I never believed people when they said their kids “potty trained themselves.” I can’t count the times I inwardly roll my eyes when I overheard “she just decided she was ready and that was that.”
Yeah right, I always thought.
But at about 21 months, my daughter is already on the road to potty training through no pushing on my part. I have literally done nothing other than provide part of the genes for a fiercely independent little spitfire.
It feels like just yesterday that I was doling out M&Ms to my son (one for #1, two for #2) and emptying that foul potty into the toilet several times a day. And then there were the accidents. Oy the accidents. So needless to say, I wasn’t quite ready for my daughter to start toilet training just yet.
Did I mention that she’s only 21 months? As I mentioned in a previous post, I was planning on seriously starting with her right after she turns two in December. But she had a different timeline. And then, BAM!, there I was buying Minnie Mouse panties at Target today.
I’m trying not to get overly excited about it, but the thought of no diapers in my life makes me a very happy mama. Then I start to get a little nostalgic about how fast my baby is growing up and a little sad to give up the cloth diapering part of our life. No, I won’t miss stuffing diapers several times a week (…she says while the giant laundry basket of clean dipes is sitting there staring at her…) or dunking and swirling the poop in the toilet. But there are definitely some things that I will miss about cloth diapers once they aren’t such a big part of my life anymore:
The Online Community. Oh, who am I kidding? I am still going to read the blogs, check the Facebook pages and read articles about cloth diapering even after my baby has stopped wearing them! Beyond the obvious cloth diapering tips, there are so many other great discussions, such nice, aware and helpful mamas and tips on everything from laundry to child rearing, that I don’t want to miss out on.
Clean diapers stuffed and put away. I love the look of a basket full of beautifully colored, clean, stuffed cloth diapers, back in the changing table, ready to go for the next couple of days. For a mom that has a hard time quantifying what I’ve done at the end of the day, it’s a nice sense of accomplishment and grounding in my life.
Seeing diapers sunning outside. A beautiful pop of rainbow colors in my backyard is such a lovely sight… and I secretly love it when my neighbors see it or make comments about my diapers sunning and blowing in the breeze (and you can’t beat the scent and the whiteness of diapers dried in the sun).
Fluffy buns. While I’m excited to get my girl back into some of the cute clothes that don’t quite fit around her diaper anymore (but would actually fit with just underpants on), I will definitely miss that fluffy bum. The way they sometimes look like they are so “bottom-heavy” that they might tip backward at any moment…aww. Makes me want another baby, pronto.
Tangible green moments. Cloth diapering is an everyday reminder of the good we are doing by our planet. I’ll miss looking up and down our street on trash day and being so proud of the small amount we are putting out there at the curb (yes, I know our trash won’t change after diapering stops, but that tangible reminder of the amount of waste we COULD BE putting out because we are still in diapers, is nice).
“Why yes, we do use cloth diapers.” I still get a thrill when new friends see the diapers on my girl or in the diaper bag and comment, opening the door for a conversation about the best way to diaper!
What will you miss most about cloth diapering once your little one is potty trained?
Sarah is a mom of two and blogs about her adventures in motherhood, cloth diapering and everything in between. Catch her “Cloth Diapering Unwrapped” series on the FuzziBunz blog every week.
