Story of Boom Potty

Story of Boom Potty

Dear parents,

Congratulations on welcoming your little angel.

I remember the time I welcomed our son, Boom, my wife and I were so excited. Like all parents, we tried our best to prepare for his arrival, from going to prenatal classes, reading on the internet, buying books, shopping for baby stuff, asking advice from friends and families. However, in reality, nothing can prepare for the job of being parents. I just had to take a leap of faith and practice giving him a bath upon returning from the hospital, rocking him to sleep, giving him a bottle etc. However, what I find most challenging is diaper changing after his poop.

It gets especially messy once he started on solids. Each time his poop would get bigger and smeller, making cleaning up a nightmare. My wife and I had to coordinate so that one person can hold him and the other can use water to wash him in the bathroom. Being a lazy person who is afraid of getting his hands dirty, I find this process frustrating and inconvenient. I searched and searched Google in various languages and asked friends around the world to see how others do it. To my dismay, there was no good solution to this problem!

When the baby is still small and still lying down, you can use wet wipes. But when he produces a big poop bomb, sometimes it takes half a box of wipes. When he started to crawl, walk and then run, it became a struggle to keep him still to wipe. Sometimes he would cry and not keep still, so the wiping process became a big mess.

The other traditional way is to use a bucket of water and dip his butt in. However, with this method, you are cleaning him in his own shit. Yucky! Not only that, you will have to clean the bucket afterwards.

When your kid is a little bit older, you can hold him standing up in the bathroom and use the shower to clean him. However, his shit will go into the shower drain, and also dirty parents and the kids own feet and legs. After this, you almost have to give him a quick shower and clean the bathroom floor. I find this method time consuming and dirty, too. The bathroom will be smelly and there is risk of disease spreading.

The most efficient way is to put the baby on the adult toilet seat and use the little shower. However, when he is small, it requires both parents to hold and clean. Only older kids can sit properly on the toilet seat.

“There has to be a better way”, I thought. With no industrial design or manufacturing background, I started sketching my own design of a baby bottom washing potty. I even bought some play dough to make a small model. I learned about baby’s anatomy, especially their bottoms! I hired a student to draw the 3D version for me and went on a quest to learn about plastic such as PP, ABS etc. I learned all there is to know about mold.

Through trial and error, and many mishaps on the way, I almost gave up many times. However, my only motivation and wish was to change the way parents around the world have been cleaning their baby’s bottoms for centuries. I just wanted to help making parenting a little bit easier for people like me.

After 1 year, I had my first prototype for 16 months old Boom to try. He has been using it ever since. We bring it everywhere we go, even when on vacation.

We often joke that Boom gets to use the most expensive potty in the world, which costs $500 for 3D printing.

It’s another long way to go from prototyping to mass manufacturing. I had to make a few more versions and tested them on different babies of different ages and gather feedback from parents as well as experts. After 2 whole years, the final product is now in your hands. This product is named after our son Boom as he is so proud of it and keeps pointing at it saying “Boom’s potty”. He is always laughing and excited to use the potty each time he poops.

I want to send my acknowledgement and deepest thanks to people who has helped me make this idea a reality:

Mr Nguyen Van Hiep

Mr Vuong Thu

Mr Vu Hoai Nam

And last but not least, my wife, who has supported me despite all the naysayers who couldn’t help but express skepticism for such an unnecessary product. And greatest thanks of all it to little Boom, my ever patient model and the source my everlasting inspiration.

I am proud to present you Boom potty – the first baby bottom washing potty that is “Made in Vietnam” and created by an ordinary Vietnamese father.

With  loves from Boom’s Daddy!

Boom Potty – Easy diaper changing – Perfect for toilet training – Eco friendly!