Potty training for Cordy has been an incredible success thus far. (Please, ye gods of fate, don’t strike me down for that statement!) She’s wearing underwear all day now, with only a pull-up for overnight. And we’re only baking every 2-3 days now, although I’m slowly becoming immune to the siren song of fresh cupcakes in the kitchen. There have been zero accidents since I last posted.
Which of course means that it’s Mira’s turn to annoy the hell out of us in the bodily functions department.
Mira loves to undress. Save the jokes about her being popular when she’s older – I’ve already heard them. And I really don’t mind when she pulls her pants or top off at home – it’s cute in that learning about dressing herself kinda way. (It took Cordy until four to figure out dressing herself!)
The big problem for us is that she now takes off her diaper, too, especially at night when she’s in bed.
You can imagine the mess. Every. single. morning.
I’ve tried putting her in two piece outfits – she takes them off. I tried sleepers – she can work zippers. I tried one-piece outfits that snap between the legs – she figured out how to pop open the snaps. I tried pull-ups instead of diapers – she either figured out the “easy open sides” or pulled them down.
I can also stretch out necklines to escape
In other words, I have a non-potty trained nudist.
Short of sewing her into her clothing for bed each night, I’m at a loss as to how to keep her diaper on, and I’m tired of doing laundry quickly every morning before it’s time for her nap.
Cordy was never interested in disrobing. Actually, she didn’t care about clothing at all as a toddler – she wore whatever we put her in, and wore it until we chose to take it off. Finding myself facing off against a toddler who can master any clothing fastener is a new challenge for me.
I know I can’t be alone in this – several of you probably have kids who are or were diapered nudists. How did you keep that diaper on, short of duct tape?
Bringing a whole new meaning to naked blogging.
Haha @ short of duct tape because that is exactly what I was going to suggest; it’s not pretty but it keeps their business where it’s supposed to be and if she is still small enough for footie pj’s that zip up the front, try putting one of those on her backwards. Awkward but like duct tape, does the job.
Wouldn’t you know it.. the good folks at Mama Manifesto JUST posted about this very same issue! It seems like a good idea to me, give it a try!
http://mamamanifesto.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-more-wardrobe-malfunctions.html
I say try to keep her room cooler and less blankets so that she will be kinda cold if she were to undress. seems harsh but maybe it would work.
I have a friend who really did the duct tape thing. She also put the diapers on backwards.
What about putting the zip-up sleeper on backwards, and/or securing the zipper with a safety pin?
I’ve heard of people who sprinkle cheerios in the crib while they’re sleeping so that when they wake up to start stripping their clothes off, they get distracted and have a snack instead!
I agree with the backwards footie pjs and the safety pin. That’s what I was going to say.
And, just ’cause I like to come up with something of my own too, how about a stuffed animal wearing newborn-size clothes in the crib with her so she could undress that instead? (a better distraction for her teeth than the Cheerios… though that’s ingenious too!)
I say go for the duct tape. Seriously. Or, give her choices. If you keep this on, you get to wear whatever you want all day. She’s old enough to be bargained with.
Duct tape is the other thing that worked here. At least now there are prettier colors than the grey.
Too cute, thanks for the giggle.
Mine both like to disrobe (lord knows why; it’s cold in our old, drafty house), and I just make sure the baby stays off the couch.
I know you were anti-duct tape. But seriously I don’t think you have any options. A little duct tape on the diaper will go a long way towards clean-up efforts.
We ended up turning the sleeper around backwards and zipping it that way. And if it’s any consolation, the stage only lasted a few weeks. Good luck!
i once read a blog about a lady who put her kid in footie jammies then put a piece of duct tape like 2 inches under the top of the zipper. that way the kid could still play with the zipper but not get the jammies all the way off.
I’ve heard that one piece sleepers put on inside out also are too tricky for sneaky fingers to unzip — because the zipper handle is on the inside.
OH. I was going to suggest duct tape. Seriously. My girl is only 13 months, but apparently this is a phase a lot of kids go through because one of my parenting books suggested duct tape. Or clear packing tape.
I’m interested to see what actually works, though!
I no suggestion that hasn’t been offered here, but I wanted to express my sympathy. I have a 21-month-old who is going through a naked phase right now. She sleeps with her baby doll, and has a light show attached to her crib, so those tend to keep her entertained in the morning until we come in. If she takes off the diaper, she usually says “eww gross” (sounds like “eww gohs”). When I hear that, I come running! Anyway – good luck! : )
I used to put Boo’s sleeper on backwards and zip it. Or get two diaper pins and pin her top to her bottoms. (Bottoms, NOT bottom!) I didn’t have to resort to duct tape although I was sorely tempted before discovering the diaper pin trick.
What I have done is this: Onesie, PLUS a zip-up sleeper with a diaper pin at the top to keep it zipped (either put the pin through the little hole on the zipper pull OR put the pin through the cloth just under the top of the zipper), AND put the diaper on backwards so that the tabs are in the back. None of these are foolproof but they do give her lots more trouble and she may not think it’s worth the effort!
I was going to suggest duct tape, or putting on the diaper backwards, but I see those have been suggested. I laughed at Erika’s cheerios suggestion, it’s genius!
i have no ideas but MAN that’s hilarious (from a glad-it’s-not-me perspective, of course).
evan has not started undressing but he did last week reach down into his diaper and remove some poop for me.
in public.
But her in Elizabethan clothes. She’ll never figure out how to undo a bodice with back lacing.
We had this same problem and my Mom came up with a solution that is working for us . Get slightly bigger zipper pjs and put them on backwards so she can’t unzip them. It has worked like a charm for us.
No advice here. Just empathy. I remember when Chick went through this and the mess and… Oy. I do empathize.
She’s an adorable nudist though.
Duct tape…seriously. It was the only thing that truly kept the diaper on. I put a strip completely around the top, covering the tapes and viola! Diaper on until I cut the tape. Didn’t take long before I was able to ditch the tape and my daughter had given up.
I don’t know what was funnier: the post or the hilarious comments! The hook-and-eye trick at mamamanifesto seems foolproof, but I wouldn’t put it past Mira to escape the confines of clothing regardless. ;o)
On the bright side, be proud of how clever, independent, and pretty she is! (And think of the blackmail photos and stories…)
We always used to safety pin them using the hole in the zipper and putting the safety pin through the pajamas. Of course, my son was younger when we had this problem so I don’t know if it would work for you.
Diaper on backwards and duct tape. It’s the only thing that worked for my inmates. After a while they forget about wanting to be naked and start picking out their future tattoos when they find a pen on the floor….