Tips for ECing a mobile baby and other questions

[Jaimee]

My 8 month old recently started crawling and we are catching a lot less. The problem is not when he's on the potty- if he has to go, he goes. Rather, it's me recognizing his cues when he's on the move. When he just sat and played, I would hear him starting to grunt and I'd swoop him up and take him to the potty. Now, he might be crawling all over the room or even into another room briefly and it's a few minutes before I notice that he's paused to grunt or stare off into space. I keep missing the first part of his elimination. While I still get the second half in the potty, I don't get to reuse the diaper, which I find frustrating. Plus, this clearly indicates that he doesn't care about going in his diaper, which I sort of assumed he would start disliking the longer we ECed...?

I am also wondering when he's going to start cuing me better than just grunting. And he doesn't cue me at all for pees. I have to catch those based on timing or, at night, based on squirming. At what age do babies generally start to actual verbalize a cue or sign a cue?

Lastly, how do you know when your baby is done eliminating for that session? We have had a few incidents where he pees a bunch, stops, I take him off the potty, and then he pees again on the changing mat. This usually only happens in the morning when he obviously has a lot of pee to get out. And with pooping, sometimes he takes a really long time, pooping, pausing, pooping, pausing. I feel like sometimes I must have cut him off prematurely becuase he has to go again half an hour later or so. Do you just wait and wait and wait until he's obviously not going anymore? I would be standing there with him upwards of 10-15 minutes, seriously! I feel like he should be reading the newspaper!

Thanks for your advice!!

[anarchamom]

my boy just started crawling a few days ago too so i have to same questions.

As far as completely emptying his bladder I have just started trying a new technique now that i'm confident he will sit on the little potty and not fall off. I will sit him on the little potty and just leave him there for a few minutes. I stand close by buy i don't hold him because if i do he is more likely to squirm and want me to pick him up. this was i can give him some time without holding him and i think he likes sitting there looking around at whatever i'm doing. He does occasionally crawl off now of course.

[Lineymom]

Originally Posted by Jaimee

My 8 month old recently started crawling and we are catching a lot less. The problem is not when he's on the potty- if he has to go, he goes. Rather, it's me recognizing his cues when he's on the move. When he just sat and played, I would hear him starting to grunt and I'd swoop him up and take him to the potty. Now, he might be crawling all over the room or even into another room briefly and it's a few minutes before I notice that he's paused to grunt or stare off into space. I keep missing the first part of his elimination. While I still get the second half in the potty, I don't get to reuse the diaper, which I find frustrating. Plus, this clearly indicates that he doesn't care about going in his diaper, which I sort of assumed he would start disliking the longer we ECed...?

This is an issue with my nearly 11mo DD. I feel like anytime I "let my guard down" and she goes off playing herself having not pottied immediately b4 I will probably get a miss. I have only ECed since 7mo, though. I don't think she minds the wetness of pees, in fact she seems rather ammused by puddles She doesn't like the feeling of having a "poopcident" though and does tell me "pahpah" sometimes b4, but I think she is still surprised by her bowel movements sometimes.

I am also wondering when he's going to start cuing me better than just grunting. And he doesn't cue me at all for pees. I have to catch those based on timing or, at night, based on squirming. At what age do babies generally start to actual verbalize a cue or sign a cue?

Lastly, how do you know when your baby is done eliminating for that session? We have had a few incidents where he pees a bunch, stops, I take him off the potty, and then he pees again on the changing mat. This usually only happens in the morning when he obviously has a lot of pee to get out. And with pooping, sometimes he takes a really long time, pooping, pausing, pooping, pausing. I feel like sometimes I must have cut him off prematurely becuase he has to go again half an hour later or so. Do you just wait and wait and wait until he's obviously not going anymore? I would be standing there with him upwards of 10-15 minutes, seriously! I feel like he should be reading the newspaper!

Thanks for your advice!!

I would definitely get him some books/toys for by the potty. Our bblp is wonderful for that. She can sit there alone. I or someone esle close by of close, but she happily plays on her potty. So hoping that won't change when she walks. I typically do leave her for the 15mins often. She has gotten really good about telling me when she is done in her own way. I ask her "all done?" and sign it. If she is done she signs back to me and sometimes verbalizes it, if not she ignores me and goes some more I have had a couple of times where I was not watching close enough and she crawled off after something and dumped the potty