To Pull-Ups, or not to Pull-Ups. That is the question...

OnceInLoveWithAmy

Ladies, we have officially entered the world of potty training.  

Tentatively we are going to do the three-day approach the last weekend of March, but in the meanwhile, I am having the monster sit on the potty every hour or so.  He's good at pulling his pants down by himself, but when he tried to pull his diaper down, it rips apart.  Most of the time, it's a dry diaper, and now I have to throw it out.  And because my precious little monster has sensitive skin, it's those insanely priced Seventh Generation, dye-free ones that cost $9834759897 a box.   I feel like I am throwing dollar bills in the trash with each trip to the potty.

I've read that Pull-Ups are not ideal for potty training because they are too similar to diapers.  Since we haven't actually taken him out of diapers,  I am wondering if would be ok to give them a try??  Can anyone give some pros and cons for Pull-Ups and/or potty training tips?

NewQueen

I'm no help other than to let you know that seventh generation diapers are 10% off at the moment through the Target cartwheel app...

Good luck!

babe2331

This may sound stupid, but if you want to avoid Pull Ups, maybe buy a pack of cheapo diapers to stick on him prior to making him sit on the potty.  That way if he rips it off, it's no big deal, and they won't be on his bum for very long.

OnceInLoveWithAmy

NewQueen said:

I'm no help other than to let you know that seventh generation diapers are 10% off at the moment through the Target cartwheel app...

Good luck!

Thank you!  I always forget about that app!  

just_JRM

I've read the same thing and are skipping them. Can you put him in big boy underwear for a few minutes? That's what we're doing.

just_JRM

But FYI when I read the title of the post, I immediately thought of pull-ups of the athletic variety so take my advice FWIW...

jessica0602

My only contribution to this is that I'm insane with jealousy that you're even up to this yet. I loathe diaper changes now.

larrysdarling

We skipped pull ups for days altogether. Eaglesfan recommended not using them. Just like diapers they wick fluid away from skin so they don't feel the sensation of being wet. Worked for us - we dropped daytime diapers shortly after her 2nd birthday. Because she pt so young we did use them for nights for nearly 5-6 months after she was daytime pt - she just couldn't hold it for 12 hours of sleep. Once she regularly woke up dry we dropped them. I think she's had 1-2 daytime accidents ever and no overnight accidents. We were lucky it was so easy.

PhillyGal34

I've read that huggie pull ups (I think) actually get "cold" when they pee in them so that they still have the uncomfortable sensation.  We haven's started potty training yet but DS went pee on the potty last night we if he starts to get consistent we will look into it.  I've also read that it can slow down progress though so I'm split. 

eaglesfan700

Everything I have read, and my personal experience, says that pull ups are no good for PTing. Now night training is completely separate from day training. DS still needs pull-ups at night because he sleeps so deeply, he just can't wake up to go. DD on the other hand, was night trained within weeks of being day trained.

Anyway, when we were trying to pt DS, one day he was in a pull up since we had just come back from the gym. He was playing in the sandbox and asked me if he had a pull-up on or underwear. He had to go, but didn't want to stop playing. If he remembered that he had a pull-up on, he would have just went in it and kept going. Right then and there we said goodbye to the pull-up except for overnights, and he was fully pt'd within a week

OnceInLoveWithAmy

Thanks for all the info ladies!  Today I am going to experiment with the pull-ups, just to see how it goes.  Since he is still technically in diapers now, I want to give them a whirl just to see if it's better than ripping apart a perfectly dry diaper every.  single.  time.  

We are still planning to do the 3 day plan at the end of the month, and after that (hopefully) there will not be a diaper or pull up in site. 

@jessica0602- god's honest truth, I am so not mentally prepared for this- I still look at Hunter as my little 6 lb 14 oz baby.    Can you believe these guys are just about 2.5 already?  It hurts, deep down inside

jpfeifer

The three-day method didn't quite work for us, but fortunately, our daycare lady was on board.  I would say it clicked for C on day 5 ish.  We never did pull ups, however, we were VERY lucky that she night trained at the same time and has had no accidents.  Good luck, those first couple days were pretty stressful, it was hard not to let her see that. 

rumdrinx

before eagles and larrysdarling had said that pull-ups were not advisable, we had already given them a try here and there when we wanted to make it easier for her to pull something down at school and go, if she wanted. we weren't consistent with her wearing them.  then when potty training started a few weeks ago - we had her in pull ups at nap and also at night so that if she had to go , she could indeed get them down all by herself.  for the first week, the nap and nighttime pull up was in effect. the following weekend, no pullup at nap.  and then by the end of the next week, no pull up at night - she woke up about 4 days dry so we just stopped them altogether .

jpfeifer

Also, I wanted to add that we gave her m&ms if she'd go on the potty but apparently those were a dime a dozen to her and not worth the effort.  I then got a collection of little treats she had never seen before: mini nerds, mini candy bars, etc.  I let her see the small pile of them and told her that if she went on the potty she could pick; worked instantly.  The right reward is key!

rumdrinx

oh yeah. treats. So we made a chart that looked like a candy land path, sort of. she got a sticker for every time she peed, or pooped or had dry panties when we asked randomly.  every 6 or 8 blocks featured an F for fruit snacks or a C for chocolate milk, or ...something else. I forget. And at the very end there was a giant ice cream cone and we promised to take her out for ice cream