Flip Training Pants!

I LOVE these things! SP didn't grow up wearing cloth diapers. I think the reason I didn't do cloth diapers was how daunting it seemed. I felt it would be time consuming and expensive. I do have to say the start up cost of cloth diapers or cloth pull ups is expensive but worth it! I do not like doing laundry so when I found myself searching for cloth pull ups I had to ask myself, am I ready for the commitment? My answer: yes! I did LOTS of research when it came to finding the perfect cloth pull up. I wanted it to be one size fits all, I wanted the inserts to be absorbent, and I wanted the outer shell to be waterproof in case SP had an accident. In the beginning I wasn't having much luck and even considered buying cloth diapers. Since I wasn't having much luck I went on the Cotton Babies Facebook page and told them what I wanted, they suggested the Flip training pants would be my perfect match. Next step, reviews! Since my husband and I were making an investment I didn't want to order them and end up hating them. Of course the reviews were mixed but I found a majority of the reviews to be positive. What I wanted the training pants to be was like a cloth diaper but not as absorbent so SP could feel when he was wet. The training pants would replace the 2-3 diapers that we used a day. While waiting for my order to arrive I ran into a roadblock, cloth diapers and cloth pull ups had to have special laundry detergent...great. After selling the idea of cloth pull ups to my husband I didn't want to break the news that we had to order laundry detergent. So I called Cotton Babies and they gave me a brand that I could use that they sold at Walmart, well at our Walmart they didn't sell it! I called every natural food store in our area and no one sold the detergent! Then I remembered a friend telling me a children's store in our town sold cloth diaper detergent, so I went and purchased some! I prepped the inserts and the shell and I was so excited/nervous to use them. Flip said to wash the inserts 3-5 times in hot water, I washed them 3x's and washed the shell in hot water once. You have to line dry the shell because of the material but you can tumble dry the inserts, I decided not to. After reading reviews people said after they tumble dried their inserts they shrank, so I line dried the inserts. Now it was time to test them out! For nap time I only used one cloth insert. I was prepared that SP was going to wake up early because he was wet or leaked through, but he didn't! He did put up a little fight after we put the pull up on because he isn't used to cloth. There is a huge difference between disposable diapers and cloth! Next round...bedtime! This time I used two cloth inserts, I was worried that it was going to be too bulky and not fit right but I didn't have a problem and this time SP didn't mind wearing them and he didn't leak. I suggest to buy at least 12 inserts and 2-3 shells. We've only been using the Flip for a couple of days and I have to wash the inserts again. I love the product and I wish I would have used cloth diapers when SP was a baby, it wasn't as big of a commitment as I thought it was going to be. Product: Flip Training Pants Inserts: 100% Organic Cotton & Disposable Inserts (haven't used) Detergent: Rock in Green- Rock Hard (good if you have hard water)

Adventures in Potty Training!

That's right! Potty training. I have to say I've been dreading this part of toodlerhood! Before SP was ready I did a little research about potty training to start to get familiar. I heard horror stories from parents that potty training was awful and others of early success, I thought to myself, "potty training SP is going to be a nightmare!" A little background on my guy, he slept through the night (12 hours) at 3 months old and has been doing it ever since, he talks up a storm, and is pretty well behaved for a two year old. He was such an easy baby and is an easy toddler, so I thought to myself if he's been so easy since birth there's no way he's going to be easy to potty train. I have to say I've been lucky! He started showing interest about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Anytime he had a wet or dirty diaper he would pull at it and say "off!" so I would let him have naked time and of course I had no clue what I was doing and he had a ton of accidents! So I told myself he's not ready. Luckily I have a very educated friend who I like to dub the Potty Training Guru, I sent her texts and asked her a ton of questions and she brought up some good advice: I might as well start potty training him now while he shows interest versus trying in 6 months to a year where all of his interest is gone and it could turn into a fight. So we started! I've found out that it's key to have the right equipment. SP had a Cars potty, the seat was flat and it made sounds. A little distracting! He kept falling off of it because the seat had no contour. So I bought the Baby Bajorn full size potty and it's amazing! He can get on and off without help, it never leaks, and he doesn't fall off! Success! So the next thing I had to figure out was to reward him or not. We didn't reward him when we started this journey at 18 months but I wanted him to be excited about going. Of course I asked all my friends and some rewarded with candy, stickers, or making a big cheer. I don't reward SP for anything! I believe if you reward a child for eating all his food (if they want to or not) or being good in public they'll expect rewards their entire life. I did a lot of research and a ton of parents rewarded their child when it came to potty training. So I did! SP's reward was going to be stickers. I gave him one sticker for sitting on the potty, two for going potty, and three for having a BM. He's only gotten three stickers once and we made a big deal out of it! So once he got the idea of going we put his potty in the living room (because that's where is his a majority of his day) and I let him hang out around the house naked. Every couple seconds (yes seconds!) I'd ask him if he had to go, sometimes he'd ignore me other times he went. He's now to the point to where I don't have to ask him and he'll just sit down and go and doesn't ask for a sticker. I felt today we had a breakthrough! This morning I was getting ready and SP was in the bathroom with me playing with his cars, of course he was naked, I noticed that he got up and walked out of the bathroom. Uh oh! So I quietly followed him and peeked around the corner...he had sat down and went potty! So excited! Yes we've had our challenges with potty training, I'm in the process of searching for cloth pull ups and which one that will be best. We purchased big boy underwear and that set us back because they were too small and his little boy parts were sticking out of the slit-I know! TMI! I suggest if you're going to straight to underwear buy boy underwear not toddler underwear. I hope our success continues. I'll update on what cloth pull up I decide on. Good luck on potty training! Helpful hint: -Buy the right equipment (doesn't have to be a fancy potty)