Are training pants neccesary for PLing?

[penstamon]

DS is 20mo and has been showing a real interest in the potty lately.  We have success at least once a day, which is awesome, and he is always asking to go on the potty.  Problem is we cloth diaper and have so many layers to get off of him before he is ready for the potty.  He is growing out of the size he is in now so I was going to have to buy the next round of CDs and covers anyway.  I was wondering if anyone had experience with the cloth training pants and if it was worth it or if I could use a pull-up type cover (Bummis) and continue with prefolds.

Thoughts?

[physmom]

We did EC with DD so at the beginning we just used pocket diapers without inserts and pulled them up and down on her.  When those got too small we bought Gerber training pants (infinitely cheaper than anything else! I think you can get them off of amazon or diapers.com).  Plus she loved that they had dinosaurs and butterflies on them. :D

I think prefolds would be really annoying if you're going to the potty a lot... We actually let DD go bare butt quite a bit at the beginning too because I got annoyed with pulling everything up and down so much!

[HeartfullyHappy]

I'm torn on how to answer this - here's my long answer. We used cloth trainers with DD and it was quite an adventure. We also used cloth diapers but were having to use sposies a lot too. I found that the thin Gerber ones were completely useless against an accident. But I liked that she felt the wet sensation and wanted to get out of that feeling. I then ordered some custom ones on Hyena Cart. They were nice and thick but still had the underwear pull up and down feature. They also had snaps because DD took a long time to learn pooping and I could not master pulling off a dirty trainer without getting it all over her. Anyway, they worked pretty well because they held an accident just fine.

But at the end of the experience - for me anyway, it was more about just waiting for her to be ready. She decided one day she wanted to wear thin character panties. I explained she couldn't go pee in them and she really went out of her way to remember when she had to go. She would get a little upset if she had an accident in her beloved Ariel panties. After about a month in panties, she wanted to wear the trainers because they were a cute design. Sure enough, she stood there and peed in them and told me she was doing so. So she knew what she was doing, but she also knew the trainers could handle it. One mom I know told me when they are ready, you just pull the trigger and switch to underpants - and clean up a LOT of accidents. The diapers/trainers can be confusing.

My short answer is - yes they can help with the transition and the drama of cloth diapers off and on, but they will probably not make or break your experience (IMHO). IDK if that helps any but your DC is young too. DD was just over 2 when we really started to take things seriously. I think at this point, you may have a while to go and if you want to use trainers to help - then it's probably a good idea for you.

ETA: I agree with PP - we did LOTS of naked time . . . and accident clean up. LOL

[lifeguard]

We switched ds full time into underwear at 21 months. We had our fair share of accidents at first but by the end of the first month he was pretty darn reliable. I've never used a trainer on him, so no, they're not necessary but without them you will be cleaning up messes.

[LizzieRed]

My DD, 28 months old, has totally learned what diapers or training pants she can pee in and which ones she can't.  She is very active and HATES to stop playing to sit on the potty - and she has figured out that training pants can hold pee.  We've tried everything to get her to sit on the potty, and we're getting totally frustrated!  I've switched back to only putting cloth diapers on her (bum genius) and telling her she can't wear training pants anymore until she chooses the potty instead of her diaper.  We'll see how it goes...but she is starting to grow out of the diapers and I'm getting anxious. 

[kawa kamuri]

When it's PL time around here the kid goes straight into underwear and often nude at home. 

[tracymom1]

We bought cloth trainers and they never got used.  DS went from nakey butt to underpants with no looking back.  Training pants sounded like a good idea at first, but at some point I realized that they would probably just get in the way of the 'learning' process.

[JudiAU]

We DS we had a period where we transitioned gidapers with lousy cloth inserts (big switch from trashies) and then to imse vimse training pants with built in PUL covers. Very helpful to me, because it really keeps you on your toes.

With DD we are moving from fuzzi bunz to imse vimse. I buy enough so that accidnets are a big deal. Once we switch we don't look back. I love having built in PUL.

[CheriK]

We used prefolds and Bummis wraps mostly.  We did have a few training pants, but never used them.  All 3 of mine decided they wanted to use the potty & went to undies or naked and that was that.  I'll throw on a trainer at naptime if they didn't use the potty first (2 year olds!!).  I think the cloth helps, especially if you change them quickly, because they actually get to feel when they are wet and are used to getting the wet diaper off right away.  With warmer weather coming, can you just put a teeshirt on your DS so he use the potty quickly and SEE what happens when he doesn't?  Also, being around potty trained children can help, so if you have friends with toddlers/preschoolers, spend some time watching them go potty. 

All of mine started showing an interest in the potty at about the same age that your DS is now.  We got them potty chairs & suggested that they sit on them at diaper changes, maybe read a book if they were interested.  Certainly put them on the potty if they asked at other times!.  Beyond that, we did no "training".  My oldest DD fought diaper changes violently starting at about 18 months, so I spent a lot of time saying, "When you are ready to go peepee in the potty, we can get underwear instead of diapers."  One morning, she absolutely refused a diaper.  I reminded her to use the potty, and that was that.  She was 26 months.  I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about, LOL.  Her twin brother then wanted to wear undies, and we spent about a week changing his clothes about 6 times a day because he just wasn't aware when he was about to pee.  It took him about 5 more months before he decided to try again.  We put him in undies and he had about a week of mostly successes with a few accidents.  Then was fine.  DD2 was the youngest to show an interest.   It helps to have big kids around!  She was in/out of diapers for several months, sometimes wanting a diaper, then wanting undies for several days or even a week or two, before deciding she only wanted undies.  She was about 21 months when she stopped wearing diapers entirely during the day.  We had more accidents during the transition with her, I think because she was so young, and we went through a spell right when she turned 2 when she refused to tell us until the pee was actually coming out (and was being very "2" so wouldn't use the potty unless it was her idea).  Damp undies are still easier than washing a pail full of diapers, though.

[lisalu100]

DD is 20 months, we did 3 day potty training (google and find the babycenter link). We spent a week at home, first naked, then in loose pants and shirt, nothing else. DD has been dry for 3 days, she wears a sposie pullup at night, and for naptime at first, but after a few days she was dry through nap, since I made sure she peed right before hand. I know it's only been three days without accidents, but I think our success is due to not confusing her with any underwear, be it pull-ups or training pants. She did show all the signs of readiness before we started though, and had peed in the potty a few times during naked time. Good luck!