On Potty Training and Pull Ups

Have you decided it’s time to start potty training your child?  This is a stage in your child’s life and should be undertaken with care and understanding.  Most children between the ages of 2 and 4 start using the toilet either on their own or with some encouragement from mom and dad.  You should be aware, however, that although they will use the toilet sometimes it is perfectly normal for them to still have accidents up until they are four or five years old. Here are some potty training tips and things to remember when starting on this new adventure.

All children are different and do things at their own pace. Some children just aren’t ready to potty train at the same age as other children. We all know someone who swears that their child was potty trained by 1 ½ to 2 years of age. This may be ideal for some parents, but not all children are ready at this age.  Most children are incapable of holding their bladder until they are at least 3 years of age. They will go in the potty if you take them in time, but they could not hold it on their own if there was no restroom near by.

My Own Potty Training Story

My little boy turns 3 years old in January and has already started potty training. We started him earlier, and he did really well, but a few setbacks caused him to stop using the toilet entirely. I was OK with him continuing to use his diapers because I have raised 3 other children, and I know that this is normal for his age and development.

I used cloth diapers with him because I loved the cute styles of pocket diapers and didn’t like spending so much money on disposable diapers. I had planned to keep using them until he was potty trained but as he grew older and bigger, his bladder capacity was larger too. He would wet right through the pocket diapers getting the couch, his clothes and anything else nearby all wet.  I decided it was going to have to be pull ups or nothing because the cloth diapers just weren’t cutting it anymore.

Potty Training Basics:

• Let them go naked
• Put them on the potty chair or  the toilet every 30 minutes to an hour
• Save diapers for overnight use
• Give them plenty of liquids to encourage them to go
• Get a potty chair or potty seat
• Lots of praise and encouragement (it really works)

The first thing we did when we started getting him to start using the toilet was letting him run around naked. This is one technique that is advocated in the book “Potty Train in Three Days” as well as other similar titles. It works because you can watch them more closely for signs that they may need to go, and they are more conscious of the fact that they are not wearing a diaper so sometimes it is easier getting them to the toilet.

Although you may be worried that your child will have an accident (and they will the first few times) this method works to start them using the toilet. Put diapers or pull ups on for overnights because it will be a while before they are able to stay dry all night on their own.

Take them to the potty often during the day and right before bed. Little ones like to use the potty excuse as a way to stay up a little later, but it is good to let them go if you think there is the slightest chance that they will go.

Measure your success by how often your child uses the potty and how long your diapers or pull ups last. We started at a rate of one box of 72 count pull ups lasting one week (we have two children potty training) to them now lasting two weeks and the boys’ beds are staying drier.  I have not had to change his bedding in the middle of the night for some time now. Never compare your child’s progress to another’s because they may be in different developmental stages, and not all kids are ready at the same time.

Easy Method for Removing Diaper Stains from Baby's Clothing

Babies poop a lot and that is one thing that does not change as they get older. The difference is that they tend to poop more. I have had to throw out stained baby clothes in the past due to occurrences of diaper blowout. What makes it so hard to get out is the fact that it seems like it sets in immediately and leaves a tell-tale orange-yellow stain on whatever it gets on.

As a newborn, my son always had leaky-diaper-syndrome because he was breastfed for nearly nine months and baby poop differs in consistency from formula-fed babies. Aidan’s poop was always runny and an orangey-yellow color( similar to mustard in color and texture). I found out that this is normal in breastfed babies so I had to figure out a way to cope with it.

I hate throwing anything away if I can use it a few more times. Baby clothing tends to get stained from leaky diapers due to bouts of diarrhea or diaper malfunction. The problem is when fecal matter gets on baby's clothing it tends to stain very quickly. Usually diapers that are soaked and treated properly will come clean but many times it is just not possible to get the diaper or item of clothing rinsed immediately. I found a very simple solution for getting my baby's clothing clean after these diaper blowouts using ingredients found in my kitchen.

My salvation came totally by accident when I decided to try a different cleaning method. I remembered that certain types of stains such as blood and milk stains are protein-based and require soaking in cold water and can be removed with meat tenderizer or hydrogen peroxide. Meat tenderizer is basically a salt mixture so I wondered if salt would remove diaper stains. I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised to find that it did. I have used this technique many times over and will say that stains are removed much better if the items are washed in the washing machine after treating with the salt and dishwasher detergent. Hand washing just doesn’t do as good a job at washing out all the remaining stain. Here is the technique I use to keep Aidan’s clothes in good condition:

Secret tip #1
Feces, egg, blood and milk are all protein-based stains. One of the best stain removers for these types of stains is regular kitchen salt. The treatment is very similar to the method for removing blood stains.
Treatment method:
Remove any solids from diaper or clothing; soak the item in cold water for 10 to 15 minutes and drain. Lay the garment flat and sprinkle a generous portion of salt directly on the stain. The salt should completely cover the stain. Sprinkle a little water over the salt just to dampen it. Let this sit undisturbed for 20 minutes. Add a few drops of liquid detergent to the salt and scrub the stain until its gone then launder as usual. There should be no trace of a stain when removed from the washing machine.

• · Important note:
• If any stain remains repeat the steps above again. It is very important that you do not put the stained item in the dryer as the heat will permanently set the stain. Treat with the steps above as many times as needed to remove the stain. If you cannot wash the item right away you can rinse it, cover with salt and roll up or hang up to dry and use the stain treatment later. The stain can be removed later as long as it has not gone through the dryer.

Removing stains from bouncy seats and jumpers

I nicknamed my son "sir Poops-a-lot" because that is what he does. I have to wash his bouncer and jumper at least 2 times per week because he overflows his diaper. The legs ride up when he's jumping around and pushes it out of the diaper. To remove stains from these items disassemble or remove the cover if cloth or plastic, rinse in cold water and use the salt treatment for fabrics and a light coating of Palmolive "Eco" Gel Dishwashing Detergent for plastics. The jumper seat is plastic with fabric around the legs so the salt does not stick very well. The dishwasher soap works well for this and is eco-friendly. Wash the item first with a little liquid soap and rinse well. Pour a small amount of the gel detergent on the stain and lightly spread it over the spot and let sit for 60 seconds. Rinse hands immediately because this does contain a small amount of bleach. Scrub any spot and rinse well. Dry as usual.

The gel detergent method can be used on diapers and white or light colored clothing as an alternate. Since it does contain bleach do not leave it on for more than a few minutes and rinse out.

These are two of the best tips for stain removal that I have discovered in my 20 years of parenting experience. I raised 3 grown children and currently have a nine-month-old at home.

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