cheaper option for infant undies?

[emmaegbert]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of trying to modify some undies to sew in enough padding to catch one pee, but be washable and easy to use. We're catching most pees and pretty much all poos so its such a major PITA to be putting dipes on and off.

Wondering if anyone has found a cheaper way to do this than drop $8 per pair plus shipping for the official "infant" undies? I know I could make my own, and I'm okay sewing but first of all I don't have a serger, plus I am not super enthused about a lot of fussy sewing, and I doubt I will ever make 6-10 pairs.

I thought of the 18-mos gerber trainers, $8 for three. http://www.amazon.com/Gerber-Trainin...9869764&sr=8-2

bornoutofthematrix in an earlier thread posted about these- http://www.ikookie.com/diaper_covers_3pack.html, so, have you used them and are they working? They are also $8 for three and are much cuter colors (IMO).

And I thought of these, http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/en...t-toddler.html, $3 each but I think (as someone else pointed out) that they will probably be the wrong shape.

Anyway, just wondering if you resourceful ladies have found good ideas for doing this on the cheap(er).

-Emma

[Pumpkin_Pie]

Those iKookie covers are so sweet! And 3 pair for only $8 for organic cotton is a steal! I wonder how the sizing is since they are meant to be a diaper cover. I bet the 0-3 would fit my tiny bummed 2 yo. He was swimming in the Gerber 2T padded underwear when we were PL'ing a few months ago. (back in dipes for now though. grrr)

[weliveintheforest]

I haven't done this exactly, but at winners I got some little 2t undies that were pretty small. I found the boy ones much better than the girl ones for the shape, even for my dd.

[pixiepunk]

are you looking for undies or non-waterproof trainers? you can usually shrink down commercial 2T undies enough to fit pretty tiny babies, but they're not going to have any absorbency. of course you could always lay a soaker in there, like you would with an ec store cover. or you could sew some soakers. those are just like rectangles, it would be waaaaay easier to sew than a trainer, and then you could just lay those in a shrunk down 2T undie you pick up at Target or someplace.

have you checked out the trainers fsot over at diaperswappers? or the EC Swap yahoo group? folks often sell stuff gently used there for pretty cheap, then you can get something like a bright bots which is usually $8/ea for at least half that price. it may take a little longer than buying from a store since there's not always going to be exactly what you want waiting for you, but if you have some time to browse it's a really great way to get good stuff on the cheap. i got most of my waterproof EC Store trainers that way too for a fraction of what they cost new

if you want to buy new, the gerbers are probably the best bet (though i don't buy Gerber since they were bought out by Nestle). i love the wee essential ones that they used to sell at JC Penney, but they don't carry them anymore. not sure what they do carry or what those cost, but the wee essentials were i think 2 or 3 pairs for $8 and way nicer than the Gerbers. perhaps they have replaced them with something comparable? worth a check if you have a JC Penney near you.

[emmaegbert]

I'm wanting non-waterproof undies but enough to basically contain one pee- even if I have to change pants, enough that a miss won't run all over the place. I was thinking that I'd basically make a custom-sized soaker to sew into the crotch of the undies- sew it in such a way that I can remove it when/if we're ready. So thats why I'm looking for cheaper undies option.

I looked on diaperswappers and people were only selling the teeny-tiny ones (and my girl is young but big), or sizes for like 2-3yos. Plus they didn't seem to really be that much less than new. I don't know about that yahoo group, so thanks, I will check that out!

I never really used trainers w/ my son (we kind of went from nakey-bum straight to undies, he wasn't "EC"ed just early potty learning, and he treated anything and everything like a diaper at first, trainers def don't contain a 20-month-old's full pee). From my memory of them they seem like they'd be way too big for the baby. Good to hear I can shrink down the gerbers. I'll check JC Penny's if they have a website... none near here (I'm visiting for a few weeks) or as far as I know near home either.

[hdeering]

I heard someone suggest the little bottoms that come with cute dresses. They look like little undies and sometimes at thrift stores you might find a bunch that got lost from their original outfits. You could get the right sizes or so and then modify them.

[emmaegbert]

well, I ordered 6pr of the gerber ones (about 2.30 a pair) and will try shrinking them and sewing an extra soaker into the crotch. I'll report back if it works.

[emmaegbert]

So, my plan has worked out pretty well, though its definitely been a bit time consuming.

I sewed soakers I made into 5 of the 6pr of undies I got (not really a plan, thats just how many I've managed). The first pair I made it 4 layers of microfiber (cleaning cloth) encased old t-shirt, its contoured and sort of looks like a mini pad. That took forever to dry so the rest have 3 layers. I just sewed on one edge, thinking they will be easier to line dry that way. So far they seem comfy enough for my little girl.

It does what I want- holds a pee well enough not to make a huge puddle (though still get a good wet spot). The undies are rather large on my almost-4mo (they are 18m size) but do stay on, and the whole deal is still slimmer than a diaper. When she's crawling they may be too loose, but she'll likely be a lot bigger. DS was 20lbs by 6mos and this girl seems to be just as big.