Nappy free time for an active toddler when it's cold out?

[OtterMummy2024]

Looking for suggestions on how to do nappy free time with my toddler who is very active (17 months) AND currently has horrible nappy rash.

I know nappy free time will help most with the nappy rash, but I can't put them on a puppy pad like I did when they were tiny because they'll run off! Too cold to put them outside with a bare bum.

LO can't currently say wee or poo but will sit on the potty (and will occasionally wee in it). Honestly I would happily potty train except LO doesn't have the words and doesn't have any obvious wee cues. I really don't want wee all over the carpet.

Creative suggestions welcome 😭

Confine them to an area with a hard floor ie kitchen?

Other than that I’m wracking my brains. It’s a very niche problem! DS had the most horrendous rash once (thanks to FIL), we had to hibiscrub him, can’t remember what we did other than that!

Knowing me I probably just let him wee on the floor and cleaned it up after. At 17 months you might be surprised how infrequently they wee, it’s not constant like when they’re babies.

Also do you have any big blankets you can cover the living room carpet with?

Nappy rash is so stressful!

Get the Oh Crap book. The author is quite pro early training and has good advice for training under 20 months, especially the signs of readiness you actually need to look out for and not the ones Huggies would have you believe.

If you’re not up for that yet, which would be fair enough as 17 months is very young, then do nappy free time in the kitchen. Also, putting him the bath with no water but some bath crayons to draw everywhere is a fun activity and very easy clean up. And then if you still need to do more you could try potty training pants. They’re made out of cotton but with extra layers of fabric around the crotch to soak up wee accidents. It’ll be a bit grim cleaning them if he poos but it’ll probably be enough to protect your carpets from wee and it’s a lot more breathable than a nappy.

In a similar situation we did a lot of messy play in the bathroom. Paint / bubbles / slime etc.

Put them in the (empty!) bath with some toys. The novelty value of that should keep them entertained for a bit.

Thanks for the ideas, I've ordered some bath crayons and I'll get the towels down on the carpets...