Jac is like many typical three-year-old boys in that he prefers being naked. If his diaper is wet or dirty, that thing is coming OFF. You might say, Oh, great! He’s ready for potty training! But Jac is not a typical three-year-old in that he has autism, and potty training hasn’t quite worked out yet.
Jac is bright, resourceful, and determined. I tried many things. If you’ve had toddler girls and boys, you will realize that boys have unique challenges in this regard. You can’t do the backwards diaper thing because the back of the diaper isn’t absorbent enough for a front-facing urine stream. Duct tape was effective for a while until my little smarty pants realized he could just pull his wee wee up out of his diaper, because the number two reason he wants to be naked, besides eliminating the soiled diaper, is playing with his wee wee. That thing is loads of fun!
One day, Jac removed his clothes and peed all over the couch. That was the final straw. I am by no means a seamstress, but I set to altering his clothes to provide a solution. The zipper needed to be in the back where he couldn’t reach it, I needed to shorten the arms and legs as the weather was warming up, and I needed to tighten the arm and leg holes so he couldn’t reach a limb back into his pajamas to remove his diaper (yes, he’s done this before).
This was a pretty good solution except for two things: one, it took forever to alter each pair of pajamas, and two, they looked horrible! To fit correctly they appeared illfitting, plus the edges weren’t finished. So if we wanted to leave the house and go somewhere he might remove his clothes, he would look a little ridiculous (you can see one of my attempts in the top picture of this post).
Enter the Little Keeper Sleeper. I did a little research online to see if a product existed that matched what I had created, but looked nicer. Not surprisingly, such a product was hard to find and expensive. Even though plenty of typical toddlers have the same problem of removing their clothes, this product is classified as “special needs” which means vendors can charge a ton for it. Fortunately for me, I came across the Little Keeper Sleeper. This product was the most reasonably-priced that I found, plus the quality was amazing.
To be honest, I loved this product so much that I approached the company asking if I could write a review in exchange for a free sleeper. The sleeper we use is the short sleeved one. I’ve found that it’s versatile because if you need it for the winter as well, you can just put a long sleeved shirt on top.
The sleeper is inescapable. Jac wears a uniform to preschool, and as soon as he’s home I dress him in the Little Keeper Sleeper. I then change him into a clean sleeper for bedtime.
Day and night, my little boy wears the Little Keeper Sleeper, and not once has he successfully removed it.
The arm and leg holes are well-fitted so he can’t sneak his arm back through, the zipper endures the wrestling match we have every time I get him dressed, and the three snaps at the top of the back are an extra precaution to make sure my little Houdini stays put. I actually don’t always use them (you can see this in the slide picture) because I’m dressing him in a rush, but even unsnapped he’s never escaped.
The Little Keeper Sleeper looks SO much nicer than my own creation! Not only is it a solid piece of construction, but it’s the best-looking inescapable pajamas, and again, at an unbeatable price.
So if you are struggling as I was with keeping diapers and clothes on your little one, I wholeheartedly recommend the Little Keeper Sleeper.