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Elimination Communication - Have you tried it? - Page 8

Poll Results: Elimination Communication Success?

 
  • 16% (21)
    Never heard of it
  • 21% (27)
    Never tried it, think it's a crazy idea
  • 13% (17)
    Tried it with no/limited success
  • 47% (59)
    Tried it and was successful
124 Total Votes  
post #141 of 159
2/19/03 at 5:36pm
Well due to all the talk around here, we decided to give it a go.

The last 2 days, every time we've tried (granted, only 4 tries), I've caught a pee!!! We've tried after naps, and 10 minutes after nursing.

Now, I guess I have to try more often.

Cori and Julian, 7/19/02
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post #142 of 159
2/19/03 at 6:56pm
We tried it when ds was beginning to get familiar with the potty-situation at about 16 months or so. I know, way late, but it actually helped us tremendously. He was daytime diaper free within a month and has remained so. Now, at night, he also remains dry most of the time and sometimes I get up with him if I hear his cues. Great benefit to cosleeping! I don't know if we'll try from birth with the next one or not. Possibly!
post #143 of 159
2/19/03 at 7:01pm
I tried it with Sam when he was just a few weeks old, and caught lots!! I started having some family problems though, and now H is moved out. I may start trying again. I love the idea of being so connected, and ds not ever sitting in a wet or poopy dipe!
post #144 of 159
2/19/03 at 9:57pm
I must admit I read pgs 1 & 2 and skipped to the last page....just wanted to give you ECer's a thumbs-up...

...I don't think I'm going to do it, but I've always joked that I wished I lived in a dirt-floored hut so I could hold bare baby buns all day.


Edited to add that I *don't* think all ya'll live in dirt-floored huts! Just that to the uninitated, like me, ECing reminds me of the way mamas in Africa & India (yes! EVERY mama in every city, LOL!) who are without diapers do it. (Baby riding on mom's back, walking thru the rainforest, mama holds baby away from body for the pee, etc.)
post #145 of 159
2/20/03 at 12:32am
I too, skipped to last page after reading three pages of great posts. I had never heard of this before and am excited to try it. ds is 12 months- but I have let him without a diaper many times and he prefers to pee without one- I throw a prefold under him to catch it, so maybe I've been doing a little EC and not knowing it. I would like to wash fewer diapers, for sure!

I wish I had heard about this before!!!! I am amazed at how many people have had success with it, reading these posts.
post #146 of 159
2/20/03 at 12:57am
Does holding dd over the sink to pee before I put her in her bath tub count I often know she's about to go as soon as I start the water running, and often hold her over the sink just in time.

I'm afraid this is as close as we'll get to EC, though. While I don't think it's crazy, I just don't think it's for us to try full time.
post #147 of 159
2/20/03 at 2:40am
We've been working on EC since DD was about 4 weeks old. Unfortunately we've hit some speed bumps along the way: the hustle and bustle of the holidays set us back, then I took a break after DD started waking hourly (or more often!) at night for 2 weeks and I was just too exhausted to deal with it. Our results have been fair; I don't have a certain percentage catch rate consistently, but I view very catch as a success.

I tend to be a bit uptight sometimes with doing something "right" and "successfully", and after much reflection, I realized this was negatively affecting DD's and my EC; I was putting way too much pressure on myself over misses, and that bad vibe was in turn causing me to miss more. I notice when I relax more, I tend to catch more.

I also think DD's night waking is probably at least half due to needing to pee. We haven't gotten a potty yet, but need to. DD doesn't like to be taken to the bathroom to potty at night or early morning, but I think a potty in the bedroom would do the trick.

DD's now a few days shy of 4 months old. She can still go up to 20 times a day She's definitely a frequent eliminator!!! I probably need to do a diaper free day to enhance our communication; I'd origionally planned to do that this week some time, but we got busy with birthday parties and errands and such.

I'm really glad to see so many EC'ers here! I originally learned the term on another message board site, but I really learned what it was about from Ahleema's, Laurie Boucke's, USAmma's sites and the EC threads here when I was in my lurking days. Thanks to you all--I've definitely learned from your experiences!
post #148 of 159
2/20/03 at 3:46pm
I wish I had found this thread sooner!

We had heard of EC before, and I've been quite interested. Ds (17 months) just got a diaper "rash," or the closest thing to one that he's ever had, because I was using paper diapers: I should have known better! Anyway, I've been letting ds run naked through the house for the majority of the day for the past week or so.

I haven't really being doing EC, but I've sat ds on the toilet, and on his potty chair with no sucsess. I have been able to catch him "in the act" everytime, and I think he understands now. In fact, Just now he started to pee on the floor, and he stoped himself when I said something and we went in and sat on the potty chair, but he didn't do anyting
post #149 of 159
2/20/03 at 5:22pm
tinyshoes & Rabbity:
This is a loooong thread now, isn't it? :-)

tinyshoes: yes! exactly.. this *IS* what mamas all over the world do with their babies, and have done for bazillions of years. It helps to remember that diapers are a relatively recent invention, globally speaking... much like a microwave or a car, they are great convenience items, but not 100% necessary to a happy life!

busymomto5: sounds like EC to me! :-) It doesn't have to be full-time, there are no rules! Even one less pee against their skin per day is worth it! My mom did a sort of EC with me, she would put me on the potty for fun at 4 months and I was regularly pooping on there from then on. Whatever works...

Karen: repeat after me "oooohhhmmmm!" ;-) Relaxation is the key....

lunar forest: the number one thing I hear moms say about EC is "Why didn't I hear about this sooner!!!"

Blessings!

Ahleemah
post #150 of 159
2/21/03 at 6:21pm

Don't stomp on me--just curious!!!

I also read about 3-4 pages then skipped to the end.

I am truly curious, which never translates well in print--comes off as judgemental, and I totally don't mean it that way, so hopefully everyone will cut me some slack!

I never heard of this concept before reading on the boards here. I have to admit, if I hadn't read about it here, I would have thought it was some Babywise kind of thing. I don't understand how it is linked to Attachment Parenting in the way that I understand the concept of AP.

I totally respect everyone here and truly believe I am like-minded--natural delivery, extended breastfed, co-sleeping, etc. etc. and now cloth diapering, but I am lost here--not sure why someone would want to do this and what is the benefit to baby.

Remember--just curious here & want to be educated--not being judgemental & don't mean to start any arguments or make anyone feel defensive!

Thanks,

Donna
post #151 of 159
2/21/03 at 6:31pm
Hi Donna, and welcome to the discussion EC fits well with AP practices because it's all about tuning into your baby and responding immediately to her or his needs. At least, that's how I see it fitting into the AP philosophy. I'm sure someone else could go into more detail about it, but that's the short of it from my perspective
post #152 of 159
2/21/03 at 6:37pm

EC and AP

Attachment Parenting is about responding to your baby's needs, believing that their cries mean something, and getting in tune with the needs on an intuitive level. (This is my sorta definition, let me know if you disagree)

Taking the *other side* of this first, I believe that diaper-training is NOT AP because you are not responding to the child's inherent need to eliminate and not soil themselves. Instead, you are providing a place for the child to pee and poop that is held on their body, and (often) is left on them for (sometimes) hours at a time. The frequent topic of absorbancy comes up here... what we're saying in effect is "how long can I get avoid changing the dirty diaper... how much pee can I pack into it".

I believe Elimination Communication, or Natural Infant Hygiene, is AP because at it's most basic, it is responding and being in tune with your child's needs. Just as mothers who practice AP will nurse their children when they need to nurse, and not on a schedule, so EC mothers respond to their child's need to eliminate as it happens, using a combination of intuition, communication and timing (like knowing that they usually pee after getting up from a nap).

Also, Attachment Parenting means to me, things that naturally flow from being human.... things that fit with our biological nature. Because EC was the ONLY thing available to mamas from the beginning of time, because it is *still* practiced all over the world by more "primitive" peoples, and because diapers are a modern invention of convenience, I believe it is biologically what babies are conditioned to expect.

I would further turn around your statement "why would someone want to do this" and "what is the benefit to baby" with "Why would someone want to diaper-train their baby" and "What is the benefit to baby of using diapers?".

It's a real paradigm shift, I'll admit. Most women today don't even know that this is what women have been doing for bazillions of years, all over the globe, so the possibility of something other than diapers wouldn't have occured to them.

Thanks for asking the question.. I'm sure many other mamas out there are thinking the same thing.

blessings!

Ahleemah
post #153 of 159
2/21/03 at 6:43pm

Moving this thread

This thread is getting toooooooooo looooooooooong:

I moved it to "EC and AP"

See ya there!

Ahleemah
post #154 of 159
2/21/03 at 7:31pm
I nominate this thread for the archives.
post #155 of 159
2/21/03 at 9:30pm
I didn't vote. I don't do but not because I think it is crazy. i juts am too lazy. It seems much easier for me to change a diaper. Also I am emotionally attatched to my diapers and even enjoy the laundry. How sad is that.
post #156 of 159
2/22/03 at 4:10pm
lilyka, I didn't want to say that because I thought I would sound crazy! I really do enjoy washing diapers. I have been trying to use EC with ds (17 months) the past few weeks because the plastic pants that we we using have died, and we cannot find a place near us that has them in stock. (There are some stores that carry them, but when they run out they don't get more for a while.)

So I've been doing it out lazyness.
post #157 of 159
2/22/03 at 4:21pm
Where is this "EC and AP" thread? I cannot find it! I want to join you!
post #158 of 159
2/22/03 at 4:34pm
here's the link...
http://216.92.20.151/discussions/sho...threadid=43507
It was on page 2 or 3 on my browser, so many new topics come up here threads get pushed off the first page quickly!
Steph
post #159 of 159
2/24/03 at 10:12am
This thread has been closed, please refer to EC and AP for more chat on Elimination Communication and how it relates to Attachment Parenting.
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