Best trainers to send to daycare?

[JessieBird]

Hi everyone - We've been EC p/t at home for several months with great success. Now DS is about to go to a nanny (in her home) and I'm going back to work. The nanny has never heard of potty learning so early but is totally open to it and she's excited about the potential benefits for her 18 mo son who is still in sposies full time. So I want to make her life as easy as possible so that she doesn't get discouraged. DS won't sign to go, nor does he give advance signals (not that I've been able to discern anyway) but he does hold it in until he is taken to his potty, as long as he is taken frequently. So this has to be easy.

At home he used to wear either simple cotton trainers or go naked bum all the time. Now that it is getting pretty cold here and he needs to wear more clothes, we've gone back to wearing CDs (AIOs with snaps) most of the time. As you can imagine, taking them on and off is such a chore. He is so wiggly now and really protests the diaper. Luckily this hasn't interfered with his love of the potty.

So I am looking for a training pant that is easy to pull on and off, has moderate absorbency for misses (pee only, he'll poop at home in the morning), and is waterproof so that the nanny doesn't have to deal with wet clothes after misses. Oh, and I'd like to have a bunch of them (at least 12) so they should be $10 or less each. I don't think that side snaps are necessary, just pull up should be fine.

There seems to be a lot of very different styles and materials out there - what do you recommend?

Thanks so much for your advice!

[emiLy]

I would highly recommend the Favorite EC Pants at The EC Store (my store ) They are waterproof, have snap sides for really easy off and on, but can also very easily be pulled off and on. They have a nice trim fit that still has a good amount of absorbency so they don't leak under normal EC conditions.

I also think Imse Vimse Training Pants are pretty nice - they have a good amount of absorbency / waterproofness for this kind of situation. I only have medium in stock and you'll probably want small, but I still recommend them!

[theboysmama]

The ones I use are by www.sassycloth.com and she will custom make them for you. They come w/ aplix or snaps on the side (you could probably have nothing as well). They pull up and down very easily, are waterproof (we use them at night right now), my dd can feel when she is wet, and they are very affordable. Depending on the size I think they are between $6 and $8 a piece. She will be more likely to give you a deal the more you buy. I bought a dozen at $6 a piece (they were small ones) and she didn't charge me for shipping. They are well made and holding up really well. I have been very happy with them.

[pixiepunk]

i *love* the ones from the EC Store. I've tried a lot of different waterproof trainers through EC'ing 3 kids, and those are hands-down my favorite ones. i prefer the sewn sided ones when i know poo misses aren't a possibility because i find them even easier to get up and down than the ones with snaps (those are easy too, though). the ones with snaps do have the added benefit of being able to be changed like a diaper, with the child still wearing pants/shoes pulled down, which the daycare provide might prefer? but the sewn sided ones are cheaper.

the other nice thing about the EC Store ones is that they fit a really wide range in terms of height/weight. my DD2 was in the mediums from 4 months until i just gave them to my nephew when DD2 was 16 months - and she can still fit them, actually, i just find the larges a little easier to pull up and down. and a good friend of mine who EC'd from birth just had smalls and larges - the smalls fit a large enough baby that she was able to move straight into the larges. and i found that to be true, i bought some larges gently used when DD2 was probably 8 months or so, and i thought i'd just hold onto them till she was ready for them, but discovered that she could wear them as well as the mediums. so depending on your child's size you could probably get away with just buying one size and having it fit for a very long time.

HTH!

[emiLy]

Yes, my son was in the mediums from 4 months. Around 10-11 months I needed more and was going on a trip so I got some larges, but he still fit in the mediums until he was over 30 pounds. At one point he was too big for them but then like two months later he slimmed down and could wear the mediums again! LOL I wanted them to be trim, but if I had really only wanted to buy one size I could have also just had larges because there are three size options for both waist and legs, they are very adjustable and customizable.

[dogretro]

I like the Daisy Doodles trainers for waterproof trainers: http://www.daisy-doodles.com They side-snap so that I dont have to take off shoes and pants when out and about.

Unfortunately, you will have a VERY hard time finding waterproof trainers for "only" $10 a pair. The Sassy Cloth ones are the first Ive heard of that cheap. Most are $15 - $20 PER PAIR, which is insane. I got seven used Daisy Doodles on Diaper Swappers in large for $75 and they were heavily used (still functional and durable, but still, this goes to show that even in resale, they are not cheap).

The Sassy Cloth ones sound like a good deal. Otherwise, I highly recommend checking out Diaper Swappers in their trainers section. There are always lots of mamas selling trainers.

[lisavark]

Another vote for the favorite EC store trainers. Seriously, they're expensive, but they are SO worth it. Even if you'll never have another baby, you can resell them for almost the same price you bought them for, even if you get them new. If you get them used, you can probably resell them for the same price if they're still in good condition when you're done with them. They hold one pee perfectly with no leaks, they're very easy to get up and down, they fit a VERY wide range (my daughter is 20 months and she can wear ALL of our EC store trainers, size small through size large! The smalls are a little short in the rise and the larges are definitely too big, but they all work great, fit under clothes, and never leak). Look on diaperswappers and the yahoo EC trade group for used ones.

Oh, and the sewn side ones are only a little under $13 each if you get more than six of them new. So that's pretty close to your price range. Like I said, they are totally worth the money, and you will definitely be able to resell them.

[JessieBird]

Thank you so much everyone! And nice to "meet" you emiLy, I've checked out your store for info and ideas many, many times! When we were new to EC, I had no idea what it was all about and learned a lot from your shop! I will definitely consider all the options you guys have recommended.

I'm starting to think that snaps would be good after all. DS presently hates keeping his pants around his ankles while on the potty - everything comes off when he gets on so pull ups are fine for now but I suppose someday he'll be okay with just pulling his pants down and then I (and DCP) will appreciate being able to take the trainers off without stripping him down. So much to consider in advance...

[pixiepunk]

just noticed you are canadian. check out http://continuum-family.com/ they are in BC. might save you on shipping!