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**WARNING** What started out as a post about Elimination Communication and Gerry's journey towards potty independence turned into a slew of incredibly cute pictures of him. You've been warned. Also, if you are interested in the book give-away for this week make sure you scroll down to the bottom past all the cuteness and leave a comment! Ok, so now that *that's* out of the way. Elimination communication. (From now on referred to as EC.) What is it? Well, there are different definitions and names - but basically it is meeting your baby's elimination needs without diapers. Now, before you stop reading, you should know that you can practice EC part-time. Also I used cloth diapers (with and without covers) and disposable diapers. We also used Gerber training pants starting about the time Gerry was 1 year old. I'm not going to get too deeply into the "how's" of EC (I'm giving away the book Diaper Free! for those of you interested in details, and if you don't win I highly recommend it!) But I do want to share with you our journey, the realities and challenges, the fun, some tips, and of course the cuteness. I started putting Gerry on the potty or holding him over a bathroom sink when he was a couple of weeks old. (I know the sink thing may sound "gross" to some of you unfamiliar with EC - well, let me just say it's no grosser than a poopie diaper - and easier to clean.) I actually won our little potty and the book that I'm giving away from another blogger in a give-away - I'm paying it forward this week! (Holy cow, I just looked back, and a LOT of people commented on that post - I'm feeling even more excited now {3 years later} that I won!) Looking back, I'd say that winning the give-away was a huge catalyst for me - I was interested in EC before Gerry was born, but in the tired haze that comes with a newborn, I wasn't sure I had the energy or desire to try something so new. But once I won, I was energized and ready to try! The awesome thing about trying to "catch" your babies pees and poops is that it is fun. Yep, you heard me right, it's fun! So once you catch a couple you are kind of hooked and want to keep trying. Another awesome thing is that you don't have to do EC 100% of the time - and we certainly didn't! I would definitely classify us as "part-time" ECers. We used cloth diapers, the potty, and actually I used more disposables with Gerry than I did with Marisol (I felt guilty about it, but it's the truth). It can be difficult imagining how to begin on this adventure. One suggestion is when you have some time at home to put baby on a waterproof pad covered with a blanket, either naked or with a light blanket covering them. Then you simply wait and keep track of how often they pee or if they give any signals before they go. This can give you a sense of how often they go and what patterns there may be. And of course you can try putting them on the potty if you suspect it's time! Usually when moms hold their babies on a potty or over a sink they make a noise like, "ssss" or grunting/bearing down sounds. Sometimes they just say whatever word they choose for eliminating. This is a VERY simplified version of the process - to be honest I can hardly remember now the beginning stages! What I can remember is how gratifying it is to have your baby eliminate *outside* of a diaper (and of course into a desired receptacle!) I pretty much continued to be surprised every time it happened! I invite you now to a photo "tour" of Gerry's journey towards potty independence. (You can dim the lights and put on your favorite potty music at this time if you so desire. Then proceed to scroll down the page {sorry, it's not automated, but the good news is that you can go at your own personalized pace, even stopping if you wish, to read the witty and poignant captions} ): So as you can see we used diapers a lot. But there were lots of times when we were home that he was naked, or in a cloth diaper without a cover, or later in his training pants. He never stayed wet long so he didn't get used to the feeling. Also I'm not going to lie, there were LOTS of misses. Some baby/carer couples get really good at knowing each others signals and rarely have misses, others are like me and deal with more. One thing that didn't bother me too much when he was a small baby, pre-mobility, is wet or dirty blankets - since I was used to washing diapers I just threw them in with the diapers.
What's most important is your attitude. It's easy to get obsessed with the potty - especially once you've had some "success". But the best way to be is relaxed about it. If you're tired or overwhelmed, give yourself a break. You may want to wait on the nice carpets and cover as many surfaces as you can. Also don't worry about what other people think. I know I sometimes felt pressure for Gerry to "perform" since I was trying something so unconventional. But to be honest I always got positive reactions from people about his potty use. Of all the unconventional things I've tried, this seemed to be one that was easy for people to consider. I also usually just said, "I put him on the potty" instead of using the words Elimination Communication. I also never considered what we did "potty training". You may be wondering, why bother if the baby's just "going" wherever they need to all the time? Well, there are a LOT of benefits to using EC, even if only part-time. First of all any time baby goes on the potty, you are using one less diaper - better for your wallet AND the environment, no matter how you look at it! I also loved that Gerry never once had a diaper rash. His little bottom was clear and smooth his whole life! Marisol definitely had a couple of sore spots when she was a baby that were difficult to get rid of once they were irritated. The biggest benefit to me was how natural the whole process was for Gerry. Sitting on the potty is something he has done his whole life! There was no fear or resistance to it. I never forced him to sit or stay if he didn't want to. I don't know when he would have potty trained if we had just used diapers and tried to train him later in a more conventional way - but it does seem like "for a boy" he was using the potty quite early (this is the impression I get from many friends and experienced mothers I know). It was a slow, gradual journey and now that it's over, I hardly even remember it! It's good that I'm recording it now, because in a few years I'm likely to remember even less. Again, this is not "quicker" or "easier" and I know that for many families it may not fit into their daily lives. But for families that have a primary caregiver with the kids the majority of the time, who are looking for different, more natural options to diapers, EC (or Natural Infant Hygiene) may work for them. The first winter that I was home with both kids, Marisol basically went into a hibernation mode and I was home with them for long stretches of time. I figured since I was home I may as well put my time to good use! I'm really excited to pass this book onto someone who is interested in learning more about EC. In fact, I love this book so much, I'm kind of sad to see it go (I love her core parenting philosophy, very in line with much that I hold dear). But I'm working on letting things go (especially material things) - I don't need it at this stage in my life and I look forward to someone else benefiting from it. So please, leave a comment below to enter your name in the drawing! And remember, if you share and like my page you will get your name in multiple times!
7 Comments
I did part-time EC with my second child starting at 7.5 months. From the time I started, I almost never changed a dirty diaper. She was almost potty independent by 16 months, but then we traveled and things changed. Less than a month after turning 2, she gave up diapers voluntarily and never looked back. I even had to travel with her on an international trip (like 28 hours of travel time door-to-door) two weeks after she made this decision and she did not have any misses.
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Kimberly McQueen
11/17/2012 12:48:42 pm
You seem to write about topics I'm interested in but haven't delved into yet. This is pushing me to do so...especially since my youngest gets rashes easily.
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Fiona
11/19/2012 07:06:35 am
After spending practically 2 years "potty training" DD I figure that the time and effort is going in at some point, why not from the beginning. I'm glad to hear that this is a good book as I've been looking for some resources to help support my first steps along this path.
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6/22/2013 11:38:47 pm
For their baby should always choose the best diaper.
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Tiffany
10/20/2014 02:14:55 pm
I know this was written about 2 years ago, however, I thought I'd ask. Is this book still available to win? I have a 18 month old still in diapers and a 2 month old. I would like to start EC for the both of them!
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