Trying to start, but I think she hates it...

[Kritto]

Oh wise EC'ing mamas, I need your advice. DD is 10 weeks old. Last week we noticed that she's started holding in her pees during the night, and only pees when she wakes up to fuss and switch boobs. I had read a little about EC before, and thought this might make it worth a shot to try peeing her when she wakes up at night. So we tried it, and she got mad. She started crying, so we diapered her, and she peed. Later that day we tried peeing her, and caught a few pees in the bathroom sink, and she seemed fine. That was 5 days ago. Every time we've tried since (which has only been a handful of times), she's gotten screaming mad the moment her diaper is off and she's over the bathroom sink. We haven't tried peeing her elsewhere, but I wanted to ask what you all think - is this a location thing? Uncomfortable position? Does she just really not like us paying attention to her pees? I can usually tell when she's about to go, and have been making the 'pssss' sound when she does, but the moment we try peeing her over the sink, she gets very upset. I don't want to keep trying to catch them if it'll just make us all miserable. Any words of wisdom?

[cmg]

Could be position... how are you holding her? Is she fully supported, back against you, hands under legs? Might try keeping the squat not too deep - legs more parallel to the floor.

You might also try a bowl - we have the changing mat on the floor, so it's really easy to scoop her straight off the mat, baby potty between my legs. If she fusses too much, I can lay her back down and play w/her a bit before trying again.

Is she full-on screaming, or just fussing? Sometimes they fuss a bit while they try to figure out how to pee.

Other thing that you might want to check for is sudden temperature changes, like baby backside hitting cold sink.

Hope that helps.

[Margarita26]

if she keeps not liking it, i would say leave it for a few weeks or a few months and then try again. you dont want to put too much pressure on it!

[shell_sea]

I tried EC the first few times at around 2 months - probably about the same age as your DD. My DD hated it too - cried every single time and I said, "this isn't what I wanted it to be like" and stopped.

Fast forward to 3 months old and the first time I held her over the toilet she peed! We've been ECing just fine ever since. I don't know what it is that made it easier for both of us - maybe it was the fact that she had better head control and muscle tone in the rest of her body, making her easier to hold, or whether she was just more ready to take on the challenge herself.

Another thing that seemed to help was getting a little potty. We have a BBLP and a cheap yellow plastic bowl that I hold her over, and she definitely prefers sitting on the BBLP.

good luck!

[shell_sea]

oh, I thought of another thing that might help....

My DD really dislikes pottying at night, so maybe if you start with some time when your DD is generally in a good mood and likely to need to pee (like first thing upon waking in the morning or after naps) she might take to it better.

hope that helps some!

[gillibean]

I liked pottying over the sink when DD was just a few weeks old. By the time she was a couple of months we started using the BBLP. She seemed to like to sit on it and my back liked it too. Surprisingly she doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold.

We diaper with a sposie at night. I think it's mostly because I sleep so deeply that I don't think I could wake up in time for her to pee in the potty. She really hates being wet so at least the sposie wicks a lot of the wetness away from her and she isn't so fussy. Nursing is about all I can manage during the night.


We are definitely still in the learning stage. DD used to have clear signals and now she they're not so clear. We've started using timing more. I think it's mostly just being adaptable and trying to figure out what works for you. Although, what works one week may not work the next - that's where the adaptability comes in.

The other thing I sometimes do is to nurse DD while she's on the potty on my lap or to just cuddle with her while she's on the potty on my lap. That way she feels secure and relaxed.

[EdnaMarie]

I wouldn't do anything you personally don't feel comfortable with. I agree with all the posters that mentioned that you have to be relaxed. You might try when your baby has not gone, but not when she's showing any signals. Just for the heck of it- don't wait for a pee. Use a hissing sound or- this is what I do- a "shhhhhh..." I do it kind of rhythmically, slowly, like you would to get a baby to relax. My DD can sit there for awhile as I "shhhhhh" in her ear. If she has any pee, she'll relax and let it out. You might let her get used to the position WITHOUT waiting for her to pee- just getting her used to relaxing.

I also pee DD over a potty (bjorn-type but not bjorn) in the room we're in unless for some reasoon it's been put away. It's warmer and cozier there. HOwever I think this only makes a difference for some babies- it's not a requirement.

[orangefoot]

Fierstly its great that you are noticing thatshe's dry and offering her an opportunity! My dd isn't keen on the potty at night but she will wee in a little pot if I put one under her bum while I feed her. I sit up and she will wee within about 10 seconds of starting sucking then I put the pot next to the bed and lie down to finish feeding her han we drop off zzzzzz til the next time.

During the day it may be that she doesn't like the upright position to wee so maybe lying her along your arm and holding her under her thighs might help her release better. You could also try just leaving her lying down on a towel or flat nappy and giving her the cue as you have been.

I am quite short and our kitchen sink is quite high so when I potty dd there I rest the underneath of my forearms on the edge of the sink and lie dd down holding her thighs with her head almost resting on my chest and her back resting along my arms. At almost 6 months she still prefers to pee slightly reclined if being held although she sits up fine on the potty.

[Kritto]

Thanks for all your suggestions. It seems that maybe she just doesn't like the positions we've tried...I think I'll see if she's more comfortable over a bowl on my lap while nursing. If she's unhappy with that, we'll give it a rest and revisit EC again sometime in the future.