Do ya ever get tired of EC?

[NaturalMom]

Okay - I love ECing and so does DH, and we'll continue to do it. But sometimes I get so tired of hauling him to the potty, taking off the dipe, seeing if he has to go, then putting dipe back on (cleaning him and getting new dipe if I missed it already). And doing this about every hour

I'm tired! Actually, that was yesterday and I had a terrible migraine so it made it even harder to do. I can't wait 'til warmer weather when I don't have to take off so many clothes to get to his bum! Or maybe letting him go diaperless then. It's just too cold in our old drafty house right now to do that - and it's snowing today but tomorrow should be 62F ?

[HeatherSanders]

For now we do those 'sleepers' around the house with a prefold and a snappi.

Yep, there are days when I'm feeling less than energetic. But I guess I look at it this way - I go help my two year old wipe a gazillion times a day, so everytime I go with her - I take Kenny and it is a 'family affair.' Heck when it is all over I NEED TO GO TOO! :LOL

I figure we should enlarge the bathroom to include a toy area, my computer, and other things we need since we live in there! :LOL

[Almamiel]

I can't wait for warmer weather, too. This winter was so cold, our house so drafty, our layers of clothes so deep.....life and ec will be so much easier when it's warm!

[NaturalMom]

Sarah - what a cutie! Love those eyes... I pulled up Mieke's picture and Nolan was sitting in my lap - He saw Mieke and smiled and made really soft cooing noises He loves to see other babies, whether in real life, in a photo, or himself in the mirror...

[pamelamama]

Let's be honest, don't you just get tired of parenting some times? Don't you get tired of nursing the baby and feeding the big kid and listening and running around and dressing everyone and blah blah blah! It's just part of the whole annoying responsibility of being a mama. But, let's all say it together:

Just look at the rewards!!

You know what I mean!

I guess I often wish I could opt out of my parenting responsibilities. Look at me right now, almost noon and we're all in pajamas, the house is a mess and I'm typing on the computer. Some days I accomplish more and some days I accomplish less, including EC. But, hey, that's the way it is! We do the best we can.

[HeatherSanders]

Pamela . . . such a good point.

I haven't had a shower, Kenny is sleeping here with me. I haven't even strapped on a bra - still in a nightshirt with Meredith running around in panties and socks. Yea, we are a classy bunch here!

[BowenTherapist]

there were a couple of times i got really frustrated and wished i had never known about ec...but that passed quickly. i love ec!
one time i was filling in at my husbands work and figured that it would be no problem ... just "strap her on" and the day will go great. well i worked 4 out of the 8 hours and most of it was spent in the bathroom. i guess i wanted it to look easy to inspire other women, and i was frustrated. but one guy said great words of wisdom to me while i must have clearly looked disheartened. he said "i think it's great your doing this with her (ec), you have to do it sooner or later and it must be much easier now"
now ec is very second nature to me, and i don't really get those frustrated feelings anymore... guess i just have to wait for her first potty stike to feel that again

[PuppyFluffer]

Agreed, it does get to be a bit much sometimes. I work three Saturdays a month and babe is with dh. He just loves this day with her, gets to go run around and such but I know he does not take her potty nearly as much as I do. He sees the value in it but gets tired of it too. We got major snowed in over a weekend this winter and dh was home for 4 days. In that time, being one on one with her for so long, he really got the hang of EC and her barely noticible cues! It was great to see them connect like that.

I figure we'll put the work in no matter what. From what I hear, teaching them to use the potty when they are older is intensive too. I figure I put the time in now or later......except this way, I save lots of cloth diapers and get her out of diapers alot sooner than babes who are not ec'd.

[PuppyFluffer]

Oh, and just to make you folks still in jammies feel better, I fell into bed last night with the baby and never got undressed from the day, slept in the same clothes. I'm still wearing them here at noon and dd is still in her jammies. I have managed to get two loads of laundry in the washer/dryer and that is about it! (But we did take a 2 hour nap together (I was up til 1:30am sweing an outfit for dd, so I think I was owed a llittle sleep!)

I am taking a shower in just a few minutes if dd will play in the livingroom for a bit longer!

[ShannonCC]

Short answer - Tired of EC? Nah


Long answer - pamela you hit the nail RIGHT on the head, LOL!

This morning I was in the shower and Owen hurt himself and I had to lean out and pick him up to hug him. So I'm standing there, not even soapy yet, holding a crying baby (whose shirt was getting wet), trying to stick at least my back under the water so I don't get too cold. And I'm thinking, how come Robert gets to shower alone? He complains if he has to do *anything* with a baby in his hand, let's see him do this!

And why can't *I* take a poop without a 4 year old having to be RIGHT THERE or a 9 month old on my lap?

And I LOVE nursing my baby but he's teething right now, so the every 15 minute nursing thing is getting old.

But to get back on topic The only time EC bugs me is when we're out in public. It's such a lot of effort to get his pants off, get him on the potty, have him tell me he doesn't have to go, and then get him dressed in a tiny stall, with no place to put him down, juggling my bag and the 4 year old in the way : But other than that, I really enjoy EC.

[loon13]

Tired of EC? Sometimes. But I get more tired of changing the wet diaper, especially the poopy ones! LOL! With EC, there is a sense of pride and joy that I am helping my dd respond to her needs, so that helps cheer me up a lot.

Like the others, Pamela said it true. The whole *parenting* thing gets very tiresome sometimes.

For those of you in your jammies, I'm in my *underwear* (panties and bra). DD is having a nakey day (I finally got the nerve and we've had great success so far.). I wasn't quite that brave, but it's nice having skin-to-skin contact when nursing and/or napping.
Also, not that she is mobile, she isn't content to sit in her activity center while Mommy showers.

What till my DH gets home! :

Loon

[NaturalMom]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Okay, now I don't feel so weird - you all sound just like me! Staying at home fulltime, you never get a perspective of what other SAHMs are like - on the rare occasions that I manage to get Nolan and myself dressed (maybe showered, maybe not) and out into the public, I see all these moms with perfect makeup (which I really wear so that doesn't matter), hair, clothes, and happy babies... DH keeps reminding me that alot of them are probably just like me and the others probably have someone helping out at home.

I look worse on most days when DH comes home than when he left; getting a shower in is a treat; I wear jammies 24 hours a day; Nolan wears the same outfit until he spits up on it or has a leaky diaper (could be three outfits a day or three days in the same outfit); right now, I haven't even brushed my hair and it's 1:30pm (although my big accomplishment has been to wash a load of diapers even though I bonked Nolan's head on the drying rack while putting stained dipes on it ); I grab little bites to eat when I can manage - usually the same way I pee: juggling Nolan on one hip or in the Baby Bjorn or the sling; we wash dishes when we need them to cook with/eat off of; I vacuumed Sunday for the first time in about two months; our table is hidden under mounds of bills, mail, old newspapers, clean diapers, etc...

I had been down about the state of affairs around here, and last night DH said it didn't matter b/c I was doing such a good job with Nolan - with our AP approach. I imagine alot of mothers get more time to clean and look nice b/c they use the CIO approach and their babies are trained to entertain themselves beginning at birth.

Anyway, thanks for the lift

[NaturalMom]

Wanted to add: my b'day is Saturday and DH's parents asked what I wanted. I never dreamed that I would say 'have your dad come over all day and help with Nolan so we can clean up'! (his mom doesn't like babies : although I also asked for her to knit an eggplant hat for Nolan and she's already given me that) But housekeeping is a rarity these days! Guess it's cause I'm 'keeping' my baby instead

[HeatherSanders]

Hey, in my book if you get to shower alone - you are having a real treat! My 2 year old thinks that water running is an open invitation. Kenny likes to at least 'listen' to the shower - although he'd rather be in arms.

Okay, who's going to make the sling for showering? :LOL

Anyway, EC'ing in public is difficult - especially when I have Kenny in diapers that snap. I've learned the 'sit on toilet' lap change pretty well, but he's getting to be a big boy, y'know!

Hey, I hear my son snoring - yes, he snores. Think I'll get in the shower now!

[NaturalMom]

Heather,

There IS a sling for showering! It's a mesh one - can't remember where I saw it - I'll look for it and post the link...

Edit: Found it - http://thisbabyofmine.com/poolsling.htm

[Raven7]

Re: Do ya ever get tired of EC?

Originally posted by NaturalMom
Okay - I love ECing and so does DH, and we'll continue to do it. But sometimes I get so tired of hauling him to the potty, taking off the dipe, seeing if he has to go, then putting dipe back on (cleaning him and getting new dipe if I missed it already). And doing this about every hour

This used to drive me crazy. Then I was encouraged to try some time for him in just pants and undies (I have these cute european baby undies, but I think just pants would work too.) So I decided to do an hour and see how that went. Then another day I did a few more hours. And before I knew it one day we'd gone 11 hours with no misses and no diaper. I definitley catch more when he has no diaper on, and it is much easier to redress him if I take him and it turns out he really doesn't need to go. I only do diaper-free at home so far, but it really is easy and no big deal. And if his pants and my shirt get wet, that is a quick change for both of us and I am saved the agony of pants off, diaper off, diaper on, pants on....

So, TRY NO DIAPER AND SEE HOW IT GOES!!!!!!

[HeatherSanders]

Hey, thanks for the pool sling link - saved it as a favorite and hope to get one for summer! Yee-ha!

I would definitely say that when Kenny is diaperless we have MUCH LESS misses, because I can't NOT pay attention . . . KWIM?!

[Raven7]

Re: Do ya ever get tired of EC?

Originally posted by NaturalMom
Okay - I love ECing and so does DH, and we'll continue to do it. But sometimes I get so tired of hauling him to the potty, taking off the dipe, seeing if he has to go, then putting dipe back on (cleaning him and getting new dipe if I missed it already). And doing this about every hour

This used to drive me crazy. Then I was encouraged to try some time for him in just pants and undies (I have these cute european baby undies, but I think just pants would work too.) So I decided to do an hour and see how that went. Then another day I did a few more hours. And before I knew it one day we'd gone 11 hours with no misses and no diaper. I definitley catch more when he has no diaper on, and it is much easier to redress him if I take him and it turns out he really doesn't need to go. I only do diaper-free at home so far, but it really is easy and no big deal. And if his pants and my shirt get wet, that is a quick change for both of us and I am saved the agony of pants off, diaper off, diaper on, pants on....

So, TRY NO DIAPER AND SEE HOW IT GOES!!!!!!

[NaturalMom]

Originally posted by NaturalMom
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

on the rare occasions that I manage to get Nolan and myself dressed (maybe showered, maybe not) and out into the public, I see all these moms with perfect makeup (which I really wear so that doesn't matter), hair, clothes, and happy babies

Okay - big typo. I mean to say that "I really DON'T wear" makeup... No biggie but it makes more sense that way, doesn't it?

[Pam_and_Abigail]

I DO get tired of EC. Some days (a lot of days), I'm just too lazy to bother taking dd to the potty. We jsut started EC really 2 weeks ago, and I miss a lot of pees anyway. I'm really only into it half-heartedly. I'm not trying all that hard, because it's just so time consuming.