! Like you said they are thicker through the middle, but feel exactly like underwear. I bought mine at Target, not organic but super cool just the same! Good luck!

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  2. Cloth Diapering newborns is great, it's just yogurt in your washer!!!

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  3. I had three boys. My trick was to buy real undies just like dad's. If they could keep their trainers dry, they got to wear big boy undies. Accidents took them back to trainers.

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  4. Thank you so much for mentioning Super Skivvies in your post! Please let me know if you (or anyone reading) have any questions. I am more than happy to help!

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  5. Sounds like you've got quite an adventure ahead of you! We've been using cloth diapers with our daughter since she was 2 weeks old and it's worked really well for us. Honestly, I figured I could deal with the wet and poopy messes but didn't think my husband would handle it as well. We were both pleasantly surprised at how no-big-deal it was. Yeah, it's not like smelling the roses and laundry happens often, but it's been worthwhile for us. Keep your chin up -- I'd love to hear how it's going for you!

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