Diaperless

I'm so proud that currently, Josh is 100% diaperless. And for Kate, we are in the process of reducing her usage of diapers in the day. Night time for her is still required. Probably when she is about 2 years old, then we will let her practice. Kate is currently 21 months old and she uses about 3 diapers a day now.

Diapers is actually very wasteful and usually a new born will use about 8 to 10 diapers a day! It's really not so eco-friendly. However, it is hygienic.  Using alternatives such as nappies, is good but the amount of washing, drying and folding is quite extensive. However, when the baby gets older, the nappies may not be able to hold the urine and will leak!

I can still remember that Josh effectively didn't wear diapers when he is 31 months old. The process is difficult! Just like the weaning of the breastfeeding.

Process of diaperless for Josh
When Josh was a baby, we tried different ways to be eco-friendly.
1. Nappy : It's very comfortable for the baby! However, it is high cleanliness maintenance.

The white nappy will be folded and it is this useable cloth that needs high maintenance.

2. Bumwear : This is good for babies from 3-10 months! It reached a point whereby it can't contain his urine. You can visit the link.
3. Diapers : They are convenient means but most costly. Most environmentally unfriendly.
4. Potty : Potty is so good! Josh managed to adapt to it since 20 months old. He does his big and small business here.

Potty : A traditional potty which is used since I was born.

It is recommended to try the potty method as early as possible. Thank God for Man to create this!

5. Toilet Seat

(Left: This is a more comfortable child toilet seat which a padding. Right: The more uncomfortable child toilet seat which we have bought. For a start, it will be good to buy the left one)

When he was 30 months old, I really want Josh to stop using diapers because that time, the usage of diapers is very fast. Kate uses 8-10 a day and Josh need to use 2 at night. Nearly every two weeks, I have to buy the diaper pack. This is not what I like to do. That is financially not economical and not good for the environment. Hence, at night, I told Josh to tell me when he wants to urine. It was a tough process.

Every night at 3am, I will ask Josh to go toilet with me. At times, he didn't want. And for a few straight nights, he would urine on the bed and I will be the one cleaning the bedsheets! It's terrible and tiring on my side. My mother-in-law then didn't approve of me doing this because she finds that his bladder is still not strong enough to hold the urine at night. I actually turned skeptical of whether should I do it.

Still, I carried on. There are some nights whereby I just used diapers because I was just too tired to keep asking him at night.  Soon, after one month, on one night, he didn't pass urine on the bed at all! He woke up and asked me to go to toilet with him. And both Eve and I were so happy! Since then, he was diaperless already! It took us about one month of disturbed sleep to make Josh an eco-friendly child! It is worth it! Our faith and persistence has paid off!

Benefits of being diaperless
1. They can train their bladder strength.
2. They can be more independent and knows how to communicate with adults.
3. Eco friendly!
4. Save cost and it won't burn our money pockets.

We should actually try to reduce our carbon footprint and for babies, I feel we should minimise their footprints as much as possible.

Kate
She is the next lady whom is going to be on the diaperless track. She is so far very good in the day, telling us that she needs to go toilet. Her word is 'da pian', meaning pass motion. It will be good if she can say 'Toilet'. However, at times she would misuse the term and we will keep bringing her to the toilet and nothing comes out. Probably, she likes the toilet seat!

She is currently potty-trained. And I'm so glad she prefers it than diapers. I really hope she can quickly be matured to be weaned off diapers completely!


Bringing Kate outside

Kate in the shopping trolley!

Today at NEX, I brought my two children for marketing at Cold Storage and guess what? This is the first time that Kate went out with us without wearing any diapers! I kept reminding her that if she wants to pass urine, just say 'TOILET'.  She didn't want to go. And when we reached home, she passed urine! This is so amazing! I really hope that she can wean off the diapers ASAP.

It's a gamble at my side, but I won the bet! Ha! I will try again next time. Now at playgrounds, she is diaperless. When she wanted to pass urine, I will bring her to a corner, and she will do it at the grass area.

One is to have belief that my child can do it. If parents do not have the belief, then our child will not have it. Have confidence!

Josh with his shopping trolley.

Diaperless journey will be a continuous learning experience for both Eve and I. And yes, it will be tough but I believe that it is worth it! :)