The Diaper-Free Baby_ The Natural Toilet Training Alternative - Christine Gross-Loh [23]
decide to use training pants or underwear for a set period of time (four hours for example);
use the entire stash until it’s all used up, or
decide to use a set number of training pants per day. Some people use, say, three pairs a day and then switch to diapers (either cloth or disposable) until the next morning.
Having a baby is an adventure in laundry, and doing diaper-type laundry doesn’t need to be scary. With EC especially you may not need a diaper pail at all. Training pants and cloth diapers can easily be rinsed and then washed with regular laundry. I wash often and gently, using as little soap as possible, and avoid all softeners and detergent additives. These will only coat the fabric, making them less absorbent. Stains can usually be “sunned out”; just lay the material in a sunny spot after washing to dry.
I definitely noticed my daughter’s change in attitude when she was in trimmer undies instead of diapers. She had more freedom of movement and seemed more comfortable. What’s better than that?
—EMILY, MOM TO DELIA, 2
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Split-crotch pants originated in China, where bare bottoms on babies and young kids are a common sight. They consist of leggings or pants that are open where the crotch seams usually are. The pants appear closed when baby is walking around, but open up when baby squats to go to the bathroom. Lots of EC’ing parents will put a split-crotch pant on their baby, especially when at home, and tuck a prefold diaper in there for a little extra padding in case baby has a miss. One business, The EC Store, carries woolen split-crotch leggings, which are a wonderful way to keep your baby warm in the winter while facilitating EC. I’ve also seen them sold in cotton, fleece, and even sumptuous velvet!
If you don’t have any split-crotch pants, there are other options available. My friend Elizabeth actually finds a good use for the one-piece coveralls that are so popular. While I generally find that one-piece clothing can make EC more difficult, especially with a newborn, Elizabeth leaves some of the snaps open near the crotch, in effect making a “homemade” split-crotch outfit.
Split-crotch pants
BabyLegs are little baby-sized leg warmers that cover the leg from ankle to thigh (kind of like a very long footless sock). Dressing your baby in just a top and a disposable or cloth diaper, training pant, or underwear, especially at times when you know she may need to use the potty more frequently, makes it much easier to help her to the bathroom without much fuss. BabyLegs simply keep her little legs from becoming cold or her knees from getting scraped when crawling around. Another alternative to BabyLegs are knee-highs. I found cute striped knee-highs that fit my baby perfectly in the feet and went all the way up to the middle of his thigh. They didn’t have non-skid padding, but you can easily put the padding on yourself if you’ve got a toddler who might slip while running around. And of course, keeping a little girl in a dress or even a boy in a longer tuniclike top are good ways to keep your baby dressed and warm while making quick EC pottying a snap.
BabyLegs and other leg warmers help keep babies’ and toddlers’ legs warm while they’re diaper-free.
WATERPROOF PADS
You should consider purchasing some sort of waterproof pad, like a large-sized lap pad or changing pad. Have several on hand around the house, as these are very useful for providing diaper-free time to your baby. In addition to changing or lap pads that you can get at any baby supply store, there are double-thickness fleece pads, which make a comfortable place for baby to lie down on, and PULpads, which are waterproof on one side and absorbent hemp on the other. I also loved having a large wool felt puddle pad around. It appealed