I started using metanium, which is safe for cloth, when he was teething and getting a bit red. Didn't even open the tube I bought when pregnant till he was about 11 months old! Creams are fine with cloth as long as you use a liner - the cream clogs the fibres of the nappies, but I put fleece in between him and the actual absorbent part. I started the sudocrem when this patch wasn't healing, didn't really bother during the day before then as was changing every 3 hours anyway. Have been trying everything as you can imagine!
My sposie-using friends seem to be a mix. Some use shitloads at every change, some never bother. I use a very thin layer that you can see the skin through when there's a problem like now, and only on that particular area.
Anyhow, current strategy is working and it's only 3 days till GP check up. We've had one small accident - a dribble he didn't even notice - in 3 days so I'm counting it as a success for now. Will see what the Dr says on Tuesday, fingers crossed. From what I've read elsewhere 3ish year olds tend to get the hang of it in 3-7 days, younger dc take a bit longer. And that's at the child's instigation, I'm pretty much ignoring anything about making the child train to the parents' schedule. If I say "do you need the toilet?" and he says No then he doesn't sit on the toilet. If I'm not sure if he's asking for that or something else, I give him two choices which he's used to now. He's quite capable of telling me when he's had enough of trying, and he gets lots of praise for it whether the visit has been productive or not. Yesterday we popped into town and therefore the park on the way home. He asked to go as we went past the public lavs. A bit ick but I took him and got him to sit on our loo as soon as we got home then scrubbed his hands even more thoroughly than usual afterwards
QQ are boys meant to wipe after weeing? I've been dabbing (it's a good indicator of whether he's done a little one I might have missed otherwise) but not entirely sure; it's not something I've ever had cause to find out before!