How old was your child when you started diaper-free out of the house?

[Lineymom]

My nearly 10 mo who has only been Ecing for less than three months is doing so well that I am contemplating this....

[Aimelet]

I vote 12-18 months, but we did not start ECing till 12 months, and then diaper free at 16.5 months

[emmaegbert]

I also voted 12-18m, but its not totally accurate- we hung around outside the house diaper free plenty. I figured you mean sort of "out and about" not just out in the lawn or a quick trip to the mailbox or something.

[mamakaikai]

I also voter 12-18. She turned 12 months in the winter. So EC+ snowsuit not such a great idea since I could not get her out of snowsuit fast enough especially if we were driving. But it would have otherwise been close to the 12 month mark. By 15 months it was summer and she was daytime diaper free and pretty much potty learned if under normal circumstances. When we were in new environments for long times ex new playgroups, I would keep her in a diaper because we would be too distracted/otherwise occupied.

The key for us was to not put pressure on her to perform. So if I was somewhere where I could not tend to her needs immediately, then at that age it was unfair to keep her out of a diaper because she would feel humiliated and regretful if she had an accident. And that's not where I wanted to go with ec.

[paxye]

We started being diaper free out of the house at around 5 1/2 months... the same for at night..

[Shanny2032]

Originally Posted by Aimelet

I vote 12-18 months, but we did not start ECing till 12 months, and then diaper free at 16.5 months

That was us exactly too

[rumi]

10 months was when we started and it was actually easier to ec out of the house than at home. Wherever we went, first stop was the restroom. Get out the BBLP, finish that and then go on to play or go the store / library / wherever.

Especially during potty pause (~14 mo?), we would get out of the house and stay moving as long as possible!

[theboysmama]

dd was 7 months when she went to underwear full time during the day. That is when ecing got tons easier and she did great while out. I think it is all about being prepared and then there was nothing to worry about. (she was having about 4 misses on average a day at that time)

[riboflavin]

I voted under 6 months, but want to clarify that we went through phases. Sometimes when we were 'on a roll' we needed no back up at very young ages. But as DS hit strikes at older ages, we would use backup frequently. It also depended on where we went, and if he pottied right before we left the house. Often I would try to time outings to begin immediately after he eliminated.

For someone who is trying to get the courage to do a diaper free outing, I would definitely recommend starting out waiting until right after they 'go' and then go somewhere close by for a short time. We enjoyed walking to the coffee shop, and ironically, the neighborhood cloth diaper shop! These small, perfectly timed outings helped build our confidence for longer trips

[Harmony96]

I didn't vote, b/c we technically haven't gone out of the house diaperless yet, but there were a few times where we COULD have, lol. DS is 11 months old and has been EC'd part-time off and on since about 6 weeks old. I don't envision me being brave enough to do that until he's over 18 months, though.

[tankgirl73]

I voted under 6mo, but like others, that's with a caveat. We didn't go diaper-free ALL the time from a young age. Sometimes, say if I knew we were going to be in the car a longer time, I'd pad her up a bit.

But even then, we usually had her in trim cloth training pants. The only times we used diapers after about 5mo was for overnight. We just made sure to keep a little towel in the car, just in case, to put on her carseat in case she peed in it. I think it only happened twice in her entire baby/toddlerhood.

Like others said, we found out-and-about EC to be much more reliable than at-home!