[saritajoy]

Just wanted to share our rousing success: over the past week I've lost track of how many pees we've caught per day - it's been anywhere from 5 to 10+ each day!! Plus, just a few days ago my DP Julio cued Gabriel to pee and he went immediately, which has made my DP even more of a believer in ECing. It was so validating to hear Julio and my friend (who wants to get pregnant soon) talking enthusiastically today - my friend had just observed two successive cued pees and said "I'm completely sold on the idea now!" The thing I love most is that our LO considers this form of peeing and pooping completely normal as opposed to doing it in a diaper.

Tricks I've been finding especially useful:
*Using a cloth diaper without a cover at home during the day so that if he fusses I can immediately tell by touching the outside whether he needs to pee or if we've had a miss.
*Offering the opportunity in the mornings upon awakening and after every nap
*Offering the opportunity after nursing; my LO seems to have stopped automatically peeing during nursing (which he did for the first couple of months)
*Offering the opportunity whenever he gets squirmy or fussy
*Having my LO naked for several hours a day
*Keeping the BBLP by the bed at night and by my nursing rocker during the day
*Giving my LO the opportunity to pee outside whenever possible

In his second and third month we were pretty darn good about catching the poops, but recently he's only been having BMs when he's super relaxed - like in the bath (ew!!!) or asleep. I had a particularly frustrating time last week when I knew he had to poop so I offered the potty (not interested), then he had the BM in the bath less than 30 min later. So... any ideas on how to catch those?

Anyone else have a three month old they are ECing? What successes or frustrations are you having?

 

[rightkindofme]

My daughter is eleven months now but we started around then. I think it sounds like you are doing a great job! Don't worry about the poop misses, that comes and goes.

 

[i0lanthe]

Yay!
I have a just-turned 4mo. I agree I love that he understands what to do as soon as I plunk him onto his BBLP. Life is too hectic here to go coverless (dd is all about coloring on the walls right now for some reason and it is driving me mad! but that's another story) - I really only consider myself ECing "part time" because on a bad day we only have a couple of catches - but I find that wool longies are nearly as good for conveying the wet vibe to my fingers but not to the general surroundings. It really makes a difference compared to a waterproof cover e.g. PUL or nylon where I can't tell from the outside. Mine only poops every 3 days or so, and it sure would be nice if I had any clue when he was about to do it (other than "today's the day, brace yourself")... but I don't.

 

[Say]

I have just, just started with my daughter (she's 16 weeks) and we're starting with the morning and diaper free time pees. She pees almost every time I place her on the BB. I stroke her belly in a downward motion, go pssss, and within 10 seconds she pees. I'm really impressed!

 

[hrsmom]

That is awesome! I loved EC'ing at that age! It sounds like you could write the next EC manual! Great observations and tips.

I agree, poop misses come and go. We had some weird poo blips at about 3 months and it hardly lasted at all.

 

[saritajoy]

Yep, back on track with the poops at 4 months, 1 week. He's been letting me know pretty clearly and often has cute (though stinky) little warning farts. Today was his first time pooping over the adult toilet!

Now we are having more pee misses, but I chalk that up to a bunch of new experiences and being more stimulated: he's just starting to stay with his abuela (grandma) two mornings a week (she takes him for potty-opportunities!!!) and is practicing rolling over like crazy.

I am also working on if I know he needs to go but doesn't take one opportunity we try to focus on playing with him for a short time, like 5-10 minutes, then return for another potty opportunity. Usually he takes it! If I get caught up doing something else after popping him in the baby carrier or laying him down, we usually have a miss and I end up feeling a bit embarrassed because *I knew it*.

I have found that using Say's suggestion "strok(ing his) belly in a downward motion" while making our cueing noise today has increased his responsiveness to the cues. I think that this only works when I know he needs to go but is just getting distracted by other cool things that are going on! Thanks for sharing, Say!