Elimination Communication

[LenaC]

Hey, there is an article in the recent Mothering issue (As a side note, I just got my subscription to Mothering ). I also got the book "Infant Potty Training". I'm only through the first three chapters or so, since I didn't want too much info at once.

Anyhow, anyone else trying EC, full time or part time? Anyone considering it? I started yesterday, and he actually peed for me on cue today. Well, either that or cold potty on his bottom made him pee ha! Anyhow, I've been so proud of myself every time I catch poo or pee, a few times a day. He poops sooo much though and there is no rhyme or reason to when he is doing it. He seems to poop in clusters, like 4 or 5 times either close together or 5, 10 or 15 minutes apart. I get tired holding him over the potty then. I'm not even sure it's saving any diapers either because I would let him finish pooping in a diaper before changing, but I can't manage to hold him over the potty for so long. It's fun anyway and I hope his pooping will get spaced out soon DH wants me to work on potty training my toddler, but doing it with a baby is just so much easier. DS1 refused to sit on a potty, never mind do his business in there. Crossing my fingers, that he will get interested on his own soon...

[Knitting Mama]

I'm really interested in EC, but I sort of don't want to start it yet, because Cece goes literally once an hour or so. I wonder if I should wait until she eats in bigger blocks and therefore goes less often? Honestly I'm not really sure of where to start!

[finn'smama]

nak

i'm trying it very, very casually. Basically i try when he wakes up from a nap or anytime i change him. sometimes if he's really fussy i try then. i'm totally surprised at how easy it actually seems to be and how he really seems to get it. I have no goals of being diaper free and am putting no pressure on myself, so it's fun and interesting.

[LenaC]

Aimee, I think in summary you start by saying pssss whenever they are peeing or pooping, and then hold them over potty, when you think they might need to go and say pssss. They start to associate that sound with potty.

Finnsmama, I'm trying to take it very lightly as well. He seems to like it thus far, like it helps him in some way, and I'm compelled to keep doing it cause it seems natural, but I'm only on day 2 doing it part time. I find that I'm too tired in the evenings to keep it up.

[finn'smama]

also, i don't do it at night at all!

[tomtemama]

This is my second EC'd babe . We are pretty much full time except I find it challenging to EC when we're out. My favourite place to potty an infant is in the sink and I find that there are very few public washrooms with private sinks.

I mostly follow my instincts with EC, rather than looking for cues, it works well for us. DD3 has already started waking up from some long naps dry.

I wouldn't do it any other way and would encourage anyone who is considering it to give EC a try.

[ann_of_loxley]

We did this with my son. We started part time when he was about a week old. I didn't know it at the time - just figured I knew he was gonna go and would save myself having to wash another cloth nappy! lol
We started full time when he was 11 months old and I read and learned more about it then. By 17 months he was in pants (no more nappies! - yay!) full time and graduated shortly after at 22 months (taking himself to the toilet).

DS was very regular though - this little man of mine also seems to be a baby who poos like a handful of times within an hour! lol ... So I am waiting to start. Also cause this is my second and just juggling our basic needs is hard enough really! But I am a huge fan of EC and can't wait to get started! Deff worth it for everyone! Must be much more pleasant for them to have clean dry bottoms!

[isabchi]

With suck a new baby we use a potty bowl around the house. We potty our LO while we seat watching TV, place the bowl holding with my tights and DS holding his back and head over my chest. We potty also over the sink or over the toilet.
We ask for little potty in freecycle and get a couple. We keep one in the car (with wipes, couple extra pants and dipes), and one potty in each room. Also, I carried a Tupperware with lid in my purse, inside couple wipes, and a little shampoo bottle with wipes solution in case we have an accident.

The tips that work best for us in potty wherever we're. As nursing, I never stop a chat to potty my little one. I just had a potty o bowl close to me. Same a babies with diaper, the eliminated in the diaper doesn't matter what you doing.
Some times Ec could be overwelming with a new baby, but also around that age many started to poo once or twice a day. Mines like to go early in the morning that is quite conveniente, because you just have to "worry" about pees all the rest of the day, and pees take way less time for holding and cleaning.

[LenaC]

Oh, I can't wait for more regular poops! I think he pooped at least four times this morning. I didn't wake up in time to take him to the potty, so he already peed and pooped. Then I missed the chance, when I was feeding him, since I thought he was done for a while ha ha Finally, after he took a nap, he woke up fussing, so I took him to the potty and yay! success! Caught all the poop, although it took me a while to hold him on there. I finally figured out the comfortable position that works for us, when breastfeeding. I hold one side of the little potty up a little on my leg, so he is still reclined, and I find that he is comfy enough to actually "sit" in there, while I support his head and back. If I try to hold his legs up over the potty, unfortunately he is pointing straight up at me, and we had a couple of accidents like that the first time, until we improved the aim lol Anyway, then after he ate on one side, I put him down on the changing pad just to lay there for a while, and after a few minutes, he started fussing, so I offered him the chance to potty again, while feeding on the other side, and he went a whole bunch again! I have to say, I'm loving having a stash of fitteds. I'd find it pretty impossible to do this otherwise.

[tri31]

We are doing EC for a second time as well. I started at 6 months with my last son. This babe has been pottying since we got home from the hospital. He is a vocal little guy, making all the grunts and grumbles,so most poops are already on the potty. We are really laid back, whatever he likes.. It feels so right, just offering him a chance to go.

[dogretro]

We are full-time ECing for the second time, too. Started w/ dd1 when she was 6 weeks old, started w/ dd2 at 2 weeks old. DD2 also poops a whole lot! Well, frequently, anyway. I don't remember dd1 pooping as frequently, but she may have. One nice thing is that dd2 does not poop while nursing. She is also learning to hold her poop a little bit & wait to be pottied, which is awesome! I'm not about to try and catch every newborn pee, but have caught some. We offer at diaper changes & when we think she has to go. She will signal sometimes.

We have the little potty bowl, too, and love it. SO convenient. If you drill a little hole in the lip, you can clip it to your diaper bag using a D-ring clip. Makes it portable w/out taking up any room inside the bag!

We start by cuing when we hear them pooping in their diaper. We use psss for pee and "poopy poopy" for poop. After cuing like that for a few days, they seem to know what we are talking about. I think it's actually pretty creepy how they really truly do know what to do when you put them on the pot! It's surreal.

DD1 just turned two and is not graduated yet. She has been poop trained since four months old (yes, for real) & has accidents now and then, but is only just starting to tell us she needs to pee after she goes in her diaper. We are going to try for graduation (again!) b/c I am v tired of snappi'ing flat diapers on her. I just bought a pull-up cover that I can lay a flat in to make things easier for myself. She is not ready for training pants yet. She does not always like to sit on the toilet, but I am v glad that she knows what it is for & is not scared to use it! The EC section of the forum here is great & has a lot of experienced moms to chat with!