Cloth diapering a toddler is challenging enough said right? If your child runs, jumps, speaks in multi-word phrases, they are probably considered a toddler. Toddlers can be challenging and difficult to manage at times. Currently, my son is 2 years old (26 months to be exact) and potty training is in our future. We use a variety of cloth diaper brands and styles like bumGenius, BabyKicks, Flip, Happy Heinys, Fuzzibunz, and Work at Home Mom (WAHM) diapers.All of these brands are excellent for cloth diapering babies and toddlers, but soon we will begin to try out the new Flip trainers when they are released. In the meantime, he is potty training half-heartedly by wearing pockets, Flips, and occasionally “big boy underwear.” One of our biggest tribulations in potty training is the fact that techniques are inconsistent. What do I mean by that? Well, he is passed between so many hands in a day’s time- my husband, preschool teachers and aides, me and the occasional grandparent. Therefore, no one participates the same and no one actively engages him in learning to potty consistently. This is our biggest dilemma yet!!
Some may find this outrageous but our son has been pooping in the potty since he was 10 months old. Yes, 10 months! He doesn’t always “tell us” he has to poop, but yet he began by us catching him mid-action. I distinctly remember his first time- it was unexpected by all means. He was in the bath tub playing and I was beside the tub, he began to make the “I am about to poop face.” We as parents know this face…the freeze and blank stare while beginning to strain. I quickly snatched him up out of the tub, and tossed him on the potty. He went then and there! What an accomplishment at an early age. I have heard from all of my mommy friends pooping in the potty is the hardest part of training. I thought the cat was in the bag. Following that event, he pooped when catching him daily. Well, over a year has gone by now and he does really well telling us he has to poop in the potty, but usually mid-poop. So we have half poop-in-potty, and half poop-in-diaper. This is better than refusal to poop in the potty in my opinion. Our biggest trouble in this process is peeing in the potty. He very rarely tells us he has to pee; just taking the lazy (aka male) way out and choosing convenience rather than what’s best.
Using cloth diapers while potty training is great because there are so many options to help him “feel the wetness” with organic cotton, and such. I am not sure that he yet understands it is bad to be wet or uncomfortable, but we will get there with time. In my opinion, it isn’t easy but not pushing him into potty training is more helpful because it decreases the amount of resistance he may meet us with. We just continue to try and ask, but not force him until he is ready. However, he has begun to wake from 10-12 hours of sleep with a dry or almost dry diaper, so soon he may begin pottying more frequently. I am sure that with consistency between caretakers, success is possible.
By Tabby - mommy to Jackson, a vibrant and wonderful 2 year old boy
4 comments:
I could almost write this exact post about my daughter. She's 22.5 months and has been going poop on the potty since 10 months, pretty much the same exact way your son does! Sometimes she would sign poop, or tell us verbally but 90% of the time we'd just catch her in the act. ;]
Our daughter poopy-trained really early as well. And our son, at 20 months is essentially potty-trained (all initiated by him and then encouraged by us, we didn't want to push him but he was just ready) and often is almost dry in the mornings. We cloth-diapered and are in cloth trainers now. Actually using Seventh Gen disposables or Flip at nap and night since I don't have enough CD laundry to do a load now.
Sounds like your little guy is making GREAT progress!
One thing I wish someone would have told me 3 kids ago is that one day it will just click with your little guy. I know with my older three I would try everything under the sun for them to be potty trained. Nothing worked until they just decided, how I think I'll use the potty, lol. Until that moment, it is you, not them, that is trained to get them to the potty. When that moment happens is anyone's guess; with my first it was at 3 years old, one of my middle children it was at 18 months.
My daughter is almost 20 months and nowhere near potty training. She's also growing out of her biggest AIOs. I can use prefolds and covers still but I prefer using AIOs on outings. I can't seem to find any good bigger sized natural fiber AIOs.
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