Where do we go from here?

[dianakaye]

We started EC around 5 months. We do it pretty part-time, especially since he went on a potty strike around the time he started walking (11-12 months). Now he's 14 months and last night in the middle of the night and this morning while nursing he started saying "psss psss" which is our signal. I didn't potty him last night because I was too tired and his pjs are really hard to EC in. This morning, however, I took him as soon as he said it and "voila" he went. Yipee- he's finally signaling after so many months of relying on timing. The rest of the day he's had a couple misses and the rest of the times I've had to remind him. I was thinking that it had clicked for him and he'd be able to tell me now unless he was distracted/in an unfamiliar situation. I don't want to rush him or push him too fast and cause a potty strike, so what do I do? Here are my main questions:

1) Should we put him in training pants/diapers/diaper free and then rely on back ups after 3 misses or just keep him in diapers till he's more reliable about communicating with me?

2) He's totally ready to EC at night (I'm not sure if I am), so is there a way to modify footsie jammies so that it's easier to EC?

Thanks for your help- isn't this EC journey wonderful/crazy?

[AustinMom]

I guess I didn't do the "real" EC, we started at around 14 mo, he's 18 mo now and fully trained (except sometimes at night as he doesn't wake at night and we don't cosleep)

I'd go diaper free. That's how we started, diaper free for the first couple hours of the day, and then gradually more and more. I kept the potty (we used a kid potty, froggy one from Target for like $12) in the living room where we were so if an accident started, I could scoop him up and put him on the potty to finish. Sounds like yours is A LOT more advanced than mine was at 14 mo.

At night, I'd go without jammie, just warm blankets if needed.

If you want training pants I got the gerber training pants, they are cloth and absorb a little bit, so if an accident "begins" he will usually notice and sign "potty" for me to take him.

[zoebird]

totally up to you.

some days are completely diaper free, other days are half diaper free. typically, once my DH is home, he prefers a diaper. he gets frustrated if there's a miss (hawk goes on the floor, usually in a corner or in the bathroom), and starts to grouse at hawk about it. so, i just put him in a diaper, tell DH when to potty him by watching hawk's signals.

we just moved into trainers. we got antsy pants, which hawk really likes. the customer service is excellent. no clue why i picked these over my EC store favorites, it just seemed like the absolute right thing to buy. hawk loves the colors and loves to pick which ones to wear. he is very careful with them--he wants to use the potty. so, now he pulls them down himself and goes near the potty or signals for us to take him. he's digging it.

just do what works for you.

[pixiepunk]

trainers are a nice middle of the road option, though if he's aware and signaling, diaper-free time is really really helpful. i switched to trainers at like 4 months... simply because diapers seemed to be a lot more than what i really needed in terms of absorbency. so i had some non-waterproof ones for home, and waterproof ones (EC Store) for when we were out, and that worked just great. they are a lot easier to get on and off, for sure. also, at that age he might even be able to sit on a little potty by himself or with a little assistance, so make sure you keep it where you guys are playing so he can get himself there easily if he wants to, and so you can help him get to the potty quickly if need-be.

sounds like he's doing great! just let him lead. there might be days where he needs you to offer more and days when he wants to take control of that. IME EC'ing 3 kids, it's a bit of a dance, changing who's leading, until finally they are totally in charge. some kids that happens for very quickly, for others (like my DS) it was a process that took nearly a year, though we stayed dry the vast majority of that time because i offered if he wasn't initiating, and backed off on days he took more initiative. my oldest did it in just a couple of months. my littlest has always been a great signaler from birth, so it's harder to say what happened with her... i just sort of noticed one day that it'd been a long time since i'd offered her the potty (except for right before leaving the house or before bed, but i do that for my big kids too!) but except for a few brief pauses around developmental milestones, she's always told me at least 75% of the time, so i can't be sure when it really switched to all the time.

but with all three it was a very laid back and natural transition. this is why i love EC. there was no potty learning, just a gradual transition to independence that was just right for each kid.