Bum Wars

Weird title, weird topic.  Yes, I am a 2nd time Mom, is it that obvious? Besides the obvious things I am filling my time with: namely feeding and rocking a newborn and running around the house making a mess with a toddler, I spend much of my day [very glamorous] staring at bums. 


Current bum wars:
1. Potty training Silas
I have to say that "when they're ready, they're ready."  We had no intention of training Silas with the potty yet because of new baby Toby and a pending trip to Ontario which we are certain will bring set backs.  However, Silas speaks in full sentences, notices when he needs to go #2 and since we bought a little potty a few months back, has taken a huge interest in it.  So, with the advent of terrible manipulation {chocolate} and a few hints here and there {"your cousins go on the potty...."} Silas has now gone 5 days without me having to change a poopy diaper.  This is a HUGE cause for celebration in my books because despite that I am a nurse and have seen my share of poop, this kids poop tops the charts in d-i-s-g-u-s-t-i-n-g.  This new trend is also exciting because he goes like 2-3 times a day {grrr} and has so far informed us when he needs to go each time {hurray!}.  Potty time is also exciting because it allows me a few moments to myself or to rock or nurse Toby.  Silas is all too content just sitting his little self there, reading books, and then jumps up and lets me know when he's done his business with shouts of "POOP ON POTTY, CHOCOLATE NOW!"  Save a few incidents where the poop was certainly on instead of in the potty, he has done pretty well and even occasionally goes on the "mommy, daddy potty." He has even started negotiating saying "four chocolates?"  ummmm, I have to remind him that one is plenty.  We'll see if this trend continues.  There are a few times he's even peed on the potty, just peed and jumped up still exclaiming his success in "poop on potty, chocolate!"  We have some explaining to do...  I am impressed though that this kid might be #2 trained before his 2nd birthday next week!


2. Child number 2.  Toby has had this terrible bum rash for a few weeks now and I'm at a loss what to do about it.  We use cloth diapers and wipes but over Christmas used cloth diapers and disposable wipes.  Soon after he broke out in this terrible red, raised rash- especially on his thighs.  So, we switched to all disposable and I took him to the dr.  She tested for yeast but it was negative. Meanwhile, I washed ALL of the diapers in a few hot washes with vinegar etc to try and clean them thoroughly in case it was yeast.  Well, the rash wasn't getting better.  I started using cloth wipes but kept the disposables and it started to clear up so I thought "hey, cloth must be okay!"  Then, we re-started the cloth again and it's back and even worse.  Any thoughts out there?  He was in cloth after the first 2 weeks for about a month, exclusively, without any problems. It's been the same detergent the whole time....  Not sure that my diet has changed all that much but at some points it's seemed almost eczema like?  


Any tips on bum rashes?  Any tips on how to maintain a toddler's potty-savvy-ness while out and about?  {Any moms out there take their potties along in their purses?}