Q: I was wondering if you or any of your readers know of someplace online I could purchase backward footie pajamas. My son is 18 months and isn't ready to potty train yet. He grew too tall for his crib a couple months ago so we switched him to a mattress on the floor. Around the same time figured out how to take off all of his clothes and diaper. After having to clean poop out of the sheets and carpet throughout the room a few times my husband and I tried a pair of footie pajamas backward, which seems to have solved the problem. Luckily this pair is too long so having the feet backward doesn't bother him but as he keeps growing we'd like to switch to some pajamas where the feet face forward but the zipper is still in the back. I've searched online but haven't found any. Thanks!
Sent by Christy





I have two little boys who are both tall for their ages. It drove me crazy how quickly their long legs would cause them to grow out of footie pyjamas that otherwise fit them just fine, so I started cutting off the footie part and giving the cuffs a simple hem. I'd just put warm socks on them instead. Would that take care of your problem?
view TammyE's profile
What if you cut the feet off and put socks on him?
view pyjammy's profile
Oops, TammyE beat me to it. :)
view pyjammy's profile
I was going to say the same thing. And I'm glad you brought this up--it's a good idea to store away in case we ever have the same issue you're having--I can imagine that wouldn't be pleasant.
view hyzen's profile
i know that petit bateau pyjamas snap up in the back, not sure how large they go though. Good luck! I would probably do a 2-piece PJ with socks or slipper-booties.
view lbsmum's profile
I second (or third) what the others said about cutting off the feet of the pajamas. If you are worried about his feet getting cold, go into his room after he has fallen asleep and put socks on him. Great picture by the way - he looks like such a little cutie pie!
view katszeye's profile
I'd go with Hanna Andersson zippers worn backward with warm socks.
view AlyssaW's profile
The zutano one piece rompers are soooo soft and button up the back.
We ended up using them for sleepers because they were so comfortable and soft. Our lil guy freaks out at the thought of socks or footy pj's when he is at home so these worked great.
view sulliesmama's profile
what if you cut them off and sewed them back on backwards? looks like they are long enough that a little hem wouldnt take out too much space. i have also heard of mommas using duck tape on the diapers. eeewww so sorry your little one does this...so glad mine hasnt yet ;/
view jackied302's profile
Our 13-month-old son has zip-up pajamas without the feet on them. I think they're just Carters brand so hopefully not too hard to find. I'm sure you could put them on backwards. If not, maybe you've found a niche for a new product! : ) Good luck!
view MiraB16's profile
You might try these pj's, where the feet are just big cuffs that can be folded over (or not). We like them for our daughter because the convertible option really extends the useful lifetime of the pj's.
http://www.snugabye.com/toddler.php
view Amy_F's profile
You can also put a safety pin through the fabric at the top of the zipper so it can't be unzipped.
view fluca's profile
Chop those jammie feet off and you are done!!! I could do with out the undiapering - ewww... It isn't forever, very soon he will move on to more "interesting" occupations and removing his clothes will be a distant memory!!!
view se7en's profile
My friend had a kid who did the same thing. She had to put them on backwards and pin the zipper eventually or the child would still take them off. good luck.
view DebraLynn's profile
I have nothing to add about your pajama dilemma. I just wanted to say your little boy is so cute! I actually laughed out loud when I saw the picture of his smiling face with his pajamas on backwards. That's too funny. Thanks for sharing :)
view ali07's profile
My sister in law had this same problem with one of her girls (poop and all). She used her usual zippered PJ's, but put them on inside out so that the zipper was interior. Maybe your little man will figure this out - but it should buy you a few nights, at least!
view lel815's profile
You could just use duct tape so he can't take off his diaper.
J/K, but I have seen it done.
You give me so much to look forward to.
view lindopotts's profile
Have you tried putting the diaper on backwards so the tabs aren't reachable? I haven't tried it, but I've heard it works.
view kitjule's profile
I know this isn't really answering your question but...
Isn't 18 months old enough to be potty trained? All of the children in my family were potty trained by 8 months. In fact, most of the children I know have all been trained within their first year- even if they couldn't walk. As soon as they were able to sit their parents would just plop the baby on the loo when given a potty signal, and then wait for elimination.
view PaleyGirl's profile
PaleyGirl,
I think at 18 months you may be coming at it a little late for that method of toilet-training, but definitely give it a try!
Here is a good resource (but she too advocates for starting around 6-8 months):
http://www.amazon.com/Diaper-Free-Before-Healthier-Toilet-Diapers/dp/0307237095
view mschatelaine's profile
My pediatrician told me that the average age for boys to be potty trained is 39 months, so don't worry if Harry Houdini is resistant to potty training! If he's receptive, go for it, but it's not a failure on your part or his if it's not part of what happens in the near term. (I know different cultures do it earlier and differently, but I assume you're in the US, where I am, and where my ped talked about the average.)
With respect to pajamas, we too have a Houdini, although for him it's all about touching his penis while asleep, something that started around 23 months. The touching wasn't a problem, but his sleeping with his hands down his diaper caused him to wake up in a puddle of urine every morning! Since it's wintertime in the midwest, we put him in one layer of cotton footie pajamas with the feet cut off, so that it can be put on backwards, and then we put a fleecy blanket sleeper with feet over it that can zip up the front. That way if he gets too hot he can open up the blanket sleeper, his feet are covered no matter what, and he wakes up dry in the mornings, thank heavens (and Carter's!)!
If using two sleepers is too heavy for wherever you are, another idea we pursued was to see if we could put him in a onesie underneath a regular footie pajama. Our boy has always been off the charts, height-wise, so the onesie option wasn't available -- he would need a 4T, and I wasn't able to find any onesies that ran that big. If your Houdini is smaller (and since he's younger), you should be able to find onesies in a 24 months size, possibly even as large as 2T. Best of luck!
view ekf's profile
We haven't tried the ductape because we use cloth diapers with him.
He won't wear socks for more than a few minutes at a time unless there are shoes on his feet, which then only extends the time to around 5 minutes. :) And I think his feet would get pretty cold. His room is in the basement and he refuses to sleep on the bed, preferring to sleep up against the door. That makes going in and putting the socks on him before we go to bed problematic. We'd have to wake him up, put on the socks and then hope he was still sleepy enough to go back to sleep before removing them again. Do they make baby suspender socks? :D
I think we'll try the pajamas inside out and see if that's enough to stop him, otherwise we'll try the button up the back sleepers. Hopefully if he can't *see* the buttons he won't be able to figure them out. :)
Thanks for all the help!
view christyreedy's profile
Our absolute favorite baby product is a sleep sack. Believe it or not, they make them for toddlers. Baby in a bag makes toddler sizes that are 100% cotton and so cozy: http://www.babyinabag.com/categories.asp
Our twins, who are 2.5 years, are also little houdinis but the sacks do the trick. Can be work backward too.
view solop's profile