Cloth Training Pants/pull-up Options?

Updated on September 02, 2010
L.L. asks from Summerville, SC
7 answers

I have been cloth diapering since the birth of my child, and I have found my favorites to be pocket style. (I love both the bumgenious diapers and the happy heiny diapers best) Now that my little girl is taking an interest in the potty, I would like to find the next step for her. I have seen many different options when doing an internet search, so I am hoping those experienced mamas out there can tell me which brands they like and which styles they like. I have seen them with and without side snaps - any advantages or disadvantages would be great to know!!

If you have a favorite training pants that are not pocket style, I would love to hear about that too. Any and all suggestions, experiences both good and bad, and words of wisdom in the training pants department are welcome!!

Side note - my daughter is just beginning this process, and is 18 months old so I am expecting her to be very hit or miss with actual use of the potty. However, I want to encourage her interest and her growing sense of independence. She is currently wearing a Happy Heiny size large pocket diaper (she has out grown the one-size pockets).

Thanks ladies!!

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So What Happened?

We ended up going with antzy pantz pull ups which are and AIO cloth diaper with strechy sides and styled like disposable pull-ups. We are really likeing them so far with their biggest downfalls being they are not absorbent enough for overnights and they take for ever to line dry because they are AIO style. Thanks for everyone's suggestions!

More Answers

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H.W.

answers from Portland on

I'm partial to the Hanna Andersson training unders; they are the thickest, most absorbent training pants I've found. No snaps, just pull up or down to get on/off. Of course, they aren't waterproof, but the purpose of helping a child with using the toilet is to help them understand the body's cues, and being wet is one aspect of this. There are no pockets, etc, they cost a bit more (about $28 or so for a 3 pack) but they wear well and as I said, are very absorbent for those little leaks and drips.

I'd also suggest googling "Toilet Learning" online--University of Michigan has a great site. Kids often begin to show some interest in the toilet at this age, and you might want to see which other signs of readiness she's showing, just so you don't get too far ahead of the game (or become disappointed in her or yourself). In my years working with children, this is probably the best resource I've found. Written for child care providers, and definitely one of the strongest, most supportive approaches I've ever seen.
Not that you necessarily need this site, but it's worth checking out. It's saved me a lot of sanity!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.V.

answers from Chicago on

Don't waste your money on trainers. She can take the diaper off by herself, so she would only need you to put it back on. She won't be able to pull the trainers up and down without help for a few more months anyway.

I used the cheap Gerber trainers with my daughter.

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D.L.

answers from Portland on

I love imse vimse pull up cloth diapers. They are more like a thick underwear than a diaper and you can get them in organic cotton. They have a waterproof lining but you can't tell that it's there at all .. they aren't plasticy in any way but helps to hold the accidents in, especially at night. You have to be careful to not dry them on high or the waterproof element can be damaged but other than that they are very durable. I bought four several years ago and all three of my kids have used them and they are still in great shape. D.

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T.S.

answers from Sacramento on

For now, I'd say just leave her in her cloth diapers and help her take them off to use the potty. You don't really need "training pants" until she's ready for underwear and you want something to catch a couple of drops if she's a tiny bit late to the potty.

When you DO transition, the gerber training pants are great. They are regular undies you pull up and down. You can buy them ANYWHERE. Come in sizes 18months up to like 5T or something crazy. Thick enough to keep those couple drips off of clothes but thin enough that a full on accident makes a mess and makes it clear this is NOT a diaper.

HTH
T.
HTH
T.

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M.H.

answers from Lansing on

I have used both cloth diapers and disposables. First I would say don't go with the disposable pull ups. This will only discourage the whole process. They make pull up cloth diapers for kids who are cloth diapering. I would check out diaperswapper.com you will probably get a good deal on used ones, or brand new in the WAHM section. With my kids I weaned them into it. I slowly used the pull up ones with one of the inserts in there and then slowly took the inserts out. Mostly it was important to get them used to the routine so there wasn't any pressure. This worked better with my daughter (potty trained at 1 year) then my son who wasn't completly trained until 4. Good luck and may the force be with you.

Melissa

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L.M.

answers from Boston on

I have 4 kids and also taught preschool for a couple years. Totally agree with one of the moms re: disposable pull-ups, should be avoided. Way to much like a diaper, they don't feel wet, which defeats the purpose. I used cotton and liked both the Gerber and Hanna Anderson, look like 'bid kid' underwear, just have extra padding between the legs to catch more. Best advice I can give is when she is truly ready, if not now, buy them at least a size bigger than what she actually wears, maybe even two - this way they are extra loose, and she can pull them down very easily, and quickly. Works like a charm. And, with the all-cotton with no liner, when she really gets the feeling of being wet and feeling of it actually on her legs, that's kinda when it clicks. No fun. I tried to stay home for a couple days when I knew they were really ready, and they just ran around in a shirt and the underwear so they could just pull down when ever needed, worked great. Have 2 girls and 2 boys, and by far, the girls were trained way before the boys. They couldn't stand the feeling, boys could have cared less. Good luck.

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M.P.

answers from Chicago on

I never used training underpants. Sometimes put a cover over the underpants if i thought we'd have an accident. Even with a diaper cover, it doesn't totally hold all the pee in but it helps. I did have one training pair by Blue Penguin. They were nice but my son freaked out when I tried to put them on him. I don't know if he thought it was a diaper or what. Good luck.

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