many choices
you can buy pure pullup style, look like knickers
OR
you can buy trainers that you do up with side snaps, to get the fit on your child, from then on, your child steps into the trainers and pullups them up and down to use the potty/loo - and you only use the snaps to undo the trainer if you really need to, e.g there is a poo accident and you need easy access.
you can buy trainers with FEEL WET inners e.g absorbent fabrics
you can buy trainers with STAY DRY inners e.g microfleece
you can buy trainers that are aio
you can buy trainers that are pocket style
you can buy trainers with snap in boosters
some trainers are edged in FOE (fold over elastic) - if your child reacted to FOE in cloth nappies, i would avoid these in trainers too
the most organic option i found was the Imse Vimse (organic inside and out, with hidden PUL).
now for some brands and where to buy them
- Starbunz (at mother's instinct - nz site) - aio with optional pocket. Very trim. staydry inner.
- Bummis (pretty boofy, look like the covers)
- Motherease (same as bummis)
- Bumwear pocket trainers (at brindabella baby)
- Simple SImon pocket trainers (at twins in cloth, sometimes at her ozebaby store too)
- Imse Vimse (at nurture nappies, new age nappies) true pullup, no snaps
- Blueberry minky trainers (at the weewuns, baby blossom, nurture nappies, ozbabytrends) true pullup, no snaps. Feel wet inner.
- bambino mio trainers at the Bambino Pronto site
- One Wet Pants (custom made to fit) at noonee wilga
- Daddle doo pocket trainers (daddle doo at the wahmnaps site). stay dry inner.
- Happy Heiny pocket trainers at darlingsdownunder
- Nappy Knickers at Genesa Forge (ai2 style)
- tots bots trainers (new product at nurture nappies)
there are more, but that is all i can remember right now
i think the pocket style ones would be better for super heavy wetters, as you can customise the absorbency, by how much you stuff in the pocket opening e.g one or two bamboo trifolds.
My child is day trained and for night, wears bluberry trainers with woollen longies, we're finding this bulletproof - even if she wets overnight, bedding is still dry.
When buying them, check for the same things you do when you buy nappies
what is the rise? does that suit YOUR child's rise needs?
what is the crotch width? does that suit your child?
i forgot to do this (

) so ended up with nice trainers that were too wide in the crotch for my child, wrong rise for her. So don't be a dummy like me, it was an expensive way to work out that i should have been more cautious before buying, should have asked the questions about rise and crotch width (i have a child with a long torso and neeed narrow crotch mcn/trainers).
I worried i would need to buy a big amount of trainers, but worked out, you don't actually NEED heaps of trainers.
what takes time to dry is bamboo
the actual trainers - aren't made of bamboo
you prolly already have bamboo trifolds from your child's mcn stash
so just keep rotating the trifolds, in the trainers you buy
the shells and pockets of the trainers dry quickly, so you can cycle thru them quickly (if you wash them each day).
so that was a good thing i discovered (to my relief).
i think i had been told you need to buy HEAPS of undies for tt-ing, and so my brain then thought, oh, if i buy cloth trainers, i then have to buy HEAPS of them. didnt find that true. (but due to my stupidity, in NOT asking about rise etc, i still bought more than i needed, to end up with ones that DID fit my child).
but i'm glad we went the waterproof cloth route. saved so much mopping, didn't have to scrub the car seat once, no scrubbing the bed mattress, we had some damp changes of clothing, but no puddles. We live in a rental with WHITE carpet, so i was very anxious to avoid lots of mess.
Other useful things, for the tt-ing stage
- brollysheets for the bed (mattress protector that goes ON TOP of the sheets)
- potette for outside time when you are too far from a loo when they need one
see haggus and stockle for those, or just google "potette"
- same site has hemp/PUL car seat protector mats
- keep a potty in the boot of the car, with useful bag e.g spare clothing, spare trainers, bottle of water, wipes, loo paper
- keep clothing very simple
- the Tribal baby site i found invaluable. it's an EC-ing site, but i adapted so many things i read there, to help me tt a 26 month old.
- if you sew, Noonee wilga sells a pattern to make one wet pants.
- check on buy for baby and nappy chic for 2nd hand trainers in good condition and "bought but not used" trainers. Sometimes people buy them, and by the time they arrive, a child might have trained! (it CAN happen that quick).
hth