The Bimbi Bum story began with a mother’s intuition and a sense that she needed to make a change when it came to using nappies for her baby. Larissa Tobolov realised how innate it is for children to wee and poo away from their own bodies – and that we had actually been training them INTO using nappies. However searching for a suitable potty for her little baby left her unimpressed. This sparked her journey from experimenting with early potty training to inventing a simple but ingenious tool that’s now changing the way parents think about baby care. Rooted in respect for a child’s natural abilities and a desire for gentler, more connected parenting, she invented the Potty Plane for newborn potty training. Here Larissa talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind her business, the challenges she has overcome, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
My own personal frustrations with the status quo! In my heart, I’ve always felt that nature knows best – and yet, when it came to putting a nappy on a baby and letting them soil themselves, something just felt wrong. I was naturally drawn to cloth nappies and used them happily, but I still felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle.
Every mum I know has tried things they never thought they would, in an effort to help their children grow – and five years ago, there I was, giving elimination communication (or early potty training) a go. My 8-month-old responded with nothing but joy to this newfound autonomy, and it put me on a path in life I couldn’t have predicted – leading to the invention of my Potty Plane for newborn potty training.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Slowly and honouring the stage of life I was in. After training my firstborn out of nappies completely by 12 months old during the day and 24 months old overnight, I completely forgot about it all. It became our norm and I only brought it up if other mums complained about nappies.
When our second daughter arrived, I immediately thought, I’m not doing these dirty nappies again… and I bet she’d appreciate skipping them too. With her, we began using a bowl for potty at 8 weeks old, but I just didn’t feel comfortable. The initial stages of elimination communication can involve a lot of patience – holding up a heavy baby waiting for their time to go. The required consistency to train her was putting me off. I mocked up a drawing of the Potty Plane and found a 3D printer that could print it up for me. And my gosh was it easier! Then my sister gave birth to a baby boy and I thought, Oh let’s do another one for her… and before you know it, my family convinced me it would be helpful to every mum. A full two years later, I held the first Potty Plane in my hands.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
My biggest breakthrough was when I realised my strange experience was a repeatable, normal function of babies that anyone can achieve! Some of my best feedback from my ebook Clean Bums and Happy Mums was from a mum using the Potty Plane for her 5-month-old. She summed it up perfectly: “Wow, I can’t believe how quickly she took to it; I really think it’s US as parents holding our kids back – they actually don’t want to use the nappy and she’ll wait for her potty”.
When my friends and family could repeat my results, I knew I was onto something that could help countless families around the world.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I try to remind myself that my husband and I invented the business to serve our family and I plan to nurture it for decades to come. Children are only young once and with a 2- and 5-year-old, they come first because I know they’ll be out with friends in no time! I’ve learnt in life that whatever you continuously put energy into WILL grow – it’s just a matter of how fast. I’m happy for Bimbi Bum to grow organically in a way that will continue to allow me to homeschool my children. For me, this means only one FULL work day a week and then snatched hours when they go to bed.
