It was frustrating at times spending money on nappies when I knew Lily could use the potty just fine, but it's what she wanted and I'm glad I respected that.
Now I'm happy to report that Lily is out of nappies during the day, and only goes into one overnight.
Inspiration
I think her biggest motivation came from witnessing her older cousins use the toilet during our summer vacation. Now she's a big girl like them, she tells me. Occasionally she congratulates herself by putting stickers on her sticker chart, but most of the time our praise is reward enough.
Half the time I don't even know Lily has used the potty until she calls me in to turn on the tap so she can wash her hands.
Reusable cloth
Lily is able to remove her own pants, use the potty, and then wipe her bottom with one of the soft rags I've designated for that purpose - old flannel PJs of mine I cut up into small rectangles. Lily knows to place used cloths in the bucket that lives under the wooden chair in our bathroom. That way the cloths can soak until I'm ready to wash them all with a load of Sophie's cloth nappies.
My goal was to keep Lily well away from toilet paper, so she wouldn't unroll the whole lot every time. It worked brilliantly for weeks, but since we have to use toilet paper when we're out, she's realised what it's for and has started playing with it at home. Several times she's unrolled the whole lot and put it in the toilet while I've been in another room. Gah. Now we have to keep it out of her reach until that phase passes.
Number two
Also on the downside, Lily has started saving her number two's until she has a nappy on. She doesn't seem to like doing them on the potty any more. I'm not sure what that's about, but hopefully it will pass in time.
Away from home
When we're out and about, Lily is happy to use a regular toilet, unless it's a particularly seedy looking one and then she balks. Her preference is to use a potty when one's available, I think because she has more control over that and feels safer as it's low to the ground.
If we're going somewhere and I'm not sure whether there will be a toilet, I still put Lily in a nappy. It's less stressful for me, and I like things that reduce stress.
Day sleeps
I was nervous about letting Lily sleep in knickers during her daytime sleep, which can last anywhere up to three hours. However, a couple of times we forgot to change her into a nappy for that sleep and she didn't wet the bed so now we always leave her in knickers for her day sleep. Excellent. Another nappy saved.
Mattress protection
I thought that control might extend to overnight, but both times we've tried that, she's wet the bed. Fortunately we've bought a couple of Brolly Sheets to tuck in over the top of her regular bottom sheet. They are comfortable for her to sleep on, and waterproof so her mattress doesn't get damaged by accidents.
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| The green Brolly sheet with checkered side panels on Lily's bed is waterproof. |
What this means is that if you decide to purchase Brolly Sheets online, you can enter the discount code ISLAND at the checkout and get a 5% discount, plus our Playcentre gets 20% of the sale price to help keep us running. That makes this fundraising committee member very happy indeed.
I like Brolly sheets because they're cute AND easy to change. They cover about half of Lily's bed and tuck in on top of her bottom sheet, so I can just pull back the top covers, whip the Brolly sheet off and replace it with a dry one, without needing to take off or change any other bedding.
And that's where we are up to with toilet training. Hopefully one day I'll be able to report that Lily is out of nappies overnight as well. In the meantime, thanks for all your encouragement with this.
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