You're still in Diapers? Yes, here's why...

All of our disabled kids are so different - even if they have the same diagnosis. They are all special and unique, and we love them all the same. In fact, in all the families I've met, I've never thought - "oh, I wish Katherine was more like so and so!" Maybe it's just my personality, but I am 100% happy with the cards I've been dealt. 

So, here's where we're at with toileting - we do the best we can. Katherine is a teenager and she is still wearing diapers. All the time. Some days we get her to the potty 3-4 times a day and she stays dry all day. Some days we just get busy, or we're out running errands and we forget. It is usually possible, thanks to ADA laws, to find a public restroom we can take Katherine, but it isn't exactly easy.

It's kind of like when you have a typical potty training toddler that you're trying to teach to use the potty, except that you know that even if they tell you they need to go it will take you a good ten minutes after you park at McDonald's to undo all the seatbelt holding her chair in place, maneuver her down the ramp and into the restaurant, past all the people (she wants to talk to everyone), through the narrow hallway and then try to maneuver her giant chair into the stall. Once there, you will have to try to lift her and pull her pants down while transferring her onto the toilet seat. You are going to work up a sweat. You are both going to be exhausted. Once you've accomplished all this, you will have to do it again in reverse. Also, Katherine is getting better, but almost NEVER tells me she needs to use the potty. 

When we do long road trips, I make a point to take her to the bathroom when we stop at restaurants. I can normally do the routine while Barry orders our meal, and everything works out beautifully. On school days we can make going to the potty part of the schedule, and she is doing a good job right now. She might even earn a day without a diaper soon. 

The fact remains that for travel days and days without a regular schedule it is best that we stay in diapers. We use pull ups because they seem the most comfortable for her. They're easy to pull up and down, so if we are having a good potty day we don't have to lay her down to put on a new diaper. These have been great. 

I also put a pad inside the pull up like this:

It may be hard to see, but putting the pad inside the pull up has been a lifesaver for me. Especially when I'm trying to pull pants up and down with one arm and transfer her to a potty with the other in a public stall. If she is just a little wet, I can pull that pad out while she's sitting and put another one in. It's so much easier than trying to change her diaper while she's standing - which I have done. 

We have been using these Poise Pads for the last few years, and I love them!

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