Who's Here? Introductions.

[Aletheia]

Hi Mamas/Papas!

I'm just curious to get a feel for the folks who make up this community, and thought we might do well to have an "Introduce Yourself" thread. Voila.

So I invite you to share the following:

Name:
Partner:
EC'd babe(s):
EC'ing since:
Other kids (+ages):
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?):
Favorite 'potty':
Other info:

I'll go first.

Name: Aletheia, 29
Partner: Dr. Ramsey, 30
EC'd babe: Oliver, ~3 months
EC'ing since: 2 weeks old (9/06)
Other kids: Kitty MacKenzie
Diapers: We use fitted cloth without covers, except for the morning when nakey butt makes rapid fire pees easier to catch.
Fav Potty: Big mixing bowl from Wal-Mart , though sinks and toilets are fine, too.
Other info: I'd love Ovi to have more naked time... maybe come summer. I'm currently trying not only to figure out Ovi's signals to go, but what his signals are that mean "no," or "i'm done."

Before this thread was a sticky, I was trying to keep track of folks by their experience level in the following groups, but it quickly got to be an organizational behemoth. So in its stead, I invite you to page or post to other mamas in the similar status groups in the forum at large to build yourself a support group. Here are the group names and experience levels we were using here at one point.
Gurus (EC'ing 12 months or more)

Experts (EC'ing 6 months or more)

Experienced (EC'ing 3 months or more)

Learning (EC'ing 1 month or more)

Newbies (EC'ing 1 day or more)

Wanna-Be's (EC'ing in the future)

[Enudely]

Name: Elena
Partner:Steve
EC'd babe(s):1 babe, born 4/15/0
EC'ing since: 2 weeks old
Other kids (+ages): none
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): I use a mixture of sposies, Fuzzi Bunz and prefolds with covers, though I recently discovered that we do MUCH better when dd has no diaper on at all. I think she "knows" and doesn't want to pee if she doesn't have a diaper on
Favorite 'potty': the big toilet lately, also baby bjorn little potty
Other info: We have real ups and downs with ec, just trying to have fun and not be goal oriented. We love it!

[eirual]

Name: laurie
Partner: shawn
EC'd babe(s): Hunter (almost 1yr- Nov 27)
EC'ing since: 5.5mos
Other kids (+ages): nadda
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): we now diaper at daycare (pockets), but the dipes go on at daycare and come off before we leave. Before ECing we used prefolds, just got the pockets for the DCP's sakes. We ditched the dipes when we started ECing and diaper-free worked great for us. The transition to P/T diapering at daycare was a little rocky especially since it coincided with cooler weather and pants became necessary, but we're golden now
Favorite 'potty': Padded toilet seat insert.....or a bush.
Other info: DH and I are 24, I'm in teacher's college F/T in a city I don't love, but we get to move in 5 mos when I'm done, so we're hangin' tight.

[lacysmommy]

Name: Carolyn
Partner: Dave
EC'd babe(s): Rose
EC'ing since: 7 weeks (she's 5.5 months)
Other kids (+ages): Lacy, age 2
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): fitteds and covers, use them most of the time as a back up, and she isn't EC'ed at daycare so f/t at daycare.
Favorite 'potty': I only have one stupid cheapie potty, but the bowl it came with works great as a potty bowl, and DD1 uses the potty too. I need to buy a BBLP soon though! DD2 is almost ready to sit down at a potty!
Other info: I work FT outside the home and we are extremely successful ECers. She has managed to change her schedule to only poop while at home, other than the rare poopy diaper at daycare. She always poops first thing in the morning and often in the evening as well.

I started EC to manage her rash problems. now we LOVE it! So glad I gave it a try. We did not EC our first but she had rash problems as well (considered it, but I wasn't really ready for it at that point). I was not going to deal with 2 years of rashes and here I am loving ECing my baby girl!

[azzuranotte]

Name:Christine
PartnerH
EC'd babe(s):Michael
EC'ing since:2 months
Other kids (+ages):Makayla 2 1/2
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): We use disposables.: But we've been having a lot of success lately so they're more for show.
Favorite 'potty': BBLP knockoff.
Other info: DD was ec'd from 9 months, out of diapers by 15 months and is totally independent now.

[ShaggyDaddy]

Name: Peter
Partner: Aja
EC'd babe(s): Jet (17m) and Marvel (3m)
EC'ing since: Jet was a few weeks old, Marvel was 2 days old
Other kids (+ages): none
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): use diapers (prefolds and covers) most of the time, Fitteds and longies at night, Jet wears underwear sometimes at home.
Favorite 'potty': simple padded potty seat that sits on top of the toilet.
Other info: We do EC in an attept to make everyone more comfortable. We have no specific "diaper free" goal because we feel like goals like that are stressful in our family. Our goal is to help the kids steadily and slowly learn to use the potty 100% of the time, the same way they learn to talk, walk, communicate, etc etc. We love only having to change a few poopy diapers per month.

[MAMARUSA]

I have been : on this forum for couple months thinking that I should introduce myself some day and this is the perfect opportunity, so here goes:

Name: Vera
Partner:Andrey
EC'd babe(s): Daniil, now 7.5 mo
EC'ing since:birth (2 days old)
Other kids (+ages): DS1 13y/o, DS2 11 y/o
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): don't use diapers anymore, just dress DS in undies or pants depending on weather, nakey in summer
Favorite 'potty': used to be bathroom sink, now he is happy with BBLP-like potty I made friends send me from my native country as did not know about BBLP at the time!
Other info: tend to miss about 25 % of pees during the day because don't pay proper attention to ds's signals, but don't stress myself about it.

DS1 was ec'd from 7 mo, DS2 from birth. Both were consistently using potty by 18mo, but that is the norm in my country. Because most people I know in US use disposables, I assumed that everyone does and almost started using them full time when DS went on a potty strike at 5mo. Now it is hard to believe that in spite of experience with DS1-2, I almost got swayed by sposies convenience and "they are not ready to use the potty until they are 2 y/o" notion! But then I was soooo happy to find MDC and learn that people do EC in US!!! I sent my huggies supply to a friend - I find that diaper free keeps me in shape better in terms of offering pottytunities and paying attention to his signals.

Sorry if its too long. BIG thanks to everyone on this board as without you DS's precious little bum would rot in huggies.

[MissSJ]

Name: SJ, 26
Partner: James, 29
EC'd babe(s): Jacob, 4 months
EC'ing since: birth
Other kids (+ages): Michael, 23 months
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): Cloth - prefolds, kissaluvs fitteds, bumgenius pocket, rumpsters AIO, fuzzy bunz, swaddlebees, bumgenius bamboo cotton fitteds. Jacob is in diapers most of the time because it is getting to cold to be nakked (sp?) and I am too afraid of misses in his clothes (I am SO behind on laundry!)
Favorite 'potty': BBLP, BB bigger potty (the one my older son uses but DS2 uses it too), and the potty bowl from the EC store
Other info: I read this board frequently but don't post very often but you ladies are great!! I wish I had EC'd DS1 when I learned about EC he was about 8 months but I was not consistent. With DS2 things are going great, our big downfall is nighttime. Well, I guess it really is mine. We began ECing at night which works out wonderfully as far as catching his pee but it is doing a number on the amount of sleep I get!!

ETA: DS1 has starting pottying himself these past few weeks - HOORAY!! BUT he onlyl will use his potty if he is nakeybutt and we are at home. I guess I need to start working on underwear and pants but as I said I have a hard enough time keeping up with the laundry!

Happy ECing,
SJ

[sapphire_chan]

It's silly, but...

Name: Liz
Partner: A.
EC'd babe(s): None (
EC'ing since: Birth (
Other "kids" (+ages): two cats
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?):Probably. I like the idea of flats the best, but who knows?
Favorite 'potty': I'm going to buy a BBLP, but I'm betting this ends up being something random like a hole in the yard.
Other info: Of all the reasons for wanting a baby, wanting to EC is the one that makes me the most impatient.

[rubelin]

We're not really actively ECing atm (ds2 is pretty much a grad now), but I'll always be around here

Name: Robin

Partner: Dan

EC'd babe(s):

Benjamin - ECed from 2 mo, grad around 22 mo, now 6.5 yrs with zero regression or potty issues at any time (and was insulted when a schoolmate asked if he was "potty trained"!)

Kieran - ECed from birth, now 29 mo and been a grad for a while (back and forth with the various stages of gradhood interrupted by teething and the like)

EC'ing since: August 2000

Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): The second time around we used Poquito Pants almost exclusively (obviously, lol!), with some Fuzbaby and ElBeeBaby dipes and flats mostly at night when Kieran was tiny. The first time we used mostly disposables for the first year (Pull-ups after 6 mo) and it was a lot harder that way.

Favorite 'potty': Our first potty was a BabyBjorn Splashproof potty, which is my favorite when they're littler. We also have 2 "curver" potties that aren't made anymore, but are great for toddlers (easy to get on and off of) and we also have a red BBLP and a Potette travel potty.

[damomma]

Name: Paula
Partner: B
EC'd babe(s): Em, 6 months
EC'ing since: 2.5 months
Other kids (+ages): none
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): disposables - at night, when dh or grandma is in charge, when going out...switched to cloth
Favorite 'potty': BB Potty Chair- update bb trainer ring on the 'real' potty chair
Other info: I have not read any EC books and chose this method because my gut tells me its best. We did the first 3 months on an occasional basis with great success. Now I just let Em go naked. Unlike many parents on this forum I have only taken her to potty in the bathroom on her potty chair. I probably will be buying some babylegs and a few pairs of Poquito pants (I don't sew much) since the weather is getting colder.

UPDATE: We moved at the end of February. Cutting two teeth and starting to walk were accompanied by a potty pause. Now we are starting (barely) to get back on track. I don't push the issue too much. We are switching to cd (finally) and I like it a little better most of the time. We added the shower as another easy spot to leak . She now says "pa" after she signs if you ask her "do you need to potty?". I still think EC is great even though I clean the carpets often. I know eventually she will get the hang of it!

December 2007 UPDATE:
My dd was 'on strike' completely from March-April 2007 until December 10th. Between that time we had only three pee catches. On the tenth of December she decided she did not need cloth diaper back up or cloth dipes to soak misses out of the carpet/chair etc. She is now using the bblp, the bbpc, and a bb trainer ring. We do have the occasional miss, but its rare. I was shocked at how one day it was diapers all day long and the next none. It was well worth my time to practice EC with her from 2.5 months on. Even though I was disheartened when she 'quit' at 10 months she never forgot a thing. She was just asserting her independence and the ability to choose where to go or not go. I will definitely be using EC with any other children I may have from the beginning. I am uncertain why the change happened so suddenly. I think she may have over-heard a conversation or two about her habits.

February 2008:
I see people with children the same age as my dd thinking about beginning to potty train their children. I am glad to be in the reminder stage. We only have misses when dealing with food allergies these days.

[tuansprincess]

Name:Maria (24)
Partner:Tuan (31)
EC'd babe(s): Daniel (3 weeks)
EC'ing since: birth with both ds and dd
Other kids (+ages):Emma (21 months)
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): 'sposies with dd and poquito pants with ds
Favorite 'potty': BBLP and dd uses a toilet insert
Other info: dd graduated at 20 months (a week before ds was born!) and only uses pull-ups at nite. I am finding that there are a few differences when ec-ing a boy vs. a girl! Love the support on this forum.

[EdnaMarie]

Name:
Partner:
EC'd babe(s): DD, October 2006
EC'ing since: 4 days old
Other kids (+ages): none
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): cloth with covers, however will take off covers when I get to my own house as am at mom's and she has hardwood floors which will get ruined with urine or poop.
Favorite 'potty': the real toilet
Other info: We catch about 2-3 pees and 4-5 poops a day, which is only a tiny percentage of all the pees and poops. Nurses every two hours, pees twice as often and poos just that often. Likes to poop while nursing which is causing some difficulty. She sticks her tongue out when trying to poop, squeals when peeing (about .3 seconds before she goes). Daddy is the best toileter. We live in Asia where nearly all babies are toilet trained from infancy.

[Bookworm?]

Name: Shannon
Partner: dh Wade
EC'd babe(s): Calla 9 mo
EC'ing since:birth
Other kids (+ages): 6 yo ds ec'ed from 15 mo grad at 29 mo, 4 yo dd ec'ed from 2 mo grad around 2
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?)e use prefolds as backup. Mostly at home we use training pants or coverless prefold or just nakey. We use dipes when out or when dd is home with dh.
Favorite 'potty': The toilet
Other info: We haven't had a poo miss for a month! Catching 50-75% of pees. Working on teeth and walking. I love ec and inform everyone I can about the benefits.

[icietailleurs]

Name:Barb (33)
Partner:Jason (33)
EC'd babe(s):Isaac (3.5 months)
EC'ing since:3 months
Other kids (+ages):Mickey (7.5)
Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?):Fitted with no cover at home and with cover when outside of the house
Favorite 'potty': Toilet or most recently a sink!
Other info I am new to this and only started ec-ing about a month ago with varying degrees of success. (50-90%) I rarelly potty ds at nightime, I find though he still gets up to eat twice at night, he stays dry and only pees early am as he wakes up. I grew up in Eastern Europe where people use diapers but start potty training their kids between 6-12 months of age and all kids are out of diapers by the age of 2! I love this board, it's awesome!

[Aletheia]

Nice to 'meet' all of you!

Instead of sorting us out by age of babes in the first post, I thought I'd make up some groups based on experience as a way to encourage us (read: Me!) when we have tough days. But unless someone more creative than I can think up some fun names for the middle categories, it won't be as motivating.

Also, your placement in the categories will be self-monitored... so if you need to be bumped up to the next one, either PM me or post here and I'll update the first post.

C'mon NEWBIES! There must be more of you out there! Or other WannaBe's like sapphire_chan. You can see we are all friendly enough!

[Daffodil]

Name: Daffodil
Partner: Mr. Daffodil

EC'd babe(s):
Lindy - 3 1/2, EC'd from 2 months, graduated around 25 months
John - almost 1, EC'd from 2 weeks

Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): John mostly wears cotton training pants around the house nowadays, sometimes with a pull-on cover. I still put a diaper on him for most outings (even though he rarely needs it.) I mostly use prefolds, and we have a few fitteds (Motherease Sandies) that still fit. I also had some AIO's, but he's outgrown them. I still put diapers on him at night, too - a prefold and doubler with a wool cover.

Favorite 'potty': These days taking him outside works the best. Too bad it will soon be way too cold for that.

Other info: So far, EC is proving more challenging with John than with Lindy. I wonder if the differences I'm seeing are typical boy-girl differences, or just individual kid differences?

[ktmama]

Name: Kate

Partner: Honey G

EC'd babe(s): Miss Annabelle (15 months)

EC'ing since: Three months old - that makes one year of ECing!

Other kiddos: Miss Lily - age nine. Didn't EC with her.

Diapers (use 'em? what sort? how often?): Started out with MotherEase One Size (LOVE them!) and some Kushies AIOs. Wearing one pee undies since nine months. Right now she wears undies or nothing at home, dipes when out and a disposable at night.

Favorite 'potty': BBLP is the only one we've tried. She pees sitting backward on the big potty when out and likes the sink and the tub too at home.

Other info: I'm finding that having A wear a dipe when out is helping us both and she's staying dry more often. I've not been as relaxed since the weather turned colder and the dipes are helping with that. We've had so many "stages" and our path has not been a straight one! Right now things are great with lots of signalling, very few misses and a week or so of dry nights. Yeah Annabelle!

[LeAnnie]

Hi, y'all! Thanks for starting this Aletheia.

Name: LeAnnie
Partner: my dh of 7 years, thinks EC is great!
EC'd babe: my little big boy ds, almost 1 year
ECing since: can't remember? Sometime in the newborn fog-maybe 3 weeks?

Other kiddos: my precious angel dd, almost 5, tells all her friends about 'elimination communication', likes to say the words and see the reaction

Diapers: various cloth get ups, pull up style cloth training pants, prefolds with prefold belt, AIO's and what we call peepee pants-old pants I got 2nd hand for around the house.
Fave potty: was nature, but now it's cold We sit on the big pot together.He doesn't like the bblp.

Other: We have had ups and downs since he started crawling, but he has a definite awareness of elimination, so that's what I'm encouraging right now. I definitely enjoy not changing poopy diapers-could probably count on one hand the times I've had to do that since 3 months of age. Pretty cool!
My ds's first word was poo-poo for real! at age 7.5 months. Now has shortened it to 'pooooo'.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Aletheia

Wanna-Be's (EC'ing in the future)
sapphire_chan

I love it!

Hmm, how about changing "Experts" to "Gurus" and making "Experts" the next category down?

Gurus
Experts
Experienced
Learning
Newbies
Wanna-Be's