Follow-up: Antsy Pants Review

A little over a year ago I wrote a bunch of reviews of training pants. One of them was for Antsy Pants. In the end, given that the plan was for Acorn to go to daycare and we weren't really sure how long it would take him to be diaper free, we went ahead and bought a dozen Antsy Pants.

We bought them new - at the time, buying a dozen new trainers was the same cost as buying used ones. We also bought the 4T size - Acorn measured just within the sizing for them, and we figured that way he could wear them as long as needed.

We've been using them for the last year, and I've got a few things I want to follow up on. We've used these in rotation when we're out of the house, and used them at daycare along with some pockets for the few months he was there. The last few months we've used them at night too - without nurses to change him in the middle of the night, we've been trying everything we can to keep from having to get up with him.

Sadly, he's actually refusing the potty completely right now, to the point of screaming if we try to set him on it....but he'll happily pee in a cup if it means not having to get out of the bath, so it's clearly an issue of he can do it, but he won't. Here's hoping the potty is more appealing in the new year.

On to the review:

First, we did have one snap go bad within the first couple months. Of course, I was in the hospital on bedrest at the time, and my husband never sent it in for repair, so I will eventually (in my copious spare time) have to replace the snap.

We notice that the stuffers they provide (microfiber towels) fit better in these 4Ts than the 2T sized ones. We've used them at night with the stuffer and a cotton doubler for all-night wear....when Acorn actually sleeps all night. That said, be prepared to change first thing, because when completely soaked, the side panels start to wick, and then you'll have wet jammies.

Acorn is now wearing mostly 3T clothes - he's about 37 or 38 inches tall and around 35 pounds, so pretty skinny. The 2T one we originally bought still fits him, though it's starting to be pushing it at night or if he poops. The overall fit of the 4Ts varies widely among the 12 diapers we have (well, 11, plus the one with the bad snap) - some fit just right, some are still loose. Also, the side panels have worn somewhat - and unevenly at that - so some of these are really loose on him, and will fall off while walking if he doesn't have pants on that will stay up. Since we frequently still let him run in just a shirt and diaper at home, this can be a problem.

Speaking of fit: these don't mix well with very runny poop. They've been okay for peanut butter consistency stuff, but a bout of diarreha in the hospital proved too much, and we had to change out the whole bed. The previous diaper (with even more liquid poo - it was so bad I didn't even try to get the snappi out of the goo to clean it) had been a prefold and cover, and the cover contained *all* of it without leaking.

There seems to be a learning curve, too, when getting the inner layer flap situated when you're putting these on the child - if the inner layers are exposed, that wicks onto pants (or runs out onto the floor). It might be better if you're pulling them on a standing child rather than putting them on like a regular diaper, but Acorn still won't let us use them that way. We had one nurse who *hated* these trainers because they always leaked for her, but in the last few months, the only leaks I've had have been cases where we were wearing them for the day and Acorn flooded the diaper - we would have (and have) had a leak in any diaper

On the plus side, he hasn't ever taken one of these off, even though it should be easy for him. Pockets with velcro, on the other hand, have been a problem lately in that respect.

One other thing I'll mention: our physical therapist loved these trainers, because she could really see how Acorn was moving his legs and hips.