At what point can I start to use training pants?

[PachaMamita]

Hello, friendlies!

My 15-month old DD just started using the potty a couple of days ago, yay!!! 

So far, she only successfully makes it to the potty once a day. 

Can I start using training pants? I'm so excited for this new phase, and to phase out diapers, but I don't want to rush and ruin the path she is on. I don't know anything about training pants! Are they pretty self-explanatory?

I will post in the Life with a Babe forum, and in the EC forum too.

Thank you!

[Oliver's Mama]

At such a young age, I would do the nakey-butt route.  It helps them learn quickly to get to the potty, and you avoid the obstacle of pulling undies up/down in time and laundering them..  15 months might be too young for handling the undies/pants for many kids.  Once she's consistently getting more in the potty, then try introducing undies.  

[limette]

What she said. I've potty trained 3 kids before the age of two by doing a week of naked time. Training pants just confuses them.

[gitanamama]

I third what the PP have said. After about a week of diaper free days, my son was consistently using the potty, with only the occasional accident (this was at 17 months.) I think the feeling of training pants is too similar to diapers--kiddos can't really tell when they've wet themselves, which is an important step in "potty training" process. There's a lot of good info in the EC forum--and even a new EC support group, I believe. 

[sk8boarder15]

We are in the throws of nakedness with our 20 month old here. Its going great. Next week im devoting 3 days to potty training and after that NO MORE DIAPERS! 

[Blessed_Mom]

..but what about accidents on carpets?

[newmamalizzy]

Skipping the training pants here, too, for the most part.  We're not so brave about taking trips out yet, so I'll sometimes put her in Gerber training pants/undies with a Flip cover on top when we go to the store.  When she has that on, though, she treats it just like a diaper, even though she's quite good at getting herself to the potty when she's wearing underpants. 

Pee-pee on the carpet....yup.  But I think it's worth it.
 

[Oliver's Mama]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom 

..but what about accidents on carpets?

with my kids at least, accidents are few and far between when they're naked.  accidents are much more common when they're in shorts.  Try to contain naked or training pant time to areas of your home where accidents are ok... even if that means setting up a baby gate and hanging out in the kitchen.  or, if carpet's everywhere, set down a bunch of cheap waterproof pads.

[sk8boarder15]

Accdents on carpet happen (I have dogs, so a kid accident is NOTHING, really). I just get a rag and my water vinegar spray and bring my son over and say help me clean up the pee pee, and we clean it up with a rag, no biggie. 

[Blessed_Mom]

Originally Posted by sk8boarder15 

Accdents on carpet happen (I have dogs, so a kid accident is NOTHING, really). I just get a rag and my water vinegar spray and bring my son over and say help me clean up the pee pee, and we clean it up with a rag, no biggie. 

Err.. I was thinking of poo-poo really :)

[Casha'sMommy]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom 

Err.. I was thinking of poo-poo really :)

For those kinds of accidents I have used a enzyme cleaner.

[sk8boarder15]

Same thing for poop, just scrub the floor with a cleaner safe for carpet and a rag. 

[gitanamama]

My son only had a couple of poo accidents while he was potty training. It was so surprising/shocking to him, I think it really helped reinforce getting to the potty on time. That being said, we had linoleum floors at the time (the only time I was ever grateful for linoleum!) But I think a good carpet cleaner would do the trick--and I doubt there will be many accidents. Also, spending as much time as you can outdoors helps make clean up easier.

Totally off topic--PachaMamita, are you Peruvian or have you spent time in Peru? I love your screen name! 

[Monday]

I'm about to start potty training my ds who is 17 months.  I'm so glad I found this thread.  So does he literally just go naked for three or four days and then whenever I see him squat I put the potty under his bum or do I get him up to walk to the potty? And when does night potty training happen?

[crystal_buffaloe]

I was just going to say that we did naked time, too

And it was fairly obvious when DD was going to poop -- I could bring the potty to her or get her to the commode in time. I think she only pooped on the floor 2 or 3 times (we have hardwood, and also a bottle of enzyme cleaner leftover from housetraining the dog:o)

Actually, it became kind of obvious when she was going to pee, too -- she'd touch herself and stop what she was doing with a look of concentration. If she peed/pooped on the floor, I'd say "Look! Pee! You peed! Yay! Pee goes in the potty." Stay 100% calm and upbeat and do the same thing with poop, too -- I picked it up with a paper towel and put it in the potty seat or the commode to show her were it was supposed to go.

[crystal_buffaloe]

Also, the smallest training pants (the kind with the plastic-y waterproof outside) you can get at Target are still HUGE -- still way too big for her even now that she's potty trained ("potty learned" still sounds totally weird to me, even though any "training" that happened during the process was her training US about her cues). We actually have this problem with underwear, too -- she's small, and probably should wear 18m, but the smallest underwear comes in at regular big-box stores is 2T. I washed them all in hot and shrunk them up some, but we just deal with them being slightly loose.

[luckiest]

DS is confused by training pants (he's 18mo).  We use diapers when we go out, and he doesn't understand the difference between trainers and diapers, and why it's okay to pee in one but not the other.  Since he was 15mo, we have him naked whenever we're home (and he's awake) and he uses the little potty.  At first we would physically put him on it every half hour or so, now we verbally prompt him and now and then he'll go with no prompting.  He'll also go inside whatever receptacle is available to him at the time - dog's water bowl, toy basket, a cup...and just this morning while I was showering he took the toilet brush out of the holder, peed in the holder, and dumped the pee in the shower with me.  Heh!  What're you gonna do :)

Anyway, I'll throw in with everyone suggesting naked time.  I'd save the training pants and undies for when she's got a good handle on the potty thing, goes without prompting regularly, and can understand that pee goes in the potty *all* the time.  Expect it to take some time...DS took to the little potty so well at 15mo, I thought for sure we'd be out of diapers in a few weeks.  Ha!  It seems like lately it has really clicked with him, he's holding it for 1-2 hours at a time, we only miss a couple times a day, but I don't think he'll be completely out of diapers for another several months yet. 

We bought the Gerber training pants (look like undies, not the waterproof ones) in the smallest size (2T) and Carters underwear (I *hate* licensed characters on underwear (and kid things in general) and they were the only ones I could find) and they fit him fine, and he's a smack average 18mo.

[crystal_buffaloe]

Yeah, the non-waterproof 2T training pants (they're just kind of thick/padded undies) are not nearly as ridiculously large as the plastic-backed ones. I think them being a little bit big is a-okay, too, since that means they're easier to pull off and on.

[PachaMamita]

Originally Posted by gitanamama 

My son only had a couple of poo accidents while he was potty training. It was so surprising/shocking to him, I think it really helped reinforce getting to the potty on time. That being said, we had linoleum floors at the time (the only time I was ever grateful for linoleum!) But I think a good carpet cleaner would do the trick--and I doubt there will be many accidents. Also, spending as much time as you can outdoors helps make clean up easier.

Totally off topic--PachaMamita, are you Peruvian or have you spent time in Peru? I love your screen name! 

Hey! Sorry it took almost half a year to reply! 

Thank you everyone for the helpful suggestions and everything. Haven't read them all yet, but do appreciate it.

I am not Peruvian, gitanamama, but I was born in Bolivia, and I have lived and traveled in Perú. You?