The Bummis Training Pants: a short review

Finally I've started my maternity leave and I have a bit more time to devote to spreading the word about cloth nappies and this blog. Still totally unprepared for the arrival of baby bump. I'm only half way through packing my hospital bag and Evan is still sleeping in the nursery. Hopefully we will be able to decorate Evan's big boy bedroom before before baby bump arrives but we are running out of time.

 

Evan's potty training has been going really well. He's very good in the house not needing to go to the potty for a couple of hours. We do get the odd day, like today, when for whatever reason he decides he's just going to wee everywhere. Unfortunately we are still getting problems in nursery as he still doesn't say when he needs to go to the potty. We were using pull up nappies in nursery for a time as that was what the nursery said they wanted. However I do think they confused things, as after we started using the pull ups in nursery Evan seemed to start having more accidents at home. We've now switched to using big boy pants full time even in nursery however we get through a lot of trousers. We do still use the pull ups for in the car and at nap time.

 

We were using 4 different types of cloth pull ups, the Bummis training pants with a very cool jungle animal print which I was very kindly sent by NappyEverAfter to try out, a Happy Heinyz Pocket Trainer with a very cool silly monkey print, a Minki Yoyo with fire engines (which Evan quite likes as he likes the "Naa Noos"), and a cheapy Boots training pants.  

 

I liked the fun pattern on the Bummis training pants. It's great for a boy but not very girly (it also comes in plain white). I asked for the small size which fits 25-30lbs. The fit was good at first but after a couple of washes it seemed to get tighter around the legs. I don't know if it has shrunk a little or if Evan is walking a lot more and his legs have gotten chunkier! It is still a good fit around the waist however Evan is quite thin with chunky thighs and they do tend to slip down. The medium size may now be a better fit for him. The reliabilty was ok. The pants did hold a full wee in the beginning but as they got tighter around the legs and slipped more at the waist they have tended to leak a bit but still pretty good. I've not been brave enough to try them overnight. The Bummis training pants were quite easy to use as they go on like pants. Unfortunately a couple of times Evan has pooed his pants and the Bummis training pants are awkward to clean out as they are a one piece. Although in time I would hope that this happens less. The major problem with them I find is drying time although they do dry better when turned inside out. They seem to take about a day and a half to air dry properly although they can be tumble dried.

 

Next time I'll write about my experience with the Happy Heinyz Pocket.

 

 

Moving to a Big Boy's Bed

It's been two weeks since Evan started sleeping in his big boy bed. We wanted to get him used to a proper bed so we can move him out of the nursery and into his very own big boys bedroom before the new baby arrives so he'll be happily settled and won't feel too displaced - well that's the plan anyway but time is running out fast.

So 2 weeks ago last Saturday, after his nap in his cot bed, we dismantled his cot and put it back together again as his new "proper bed". I talked about it with him beforehand and I showed him mammy and daddy's bed and how it had no sides on it like his cot. Evan seemed very excited about having a proper bed and he watched as his cot was dismantled. He was fine until after his cot, which he loved, was in pieces and then suddenly I think it dawned on him that things were changing. It became all to much and he got upset, but once he saw his new bed he had the biggest grin I've ever seen and he loved it.

When it came to bedtime I wondered how I would get him in bed and make him stay there, but I needn't have worried. He was excited to get into bed until I went to leave and then he looked like he was going to cry. I asked him if he was ok and he said yes so I left and checked on him a few minutes later. He was sitting up in bed wide awake. I think he was overwhelmed by it all as when he saw me he started to cry so I went in and gave him a hug and we talked about the new bed. I told him it was just the same bed as before but with no sides and his sheets were the same and all his toy animals were there too. This seemed to settle him. He lay down and I stayed with him until he dropped off to sleep, which didn't take too long as he had had a busy day. I don't normally stay till Evan is asleep as he's normally very good at settling himself but I thought this was one time when an exception could be made. The next day he took his nap in the new bed and was no bother going off to sleep at bedtime.

We did try to fit a guard rail on the side of the bed but after much stress and effort (and a few curses) putting the rail together we discovered it wouldn't fit the bed so we just put a spare quilt and some blankets on the floor. So far he has only fallen out twice that we know of, but it doesn't seem to bother him. One night we found him asleep on the floor and we had to put him back in bed. In the beginning it was really cute in the mornings because despite being able to climb on and off his bed with ease he wouldn't get out of bed and leave his room until either me or his daddy were up. However, already that has changed, as the past couple of days I've been woken up at 6.30am to see his little face at the side of my bed. It's the cutest alarm clock I think I've every had but I wish I could set it to go off half hour later.

Still Potty Training and Stinky Nappies

Since my last blog entry Evan has had a bad case of chicken pox. Everyone says it's better they get chicken pox when young, but try telling a 2 year old not to scratch, especially when the 2 year old likes to scratch himself to pieces even when he isn't covered in itchy spots. Poor little chap was covered from head to toe and spent nearly two weeks with socks on his hands. Most of the spots cleared up and he only has a few faint scars left. 

The chicken pox did delay us starting potty training, although it is very difficult to potty train when he spends most of his time in nappies during the week in nursery. We have had some great successes though with him using the potty on weekends. We have had a couple of bouts of nappy rash lately as well which is quite unusual for Evan and letting him run around in "big boy pants" really helped clear that up as well as encouraging him to use the potty. In July I have 2 days holiday so I'm hoping to get Evan out of daytime nappies while I'm off work.

 

We did try the Minki Yoyo training pants. Unfortunately it seemed quite small (we had a large which should have fit). I stuffed a terry booster pad in the pocket but the nappy didn't go around him properly and gave him a builders bum! Perhaps I should have expected this as there was a digger on the front of the nappy! :-D I'm not sure if it might be a dodgy nappy though as it seems a little puckered.

 

Our nappies have been really stinky lately (which may have been the cause of Evan's nappy rash). Anyway we seem to have solved that problem by doing a cold water rinse before washing and changing the washing detergent to one spoonful of Grandmas Soapflakes, one spoonful of sanitiser and a dash of bicarbonate of soda in the powder drawer with a splash of vinegar where the conditioner normally goes. Apart from being less stinky they also seem a little softer too. It's lovely now the nice weather has come and I can dry nappies outside again.

 

We've also had our 20 week scan since my last blog entry. Again baby bump was bouncing around all over the place. We chose not to find out the sex of the baby as we prefer the surprise. All seems well with baby bump and he or she is giving me a good kicking.

Potty Training and new nappies

Just a quick post as I know I haven't been posting on the blog very often lately. I think there maybe an end in sight for Evan's nappy wearing days. He has successfully used the potty 3 times now. He recently moved up to the toddler group in nursery and I think that has encouraged him to use the potty as nearly all the toddlers are either potty training or are able to take themselves to the toilet.

When it came to potty training I have previously been told to just go straight for trainer pants however training pants are not absorbent enough to catch a full wee (as my son effectively demonstrated for me recently), also the nursery would prefer to use pull ups. The nursery have been great at using Evan's cloth nappies so I really don't want to complain about them not using training pants and I can understand why they prefer pull ups.

Now this is my problem. We have used cloth nappies on Evan since he was just a couple of weeks old and I don't want to have to start using disposable pull ups so I have been trying to find a suitable cloth alternative. I currently like the look of the Minki Yoyo and I'm hoping that I will soon receive one secondhand to try out. So will keep you posted on how I get on with that.

As for other news, Baby Bump has been growing well, that is if the size of my belly is anything to go by (I'm already in the maternity trousers).  Baby has also been doing some flips and giving me a few kicks too. I have already bought a couple of new nappies, secondhand Lollipop softee and micro. I love how fast they dry

A New Little Person

I haven't been thinking much about nappies lately or been online much. At the start of January we found out we were expecting another baby so I've been suffering a bit from tiredness and evening sickness. The sickness seems to be easing but unfortunately not the tiredness. On Monday morning we had our 12 week scan. I half expected them not to find anything, as this pregnancy still doesn't seem quite real to me, but they did. There was just the one baby thankfully (we don't have enough space for 3 children in our house!). Baby measured spot on 12 weeks and 2 days and it was great to see baby bouncing around. In fact the midwife had a hard time measuring the head circumference as baby just wouldn't stay still. We could see all the body parts on the scan and I am always amazed at how clear the image is. It looked like baby was waving at us and showing off all their brand new fingers. We could even see the line of the jaw bone at one point. As much as I would love to have another baby like Evan (he sleeps, eats everything, and is so angelic whenever we are out), I already think this one is going to be completely different.
We are so excited to be expecting another baby and although most of Evan's nappies are still in a good condition and can be used again, others have become a bit worn. I can't wait to invest in some brand new cloth nappies.

Christmas 2009

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New 2010! Sorry it's a bit late. I do appreciate it is now February..

We had an eventful Festive period. At the begnning of December we took a weeks holiday and visited Las Vegas! I know what your thinking - Not really a child friendly holiday destination - and I would agree, however Evan loved it. Evan was great on the plane despite spending the best part of a day traveling and hanging around airports. Whilst in Vegas, he even got to meet Father Christmas, which I think he found just a bit unnerving. He also enjoyed watching the gondolas in one of the hotels in fact we had a hard job getting him away from them. Probably by about the 4th day he was mostly in the right time zone and we tried to help him adjust by keeping to his routine best we could. Although he did frequently wake in the night. 

While we were away, we took some flat nappies with us which we used in the night. Every morning we rinsed them out and let them dry over the bath. We did use disposables when we were out during the day but at least the few flat nappies we had reduced the amount of waste we threw away. We didn't have any really messy flat nappies to contend with as they were only ever wet. This is good as the hotel laundry service was quite expensive!

We spent Christmas at home, just the three of us. It was great this year as Evan was really becoming aware of what was happening. He really got into opening all his presents and enjoyed hearing all the stories and songs about Santa (or DaTa as he liked to call him, which is pretty close). We also let him munch away on some chocolate and that soon became his most over used word. Next year will be even better as he will be old enough to really grasp the idea of Christmas.