If you really want to save the environment and save money, consider trying part-time EC!

[porcelina]

I  was on this board all the time last year! Now, I have an adorable 7 month old. I never intended to do elimination communication. I always thought this meant helicopter parenting and having to be home with your baby all the time. Well, it turns out, my baby has the most sensitive skin, and got a horrible diaper rash at 4 weeks. I was following the instructions of lots of naked time, and cleaning only with a squirt bottle (over the sink). Well, he started to cue to the sound of the running water in the sink, and started pooping there. This worked great, because no more mess! Then, I started to learn more about EC, and it turns out, it's pretty easy. Up until now, we have mostly only done it for poop. DS now almost never soils his diaper! I take him to the potty after eating, and sometimes after a nap, before a car ride, after a car ride, etc.   How many of you have changed a poopy diaper, only to have baby poop again in the new one (and maybe repeat 3 times!)? Well, consider having a little baby bjorn little potty on your diaper changing station, and holding baby over it instead. It is so easy to add in this step, and they really do have a natural instinct to not soil themselves. For pee, I'm switching to some all-in-twos with changeable inserts, because he never soils his diaper. Anyway, just a thought! Just consider it -- it is soooo much cheaper in the long run, as well as more cleanly. You don't have to be there all the time, you can just do it in the morning and a couple of times in the afternoon, if that's all you have.

[melon]

I agree, I always thought it was silly. But sitting there watching him poop his diaper, and waiting for him to be done so i could change him, seemed silly. So we bought him a tiny potty and started bringing him there when he made "the face". We definitely only did it part time--not when we were out, or 3 evenings a week my parents watched him....We started around 7-8 months. We used a sign for potty, since he wasn't verbal.
Now he is 24 months, and fully potty trained during the day, for the past 4 months. He still wets his diaper at night, but I can totally deal with 1 diaper a day. With another one due sometime next week-ish, I will be so happy to only have one in diapers, and if he's still wetting at night, i will probably switch the 2 yr old back to cloth once the newbie gets into cloth in a couple of months.

[BarefootScientist]

I love EC.

I didn't do it for environmental reasons, or for idealistic reasons, I just thought it made sense. And it worked, so I kept doing it. I will do it with this new babe as well. I use diapers almost full-time as backup. I think EC results in a lot less mess and is easier than diapering the way I would do it. I am all about easy. Although it may not be as easy as diapering the way many do it - like 4 disposables a day, only changing them when soaked. That would be easier. But I use cloth and change them when wet, and I personally think EC is easier than that.

It may not work for everybody, but there's no harm in giving it a shot...

[eastmillcreekmama]

I did it too, with DD1 and plan on it with this coming baby. It was so great. I love the looks on people's faces when i tell them I've only ever changed under 10 poopy diapers. And most were within the first few weeks until we got it all sorted out. My DD slept really well at night, too, because whenever she would fuss at night, I first held her over the potty and then nursed back to sleep. No nighttime wet diapers, and she slept pretty darn well. You wouldn't like sleeping in a wet diaper either, would you? She was dry at night first, at around 1 year, which nearly made my pediatrician faint. 

I will give the caveat that the kiddos seem to get pretty distracted from pottying around 13-17 months. They're so busy with their developmental tasks that pottying was hard for a while, but when we got through it, DD was out of diapers completely, at 17 mos. We had a lot of accidents for a while, but it was summer and we don't have carpet, so it didn't matter. 

[Jaimee]

I'm a big fan of part time EC as well.  We started around 4 months- I had no intention of doing it at all, but my ds basically "asked" for it.  He wouldn't wet in his diaper at night and instead squirm and squirm.  Finally I put him on the potty and he went.  Poops were so easy to catch b/c of how obvious he was when he got started.  Pees we did more on timing.  We were doing really well for quite some time, but then illness, travel, mobility, and teething got in the way.  Now at nearly 16 months, we are starting to get back on track slowly and I hope once we do it will lead to full potty training soon.

[KittyKat]

I started using EC when #4 was about 6-7 weeks. I really thought it was not possible it could work, and i just tried it to prove it wouldn't work... but then it did!

So, yeah, I plan to at LEAST part time EC this next baby. It's a great way to get more in tune with your baby, and have another option to try when the baby is fussy, and won't eat, just got changed, etc. Some times they just need to poo and holding them in a better position for it helps them get relief.

[Lula's Mom]

I totally agree!  EC is amazing!  I started with my ds #1 at 6 months when I first heard about it.  He was out of diapers at 20 months.  I started with ds #2 from birth, and he was out of diapers, wearing undies at 16 months!  He is even dry all night, which frankly shocks me. 

ds#2 took to it right away.  I noticed in the first few days of nursing him that he'd pop off and fuss a little- if I held him over the potty and cued him with a 'pssst' sound, he'd pee and then resume nursing.  I was very relaxed about it, and just made sure to take him to the toilet as soon as he woke up from naps and in the morning. I'd take him along and pee him when I had to use the bathroom too. It's easy to tell when they need to poop, so very quickly we had no more poopy diapers; pees took longer for him to control, but he definitely knew where he was supposed to go.  Now at 19 months, he has amazing control and hasn't had an accident in I don't know how long.

Even people who thought I was a little nuts when they saw me practicing this with a newborn now think it is the greatest thing ever!  They have seen how well it works.  I'm so proud of the way my little guys and I communicate about this.