Thoughts on potty training have been crossing my mind for a few months. Eve will be 1.5 years in a few weeks time. I received an auto email this morning from a company about discounts on potty training equipment, which prompted me to start looking into this further.
First of all I reviewed best potty's and potty products, along with tips and advice on potty training. Some ideas work for some people and different ones for others. I'm open to potty training, but mainly I want to stay well clear of disposable pull up pants if we possibly can.
I've been reading online that parents in South East Asia, South America, parts of Africa and Eastern Europe use a bare bottom technique from an early age or start potty training far earlier than we do in the west. Within the bare bottom culture of some countries, disposable nappies are seen as unnecessary and even disgusting. It makes total sense to start earlier if it's possible, as you will then decrease the amount of disposable nappies going to landfill. Also, the older a child gets, it becomes more difficult to change their habits.
Bum Genius cloth nappies - a fantastic product, I could not fault them
We used Bum Genius cloth re-useable nappies from 1 month (Eve was too small to fit in them until that point) until 9 months. Around the 9 month mark we had been travelling lots, had recently moved house and Eve was suffering with her teeth very badly. This upheaval meant that I was up sometimes 4-5 times a night and she was getting through a crazy amount of bottles - sometimes 5 of them. At that point we had to ditch the cloth nappies as there was just too much liquid to be held in them (even if I changed her in the middle of the night).
I felt bad about using disposables, but there just wasn't a way around it. I was worried about the amount that Eve was drinking through the night, but thankfully as she became comfortable with her new surroundings, started eating more varied food; and when she finally got used to nursery things started getting better during the night-time.
I've got to say I'm glad that stage is over. I went back to work full time in October and was completely exhausted by the end of December, but then things finally started to improve. Eve hasn't been drinking milk at all during the night-time for the past couple of months. She now just has a little bit of water before bed and that's it. She's sleeping through the night fairly often, except when another tooth is coming through, then I'll get up and give her medicine and a bit of water in the middle of the night when she's in pain.
From what I could tell, though fairly expensive, the BabyBjorn potty chair seemed like the best potty to go for. It has a high back which makes it easier for toddlers to get on to, and a high front pee guard. It seems easy to clean and has a rubber bottom to stop it from slipping. We are lucky with hand-me-downs and most of Eve's clothes, toys and bits and bobs I buy from charity shops, so I felt that I could justify the cost of the BabyBjorn items, which will have a lot of use.
Have a look on this link for more information. They come in lots of different colours, which is quite fun too. I chose the turquoise shade, mainly because it was on offer on a website. BabyBjorn also make a smaller toilet training potty that could be used at a later stage.
I also figured that I would buy a safe step at the same time in a matching colour. I know that Eve probably won't be able to use it for a while but I think it's probably a good idea to have it in the bathroom where she can sit on it, climb on it, play with it and generally get used to it.
If you're interested, here is information on the 'Potty training in three days' strategy outlined in Julie Fellom's Diaper Free Toddler program.
This link below gives step-by-step instructions on how to make it work for you. There are of course pros and cons, but I think we will give this a go when we know that a warm weekend is coming up.
The technique involves no pants, and being naked from the waist down as much as possible. I know that potty training may take some time, but I'll remember to speak to the nursery staff to find out what is allowed and what they will work around.
The technique involves no pants, and being naked from the waist down as much as possible. I know that potty training may take some time, but I'll remember to speak to the nursery staff to find out what is allowed and what they will work around.
http://happilyevermom.com/potty-training-must-dos/
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