From birth?!

[sgmom]

My son was born just before midnight on sunday night. My plan was to EC from birth,but thanks to a 3rd degree tear I can barely pee myself, never mind my own child.

I've had him (as often as I can, which isn't much) with a loose diaper so I can cue him if he does eliminate, but so far I've only been able to cue one poop. My milk is starting to come in, so I'm hoping pee catches will be easier in a few days.

How on earth do you start EC with a newborn?? Is there a trick to this? lol

We started our daughter at 4 months...

[zoebird]

it's ok. get whatever footing you need to first. for us, it was the nursing down. once we got him latched on and such, we started ecing in earnest, and it just started to come.

i started with timing--offering any time he was awake.

[pixiepunk]

i say i EC'd my youngest from birth, but really i don't count my baby moon it was more like 2 weeks post partum. up until then i just had her in a snappi'd prefold, changed her right away when she was wet or poopy, and if it occurred to me i cued her (but mostly it didn't occur to me )

just let yourself get settled in, get a routine going, get nursing established. you'll know when it feels right to start. don't push yourself.

and most importantly, CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby!!!

[hrsmom]

Hi!!!!! In the very beginning I just made sure her diaper was changed as often as possible. She pooped during a diaper change at either four or five days of age (I was so excited!) and shortly after that I held her over the sink and made the s-s-s sound. My goal in those early days was to have one catch a day. With the next baby I might try for two a day

p.s. I never commented on your mentioning that he peed during a diaper change when he was like a day old? That is so cool!!!!!! Even a brand new baby wants to pee somewhere other than his/her own clothing! Actually, with us, Hannah pooping like that when she was a few days old kind of helped me get out of my funk over the birth not going like I wanted to. I was like, "oh, well, at least we can still do EC!"

[jenrett]

Hi! Nothing to offer, but wanted to say that our sons share a birthday, though mine was born first thing in the morning.

I had a tear, that also made it hard to pee myself, and I was set to EC from birth. I think these ladies have good advice - take care of yourself and then learn to EC. I, too, have "caught" some pees during diaper changes, but he didn't pee/poo at all on Day 2 of life so that made it impossible to catch ANYTHING then.

Good luck!

[sgmom]

Congrats jenrett!!

I do plan to take care of myself first, but then what? When I started with my daughter, she was old enough to sit (semi-assisted) on the potty, so I would sit with her and show her books or toys or whatever would keep her interest for a few minutes until something happened (or not).

With a newborn, do you hover and wait? Wait for pee and cue in (or on) a diaper? I feel a little out of my comfort zone here...

hrsmom: haha! He pee'd during a diaper change on the first day. I turned my back and when I looked back I caught the end of it. I made myself laugh though, in my panic to stop the stream by my sudden rememberance to "Oh yeah! Cue! Cue! PSSSSSS"

[jenrett]

I am also interested in this....hopefully somebody will chime in. I've been sprayed by pee a few times and have a similar reaction....still. You think I'd get it after the first couple of sprays. It's all so new to me!

[theboysmama]

We started when dd was 7 days. I kept a bblp on the changing table and every time i changed her diaper I held her on the potty for a bit, sometimes she went sometimes not but I always offered when her diaper was off. I kept another next to our bed and again offered during diaper changes, first thing when she woke up, etc. A potty bowl works great too bcs it can go between your legs while nursing.

[hrsmom]

I used the sink, but if I remember correctly, you're not a fan of that. So hold him over the toilet (if you can do that comfortably) or put a bowl on a counter (what I would do if I wasn't going to use the sink) or put your potty on the floor if that's what you prefer.... anyway, just hold him over the potty place and make the cue sound. You can talk about what's going on, and talk about the fact that he's going in the potty or whatever is going on! Offer right when waking up, and if he does weird things while nursing, like popping on and off, or staring at it strangely like he doesn't know what it's for, then that means he as to go! I know you're a big baby wearer, and that will (most likely) help with learning some of his squirming cues. I remember Hannah had two or three really big squirmy moments before pooping in the carrier (diapered, thankfully!) before I figured out she was trying to tell me she needed to poop. Then I got it! I don't know how to "full time" EC a newborn, since I have never done that, but you'll figure it out as you go!

Oh, re: hovering, if I remember correctly, I would just hold Hannah over the sink, and if she went, great, if she didn't, then we moved on. I don't think I gave it more than 30 seconds or so. Oh man, she made the cutest little face when I was holding her over the sink when she was tiny!!!!!! And most seem to go through a period where they'll pee shortly after being offered the potty, which is normal. (I think you know that, sgmom, but that may be new info to someone else.)

[pixiepunk]

in the early days I used a bucket or the sink most of the time, and just held her in the classic EC position and cued. they pee and poo so frequently that there were as many misses as catches, i was totally NOT trying to catch everything, just when it made sense to offer or she was fussing/squirming/popping off the boob/other typical signal. she was a really strong signaler from the start so i always relied a lot on her to tell me, plus my mommy radar which was never wrong when it went off, and just offered when i thought of it in between.

i also found babywearing to be awesome for EC - she always squirmed a ton when she had to pee while being worn (not to say she never peed in the carrier, she did a lot, but usually it was because i couldn't get her out or to an appropriate place in time). and with an older kid (or in my case 2) she was in a sling a lot so i had my hands free to deal with the others, so it worked out nicely. i used ring slings a lot those first few months - easy to get them in and out, and i had a solarveil one and a cotton gauze one that were nice and lightweight and dried fast if they got wet. though if i thought she would be sleeping for a while i put her in a MT instead and just peed her when she woke up.

when we were just sitting around hanging out, like watching TV or on the computer, i usually kept her nakey with a prefold under her butt and sort of half-tucked between her legs. this made noticing (and thus cuing) easier for me.

EC with a newborn is *awesome* - so much fun. i really, really enjoyed it after having done late-start with my older two. oh, and to answer your question about just hanging out over the potty (or other receptacle)... i found that if she didn't go within about 30 seconds, she didn't have to go, and we'd try again in 5-30 minutes (depending on how long it'd been since the last time she went or how strongly i felt that she needed to go).

[Juvysen]

for the first couple weeks I just made the cue noise when I noticed him pooping or peeing (like if he peed during a diaper change). But for that matter I started w/my DD when she was 9 months old with cuing her when I stuck her on the potty and that worked pretty well, too - she peed the first time I tried. Sooooo... I guess my point is don't panic! Get the breastfeeding down and get yourself healed up, the pottying will come.

[sgmom]

I never hovered my daughter for no other reason than she was heavy and able to sit on the potty more or less on her own (although I would have to steady her incase she leaned over). We also did a LOT of "naked on a prefold" time, but that's not as easy with a boy who tends to pee straight up. lol

I tried hovering him over the sink though and omg... how do you hold such a floppy little thing? And how on earth do you aim down?

I'm wearing him in my baby bali breeze right now, so as soon as he starts to fuss, I'll try the hovering (he's due for a diaper check anyway).

[lisavark]

YAY congratulations!

I don't think I have any advice that hasn't already been given. When I started EC during my babymoon, I would sit on the couch with a prefold under DD's bum, a bowl at my feet, and a pile of clean prefolds on the couch next to me. As the clean prefolds were transformed into wet prefolds (complete with cueing sound, of course ), I would move them to a pile at my feet. But that is not practical with a toddler in the house! I have no idea how I'll do EC the next time around. Probably put my daughter in charge of telling me every time she thinks the baby needs to go.

[dogretro]

Congratulations!!

With dd2, we started sitting her on the potty at two weeks. Before that, we would cue her as she was pooping her diaper by saying, "Poopy poopy." We keep the little potty bowl on the changing table and sit her on it when we are changing her diaper or think that she has to go. It is super easy b/c the table is already standing height, so she faces away from us and we lean her body back against ours and hold her w/ one of our arms across her front. I was never ever a fan of holding them over the toilet or sink (too heavy and complicated), so our kids are sitters.

I agree that ecing a newborn is way fun. She just turned six weeks old and has started to try and hold it & will signal some already. We did not start w/ dd1 until she was six weeks old, so dd2 has already advanced past her sister, haha! And cleaning ebf poo out of the potty is much easier than regular poo :P We do not try and catch every pee, just what we can there, but do aim for every poop.

[sgmom]

I CAUGHT A PEE!! WOO!! During a diaper change (after feeding), into the insert of our BBPC. He won't fit for long, but it'll work for the first little while (until I'm more able to move around to hover him over the toilet).

No poop catches yet, but I've caught some poop "cueing" in the diaper. His poop face is obvious that one is coming. He just can't hold it long enough for me to catch it in anything.

WOO!

[InMediasRes]

Hooray! Congrats on your baby and on your first catch!

I wanted to say that I started at 4 weeks PP (so not exactly from birth, but she was still very tiny). At that point, the popping on and off while nursing was the best cue. If I thought it might be time, but nothing happened, I would blow some air across her groin and it almost always made her pee. If she didn't go, I wouldn't wait more than 30 seconds or so.

[sgmom]

Poop catch!! IN THE POTTY! And it was a total catch too (read the body language, removed diaper and hovered, pooped).

Nice.

[hrsmom]

Originally Posted by sgmom

Poop catch!! IN THE POTTY! And it was a total catch too (read the body language, removed diaper and hovered, pooped).

Nice.

Cool cool cool!!!!!!!!!

[sgmom]

We've had more poop catches than misses, I think! Pee is a different story since they pee SO much, and I haven't been able to learn any pee cues yet. But he pees every time I hover him! I only offer once or so per hour (sometimes less, sometimes more), but a catch is a catch!