Elimination Communication Again

[ShannonCC]

Just thought I'd start an elimination communication thread to "chat". So how's it going for everyone?

Every year I suffer from "post Christmas letdown" (ok, this is going somewhere on topic, believe me). I love the whole season so much, I usually start looking forward to it in the summer. And it never disappoints, it's always a blast. So then, Dec 26 every year I get a MAJOR case of the blahs.

So this year, Dec 26, I was just so down I wasn't really paying good attention to my kids (sad, but true). I missed pee after pee after pee. I was soaking wet, lol! I finally gave up (not for good, just for the day) and put him in dipes even tho he usually doesn't wear them at home. I was really feeling down about it and how many pees I was missing. Then I realized in the month we've been doing this, we've had ONE poopy dipe (and one poop on my hand - funny story ). Hey, that's pretty dang good! So I think we're doing great despite a few bad days here and there.

So - the environment! We still use cloth diapers but I tell you, EC has still been good for the environment in our house. With cloth full time I was washing every other day (because I changed as soon as he peed so I had a lot of dipes - guess I was a natural for EC anyway, huh?). I had a pre-rinse to get off the poop, a full wash and then an extra rinse to get out any lingering soap.

So, since starting EC, I now wash once or twice a week. We still use diapers as backup, and I use my prefolds for spit and drool, so I still have diapers to wash, but not as many. Because we no longer have poopy diapers, I don't bother with the pre-rinse (1 entire agitator full of water saved!). AND, since most of the dipes going in the wash are not even piddled on (mostly drooly, or just dirty from falling on the floor and getting dog hair on them), I've stopped bothering with the post rinse. Who cares if I get a detergent buildup? Since they never get soaked with urine (just mildly piddled on) it's not an issue. So another agitator full of water saved! To be honest, I did not start cloth or EC for the environment, but hey, I still feel good about it

So, who's out there? How's it going?

[mrzmeg]

Things are going well for us too (not quite as well as they are for you, though, Shannon ).
On Christmas Eve, we had our first outing where we used no dipes! He just learned to use a 'big potty' the week before, and on the 24th we were at Grandma's and then a friend's house for about 5 hours. I caught his cues easily and he used their toilets every time. I was so proud--and the friend is wanting to TTC and now she's seriously considering EC'ing her babe. A convert!
I've been expecting to use dipes at night for a long time after we're diaperless during the days, but it looks like DS might exceed my expectations again. On Saturday night, he woke up and I just knew he needed to poop, so we EC'd for the first time at night. Last night, he held his pee from his last nursing around 4am til he woke up for the day at 9. Yay!
So, we're doing much better than I ever thought we would. I never miss when I'm wearing him in his sling anymore, so I think that I'm going to start having him diaperless at home. I don't quite have the open-crotch pants perfected yet (to say the least!), but I'm going to have him skin-to-skin with me in the Maya and have a large button-up shirt around us both. Hope it works well!

Melanie
ds Tristan, 10/04/02

[happymommy]

OK! I am a SAHM to one dd that is almost 7 months. I am going to try EC!! I have heard so much about it and at first i thought oh geesh! This is a totally far out in left field idea!! Who does this??!!! But i have read up and done my homework and i think i am gonna have an EC new year's resolution!!!
It sounds fun, handy, earth-friendly, and so much easier when the time for potty learning comes!!
So any suggestions to start? Will my baby being 7 months make a difference?

[onediaperinmama]

Well, we're not TRUE EC'ers since I kind of gave up when ds was little. But I pay attention to his signs now and he goes poopie on the potty almost every day. We bought the Baby Bjorn potty seat that fits right on the toilet, not cheap... but all the regular potty chairs got horrible reviews on babysrus.com so we forked over the $30.00 for it, and it is wonderful!

I'm not so good at catching his peepees... though I think if I set a bit of a routine by setting him on the toilet in the mornings, after meals, and before bed etc. we could figure out a sign for it and he'd get it.

He LOVES the potty & I love it that he "tells" me when he needs to go.

[ShannonCC]

Melanie, I'm envious! Owen has yet to pee on a "strange" potty. He doesn't want to be held so unless i drag the bjorn little potty with us (which I often do!) he won't go. Funny thing is I must be timing our outings right. Even tho he won't pee, he still has dry dipes when we get home!

Happymommy welcome and good luck! I have read that it is harder the older you start since they get used to going in their diaper (basically they're diaper trained). However, we only started a month ago when ds was 6 m/o and it's going great for us! I have him bottomless at home and use dipes w/o cover at night and with cover for going out. (or dipes at home on the days like I described above : ) My suggestion is just to take it easy. No pressure on either of you! It's not about how many catches or misses you have, it's about letting your dd know that you are trying to listen to her signals and take care of her needs. Oh and you will have misses, take that as fact and not as a reason to give up. I started thinking that I'd only get the morning poo (since it was so regular at the time). I've been amazed at how quickly and easily it's taken off for us! But then my son is really laid back, so that might be part of it I've also read a lot about EC strikes so I'm expecting that we'll have one in a few months when he starts crawling.

Moonbucket that is cool about poops!

[happymommy]

Oh my gosh! We have been ECing now for. oh, 6 HOURS!!!! DD went potty IN THE POTTY 5 times!! And went poop once!!!!!!
She loves it!!!! I never thought it would have been so easy, not that boom!!! she is potty trained, but, well you guys know what i mean!!
She even sits there and waits for me to make the psssssss. . . sound and then she pushes!!!HA HA! It is SO cute!!!
I am so excited!!
??What do you ladies use for a "drop cloth"(diaper) while at home? I need something easy to get off.

[Pam_and_Abigail]

Need help getting started

Ok, I read about EC for the first time about a month ago. I think it's a great idea, and my head is devoted to the idea. I just can't get started. DD is 3 1/2 months now, and when we're at home I often leave her coverless and change her when she gets wet. And 3 times I've tried to potty her. Twice over the toilet, once between my legs on the toilet. Every time, dd cries instead of peeing or pooping. I don't want to traumatize her or make her fear the toilet. I want a baby bjorn little potty, bc I think that'd be easier, but they seem hard to get in Canada. I also want a copy of "Diaper Free". I hope to buy it and the maya sling at the same time from the same site. I just don't have the $100 it would cost right now.
Dh mostly likes the idea, but he's afraid that it'll mean getting up at night. Despite being excl. bf, dd has been sleeping through for about a month. I don't know if I want to go back to night waking. I thought about using diapers at night, but dh thought this would teach her that wetting the bed is ok, much the same that diapers teach wetting pants.
I really want to do this, and before she gets older and it's harder. I have been trying to pick up on her patterns, but I really think I need a potty her size. And the book might help. I've been playing around with letting her be naked waist down, but with no good place to potty her, I'm not sure. The only cheap one I have found in local stores is a safety 1st one, but it's probably too big still for my baby. She is pretty big, at about 16 lbs. but no toddler!
I really need help to get this on the go. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Pam
Abigail 9-19-02

[Beth-TX]

Despite being excl. bf, dd has been sleeping through for about a month

FYI: my dd slept through the night from 2-4 months then started waking again to nurse. She's 21 mo now and nurses about 2-3 every night. So...it could just be a temporary fluke (although, for your sake, I hope it's not!).

peace, Beth

[mrzmeg]

Abigail,
That's great you're going to give it a try! Until very recently, Tristan couldn't go in a big toilet because he felt too unsupported. He would cry just like your daughter. A Baby Bjorn potty would help a lot, but until then, do you have a small bowl you could use? I used an old mixing bowl until we got a potty (just supported him under his thighs and leaning against my chest).
I would think that EC wouldn't necessarily mean getting up at night. Tristan has never slept completely though the night, but EC has never interrupted his normal sleeping patterns. He normally wakes up a few times and always has; this week is the first time that I've used those wakings to EC. I don't think that EC'ing in the daytime always means that you have to EC at night.
I think that this would be a great time for y'all to start. Let us know how it goes!

And great job, happymommy!

Melanie

[ShannonCC]

Happymommy congrats! That is cool! I carry ds around nakie butt with a prefold under him most of the time. If I am going to have a diaper ON him, I find fitted with snaps is easy to get off quickly. Others have found Velcro good, but for me the Velcro re-velcros itself as I’m taking it off (I’m all thumbs!)

Pam, welcome! I have some thoughts. Maybe she’s crying because she doesn’t want to go then? My ds is very clear about when he does not want to sit. It’s not about us making them go, just offering the opportunity, so if he doesn’t want to sit, I pick him back up. If I’m sure he really has to go, I will try again in a short time (a minute or so!) and he often goes then! Weird, huh? If he hasn’t gone for a long time (he’s 7 m/o and can go longer than I can w/o peeing!) and I find myself stressing, I just put a diaper on him so I can relax (tho this is happening less and less as we get more experienced). The other thought is that it’s new and she’s not used to it. I do not have experience with a 3 m/o since we started at 6 m/o, but I do think he needed some time to get used to the idea. I wouldn’t make him sit or anything, but I would try handing him a toy before we sat and that often worked. We have a baby bjorn travel potty and it’s great. For the upstairs we just have a $7 padded insert from Target. Owen does not like to be held to potty at all, so I’ve pretty much stopped trying. And sadly, I am too big for both of us to sit on the toilet so I’ve never tried that

Oh, for night tho, I have some comments. I decided that I would not potty at night. I need my sleep and have been blessed (THIS TIME) with a baby who sleeps great and I’m not willing to mess with that. Turns out he sleeps so well that he doesn’t pee at night! Apparently many babies don’t pee when sleeping. They wake to sleep. So no night time EC for us! I have him in a dipe all night. First thing in the AM, when he wakes me fussing, I take off his dipe to take him to the potty. Put the dry dipe back on and go back to bed.. Cool, huh? I have missed about ½ the early morning pees lately, but since he doesn’t have a cover, and it’s early morning, I notice right away and take it off so he doesn’t sit in it. When I wake to him being wet I just take off the dipe, pee him and we go back into bed with him nakie. Risky but so far it hasn’t been an issue since it’s morning by this time and I’m more aware.

On the other hand, my 4 y/o has wet her bed 4 times this week What is THAT About??? Post Christmas sugar rush? It’s gotten old, believe me. Why does “big kid” pee smell so bad? Will Owen’s pee start to smell when he’s on solids? Right now it’s just water and I don’t mind being peed on (occasionally) but hers reeks. Bleck

[Ahleemah]

Phew so many questions!

Happymommy: WOO HOO!!!! :-) Be careful though, once your consciousness is raised, it cannot be lowered. Never again will you be able to be cavalier about letting a child sit in a diaper....

ShannonCC: ds's pee and poop did change in smell when we introduced solids. At 14 months, he's still 80% breastmilk so they're still nice and soft though. :-)

Abigal: Peeing in a night-time diaper may not affect day-time EC at all. We had plenty of misses, none of those misses taught my ds that peeing in a diaper preferrable... he could clearly feel the difference btw letting pee go and being dry on the toilet and wetting his diaper. You may find that as you get better with EC, babies start to go longer between pees and stay dry at night. We potty our son once at night, it's been this way since about 8 months.
Re: potty, any receptacle will do.. tupperware bowl, sink, potty etc. it's all in how you hold the baby. check out the pics on my site: http://www.freewebs.com/freetoec/ecinaction.htm

Moonbucket: we bought the Flip n Flush and love it except it doesn't have a splashguard in front for boys!

Blessings!

Ahleemah

[ShannonCC]

Ahleemah, are those Cee pants in the first picture? How do they work for you?

And I love that last picture. The expression on his face is adorable

[CrunchyGranolaMom]

Our first success! dd is one month old. I posted a few weeks back about how EC just wasn't happening for us. Thanks for the good support, ladies, then and now from reading this (see, you never know who is reading your posts, and who will get inspired by them!).

dd woke up dry this AM about three hours after dh changed her. This has happened for the past two days, and later, she peed so much she wet through her CD and my outfit! This time I was determined to give her as many options as possible to make. Tried the "potty" (a disposable tupperware), over the sink, and on the toilet with me sitting in back of her. Nothing, but she was mellow enough to keep trying. So I nursed her over the tupperware, and after a while she stopped nursing, looked at me and MADE! Whee!!!! My older kids were cheering her, and she made several big smiles after the fact (what a sweetie!). I was so thrilled I saved the "evidence" to show my husband!

[juliel]

I would say we're doing decently these days. My dd is 14 months, and has been actively walking for a while now, which has made some of it more challenging. She is so busy, that she doesn't always want to stop to pee in the potty. Of course, we were kind of late starters at EC, so we never really "perfected" it, and I don't really consider us full-time ECers (by which I mean I don't really tried to catch all the pees, but we do change her right away if we miss a pee.) I think if we had started earlier we'd probably be doing better at this stage. But, I still think it's been quite successful. She always poops on her potty, and now comes to look for me or dh when she needs to go. She also often lets us know if we miss a pee. She hates having a wet diaper. So, I think it's been going well.

Gotta go....

[sassytapped]

We just got a potty chair for our 20 mo. old and she has peed in it 2 or 3 times each day and pooped in it every day since we started 4 days ago. She still wets a few dipes/day but not many and being in the swing of this I'm thinking I'd like to start with my 6 week old. I've been using disposables on her since she was born because they were given to us, but am hating it and so is she. What do you dress a tiny newbie in so they stay warm when starting this? Can regular pants be made crotchless just with scissors and a few stitches? Is this a good age to get started?
Thanks, Sarah

[ShannonCC]

Lovinglife,congrats ! The middle of nursing pees are my son’s most readable cues. He does what you describe, he stops nursing and looks at me sort of like “I’m going to pee now” LOL! Or he fusses or whatever, but it’s pretty obvious most of the time.

Julie, how late did you start? From what I’ve read it seems a lot of kids go thru EC strikes and wear diapers for awhile when they first begin walking (or just pee on the floor of course). It may last a few months but I bet she has not forgotten. And of course, if you never catch another pee (well, til she’s trained) yet she does her poos on the potty and not in a dipe, then how cool is that I think you are pretty successful too!

Sarah, welcome and good luck! I’ve read the best “window” is between birth and 4 months so you are there! We didn’t start til DS was 6 m/o tho so I have no experience with a new baby. As for clothing, we use diapers (cloth) when going out, so I just dress him normally and then go thru the trouble of undressing him. At home he usually just wears a shirt (he’s a very warm baby). If I think he’s too cold I put pants on w/o a diaper or crotchless pants, tho keep in mind he’s now 7 m/o and doesn’t pee as often as a newborn so we have few daily misses. I made a pair of around the house crotchless pants with just a scissor. Just took some cheap sweatpants and opened the crotch seam and that was it. They don’t cover well tho so I wouldn’t put them on him in public. I and a few other moms have been trying to make ourselves some open pants that cover a bit more but I’m not having much luck seeing as how I’m not really good at sewing (and ds doesn't let me put him down to sew, lol!)

[Dodo]

Pam, I think the great thing about EC is that it doesn't have to cost money. I too thought that I needed the Baby Bjorn potty, which is super expensive and hard to find in Canada, but I was wrong. For the longest time, we used a gladware container. Then we used the big toilet. Now we mostly use the sink and a $10 potty.

I was in Nova Scotia over Christmas and was happy to see people using slings! Maybe you could find one second-hand?

[ShannonCC]

Maya wrap has directions online to make their sling! I saw someone posted a link to it a few weeks ago. If not, I have it somewhere on my computer I could email it to anyone interested. You just can't make it and sell, it has to be for personal use. But also, they sell used Maya wraps on the site I think.

[Pam_and_Abigail]

I did succeed in making a sling out of a bedsheet, but so far, we've only found one position that works, and I still can't do much when she's in it. I have her facing me and the sling sits under her bum. We walked around Mic Mac Mall that way just the other day. Perhaps you saw us?
I still think I could pick up on her signals, bc we spend most of the day together, playing, sitting, etc. I'm going to try a plain dish and some new positions. Hopefully today.
Oh, and just a note, Abigail is the baby
I will let you all know how it goes!
Pam
Abigail 9-18-02

[Dodo]

I was at Penhorn Mall when I saw the sling. It looked like a padded Heart-to-Heart.