cloth diaper/trainer options for late potty trainers?

I have FOUR children in diapers right now, and my guilt over personally maxing out the local landfill is making me look for some alternatives. My oldest are twins who are just over 3 years old. They're successful about half the time in getting to the potty chair in time, but we're still dealing with a lot of poopy diapers.

I've heard that switching to cloth is one way to help them feel when they're wet, making them more likely to want to use the potty chair. But with four little ones, I really dread the laundry involved.

I've thought about using trainer pants (not Pull-Ups, which seem to me just like an expensive diaper) and inserting biodegradable adhesive inserts into the trainers. GroVia sells something like this (http://www.gro-via.com/), and so does gDiaper, but I haven't tried them, and they seem expensive.

Anyone deal with potty training older toddlers? Tips?

[Michele]

Re: cloth diaper/trainer options for late potty trainers?

My almost 4 yo was in cloth fromthe beginningbut actually did better in pullups bc of the design that disappears when wet. He's pretty much "got it" now (turns 4 in August).

I don't really know what worked the best. I think it just clicked when he wanted it to click. And maybe it wouldve been a few months earlier if we hadn't been moving/and on extended vacation.


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Did you use prefolds or a certain brand of cloth diaper? Was the laundry awful? Did you have to wash every day? I'm looking at another 2-3 years of diapers. *sigh* It never really hit home how bad the diaper/landfill problem was until we were going through a 13 gal trash bag every couple days! My conscience won't allow it anymore, but I'm really not sure about washing cloth diapers. The best solution is just to get the first three potty trained!

[Michele]

Re: cloth diaper/trainer options for late potty trainers?

I used BumGenius one size pockets for D until he was about 2.5 y (he outgrew the rise in front). I switched him to GreenAcreDesigns pocket diapers in size large. Then he went to pullups/underwear. He still wears a pullup at night and wakes up dry about 2-3/7 mornings.

K (1.5y) was in the BGs until my sister had her boy and so I sent those to her and moved K into the GAD pockets early. They are a bit big but work. K is also shaped a bitdifferent. He's fuller than D. I have some BGs reserved for the baby girl that is due next month.

I also have a few random pocket diapers that a friend gave me. I'm not impressed w any of them. I really like my BGs and GADs.

I washed diapers almost every day (5-6x per week) when both were in diapers. Now it's every other day. I can't stand to smell diapers and I think they come cleaner the quicker I launder them. I had a routine down (I worked outside the home) and it ran pretty smoothly. I have an HE front loader washer (which I don't think is best for diapers....I think the extra water helps loosen everything and cleanbetter). I do a quick cycle wash on cold, then a hot heavy wash w soap, then a final quick wash on cold as a second rinse. I use Charlies Soap about 1-1.5tsps per load (only 1 of the 3 uses soap). If my diapers start to smell (even whenclean-it's a different kind of smell), I strip them w a very small amount of blue Dawn in a hot cycle. (being careful to not oversuds my machine and making sure to rinse them completely). I do this about 1-2x per month. I dry them in the dryer on med or low heat. Occasionally I'll use hot heat. It helps reseal the PUL layer but I think its too harsh to use all the time.

Everyone has an opinion on diapers and care. This is mine. . There are a few cloth diaper threads where others weigh in on what they do. Itshard to find and bump threads onmy iPhone. . There are quite a few cloth users on this site.


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[HouseofWool]

Michele - we have a top loading HE washer and I am not a fan either. How much dawn do you use to strip your diapers?

[Michele]

Re: cloth diaper/trainer options for late potty trainers?

About 1/2 a tsp. Maybe 1tsp. Not much. It suds up like crazy!! I also boiled the inserts not that long ago. It was a huge pain and not worth it IMO.


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I'm a cloth diaperer and had a very late potty trainer (she finally "got it" just a couple months before turning 4). I was frustrated with a lot of cloth options because they seemed leaky and I just couldn't handle that. When they were little I did a lot of prefolds/wraps, which really doesn't work on an active 3 year old.
Anyway, near the end of the game I discovered Antsy Pants
http://getantsy.com/
They were fabulous for my 3 y/o. Now I'm using them on my almost 2 y/o, who is halfway potty trained already because she wants to be like big sister. They're the only thing I'm using anymore (well, I use disposable pull ups for childcare). Easy to wash, never leak, trim fit, easy for her to take off herself. Highly recommend. Good luck!

Washing every two days?! Sometimes I only do laundry once a week! Minor adjustment in the big picture, but I'm really impressed with anyone who takes on cloth diapering. Katie, thanks for the Antsy Pants link. All three of the older ones are trying to potty train, so the pull-up style really would be ideal at this stage. The up front cost is prohibitive, but if they take 9 months to potty train, I'll come out about even with what I would have spent on disposables - plus the youngest can use them later.

[v-girl]

My 3 year old has a bladder that must hold 5 cups of pee. The kid is like his oldest sister. She didn't potty train until 3.5 yrs. But she was dry through the night at 18 months. The boy child is dry through the night 5 out of 7 nights. Then you can stand him on his $10 Cars stool in front of the potty for 1 hour and he still won't pee until you put him in a diaper or Pull-Up. It's enough to make a mom want a glass of chardonnay at 10 am. But I'm not my mother-in-law so I just steal a Dr Pepper from hubby.

I need those plastic pants that go over training pants -- that's what worked for my oldest. The first time she wet herself was the last time she did it on purpose. If anyone knows where to find them, I'd love to know -- otherwise I'm buying puppy training pads that you cover your floor with when you have a new puppy.