tips for ec'ing with a newborn?

[Vaquitita]

this is my third time ec'ing, but my first time with a newborn. DS1 I started when he was 5.5mo, with DD we started at 2.5mo. With DS2 after the first week when changing his diaper I began noticing his signals that he was about to pee, so I began 'sssss' when he peed. at 2 weeks i started holding him over the sink to potty, immediately he caught on. that first week he waited to poo in the potty 5 days out of 7! I am just amazed that this is going so well with such a young baby.

DS2 is now 4.5 weeks old and signals most of the time. which is great. and not so great. when he's having an awake period he may need to pee every 15 minutes. if we are not home, then it's pretty difficult to take him potty at all let alone doing it that frequently. at home i potty him in the sink, when out i'm not comfortable doing that unless the bathroom is empty. and ds is very vocal when he wants something. last night we were out and he was crying and screaming because he wanted to go potty and i didn't take him. he basically cried till he wore himself out and fell asleep, he peed in his diaper somewhere during that but i'm not sure when. what do you do while out?

also, holding him over the sink is getting hard. he weight over 12lbs now and my arms get tired, especially when hanging out waiting for him to finish pooping. with my other two, since they were older, I would set them on a bblp. but ds2 is too little for this.

any tips for ecing with a newborn would be much appreciated!

[riboflavin]

I started ECing at 5.5 weeks, and DS was in the 90% percentile for weight, so we had a hard time holding him too sometimes. I did a couple things that worked well for us. I would sit on the floor, with my shins tucked in under my butt. I would spread my thighs enough to put an old wipes box between my legs. I would rest my baby's bum on my thighs with his back on my stomach and face him away from me. I had a full length mirror on the floor that we both could look at. It was a relaxing and bonding way to wait since we could see each other-especially nice when waiting a while for poos! Also, we could both see right when he peed.

I also had him go on the big potty while we both sat on it. I sat on it with him facing outward and also with him facing toward the tank. I used this method at home and also for out and about. I know, kinda gross sitting on public potty, but but it worked well for us. I would just change my pants right when I got home. I have a pic of that method here.

I also would potty him in the car with a tupperware or sometimes even with a water bottle when I knew he didn't have to poo. I peed him in bushes too when out and about. It's not always possible to stop what you are doing and pee them, but I managed to do it most of the time. Granted I only had one other child to deal with when out and about, so I imagine it might be harder for you to accommodate when you have 2 other children.

Just do what you can and try not to stress about those times you can't tend to those needs right away. Nobody can catch every time! Good luck finding some good positions!

[Vaquitita]

thanks for the pic, I was having trouble picturing how that would work. i'm totally not stressed about not catching a pee. but when he gets SO upset about not being potty'd, that does stress me. i guess i need to get over my self consciousness about pottying such a small baby in front of other people. even though this is my 3rd time ec'ing, i feel a bit insecure about it. today while out, when i changed his diaper i held him over the wet dipe and offered him a chance to go. that worked pretty well. now that i've figured that one out, that should help when i'm out and about.

[somegirl99]

Originally Posted by Vaquitita

also, holding him over the sink is getting hard. he weight over 12lbs now and my arms get tired, especially when hanging out waiting for him to finish pooping. with my other two, since they were older, I would set them on a bblp. but ds2 is too little for this.

My DS is about the same weight as yours and I have been holding him on the BBLP since about 6 weeks...he's too little to fully sit on his own but it holds some of his weight and I hold the rest. I do it at the changing table because that is a good height for me but I could also sit on the ground and do it. I have another BBLP I keep in the car.

So far he doesn't like being held over a sink or toilet so my options are limited when we are out.

[Carlyle]

What's been working for me (I do this at home since I haven't been "out" much yet!) is to cue my newborn over her diaper if I don't have time/energy to get to the potty. It's pretty relaxing for her and I can even leave her lying down on the floor/changing table (after undoing her diaper and leaving it flat underneath her) while she goes so my arms don't get tired. I just bend her knees up and cue her...just watch out for the projectile poo! I sometimes hold the end of the diaper up as a shield...

[Shanny2032]

I have never ec'd a newborn so this is as much a question as a suggestion. If you used something like the potette when out couldn't you just have it in your diaper bag - grab that and the baby and head to the restroom? That way you don't need to listen to anyone's 20 questions or criticism about ec but you can take the baby to the bathroom and do what you both need. I know when my 12 month old was potty training I got rolled eyes galore so I can just imagine when ec-ing a newborn. But, if they think you are just going to change the babes diaper then all is well.