Thanks to lemonapple for the inspiration for posting. Just wanted to share our EC story (so far):<br><br>
We started EC somewhat by accident. I had heard of it in bits and pieces, but put it in the category of something done in other cultures where mothers have mystical bonds with their children that I as a Westerner could never achieve. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"> We asked for cloth diapers for our baby showers, and when our son was born in March 2009 we diapered him with Bummis wraps.<br><br>
When he was a few weeks old we noticed that he had a "pooping face" that he made whenever he was, well, pooping. It was sort of an amusing thing that we noted, but didn't really think much about. One day when I had him on the changing table and had just changed at diaper, he started making the face. I thought, "Why wash another diaper?" and held him in my arms in a squatting position over a bucket we used for dirty diaper covers (empty at the time). The results were immediate! I did this a few more times over the next few days, and often he peed as well when I held him there.<br><br>
A week or two later, when he was 7 weeks old I happened to see a book called "Diaper Free" at a book fair. I purchased it and read it avidly while nursing. The next day I took off my son's diaper and started taking him every 20 minutes or so to the bucket in the sink. He went nearly every time, and we had only two misses that day. I was hooked. I felt like I was learning so much more about him than I had ever known (he doesn't pee while he's sleeping! He goes when I take him!)<br><br>
I introduced my husband to EC, and we continued taking him at regular intervals and whenever he made "the face." We used cloth diapers for backup most of the time, though if we were at home I'd sometimes leave them off. Before we started I was washing diapers every 2 days; now it was every 4. I never could see any signaling for peeing until it was happening, and often he'd cry if he was wet. I bought two BB Little Potties and some underwear and training pants. When he was about 3-4 months old "the face" started disappearing, or it became the face he'd make when he was concentrating on anything, like trying to grab a toy. I kept taking him whenever I thought he needed to go. I got good at figuring out his timing, though we still had a lot of misses. Some days we caught about 90%, others closer to 50%. He often stayed dry all night, even from these early months.<br><br>
We continued this way through the next few months. At about 7 months he started staying dry longer and we rarely had a miss when we were away from home. I started using training pants more often, though we still had misses most days. I tried to teach him the "potty" sign with no success. He didn't signal that I could see, but he would go when I took him most of the time, so as long as I did it regularly he would stay dry. He was a reliable morning pooper, so we rarely had misses for that. I started washing diapers with our other clothes because I wouldn't have a full load in a week. We went through a few times of refusing the potty or not wanting to be taken. I would keep offering gently, try different things, take him outside (which he always loved) and within a few days he'd be back to normal.<br><br>
At about 11 months he was having few enough misses (average of one per day) that we started using training pants or underwear full time. When he would wet himself he would cry and come to me to be changed. He never peed during the night. One day shortly after his first birthday he was grunting a lot. I knew he was about to poop--we had started having poop misses because he was going at different times during the day, and he had had the same thing happen the night before--grunting, pooped in his pants, then cried. I kept asking him if he needed the potty, taking him--he would sit a bit, then get up, then grunt some more. Eventually he pooped in the potty. Something about that process clicked for him--and for me--he started signaling to use the potty by grunting!<br><br>
With that signal, the missing piece was in place. From that day (about a month ago) he's told us very consistently when he needs the potty. (It's the same signal for peeing or pooping.) He grunts, we ask "Do you need to use the potty?" He goes into the bathroom, squats beside his potty with his hand on it, and waits for us to come pull his pants down and help him sit. We've had few misses since then, a couple a week, usually when we aren't paying attention to take him or if he's playing across the yard or something. I don't worry about it at all when he's in his car seat, in the backpack, out in public--he tells us!<br><br>
So, the moral of the story for me? If you never see your baby signaling, that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. You can keep ECing, and eventually it will come. I am aware that we could have a potty strike even at this point (13 1/2 months), but I'd have the trust to keep going.<br><br>
Now, when will he be able to pull down his pants on his own? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">
We started EC somewhat by accident. I had heard of it in bits and pieces, but put it in the category of something done in other cultures where mothers have mystical bonds with their children that I as a Westerner could never achieve. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"> We asked for cloth diapers for our baby showers, and when our son was born in March 2009 we diapered him with Bummis wraps.<br><br>
When he was a few weeks old we noticed that he had a "pooping face" that he made whenever he was, well, pooping. It was sort of an amusing thing that we noted, but didn't really think much about. One day when I had him on the changing table and had just changed at diaper, he started making the face. I thought, "Why wash another diaper?" and held him in my arms in a squatting position over a bucket we used for dirty diaper covers (empty at the time). The results were immediate! I did this a few more times over the next few days, and often he peed as well when I held him there.<br><br>
A week or two later, when he was 7 weeks old I happened to see a book called "Diaper Free" at a book fair. I purchased it and read it avidly while nursing. The next day I took off my son's diaper and started taking him every 20 minutes or so to the bucket in the sink. He went nearly every time, and we had only two misses that day. I was hooked. I felt like I was learning so much more about him than I had ever known (he doesn't pee while he's sleeping! He goes when I take him!)<br><br>
I introduced my husband to EC, and we continued taking him at regular intervals and whenever he made "the face." We used cloth diapers for backup most of the time, though if we were at home I'd sometimes leave them off. Before we started I was washing diapers every 2 days; now it was every 4. I never could see any signaling for peeing until it was happening, and often he'd cry if he was wet. I bought two BB Little Potties and some underwear and training pants. When he was about 3-4 months old "the face" started disappearing, or it became the face he'd make when he was concentrating on anything, like trying to grab a toy. I kept taking him whenever I thought he needed to go. I got good at figuring out his timing, though we still had a lot of misses. Some days we caught about 90%, others closer to 50%. He often stayed dry all night, even from these early months.<br><br>
We continued this way through the next few months. At about 7 months he started staying dry longer and we rarely had a miss when we were away from home. I started using training pants more often, though we still had misses most days. I tried to teach him the "potty" sign with no success. He didn't signal that I could see, but he would go when I took him most of the time, so as long as I did it regularly he would stay dry. He was a reliable morning pooper, so we rarely had misses for that. I started washing diapers with our other clothes because I wouldn't have a full load in a week. We went through a few times of refusing the potty or not wanting to be taken. I would keep offering gently, try different things, take him outside (which he always loved) and within a few days he'd be back to normal.<br><br>
At about 11 months he was having few enough misses (average of one per day) that we started using training pants or underwear full time. When he would wet himself he would cry and come to me to be changed. He never peed during the night. One day shortly after his first birthday he was grunting a lot. I knew he was about to poop--we had started having poop misses because he was going at different times during the day, and he had had the same thing happen the night before--grunting, pooped in his pants, then cried. I kept asking him if he needed the potty, taking him--he would sit a bit, then get up, then grunt some more. Eventually he pooped in the potty. Something about that process clicked for him--and for me--he started signaling to use the potty by grunting!<br><br>
With that signal, the missing piece was in place. From that day (about a month ago) he's told us very consistently when he needs the potty. (It's the same signal for peeing or pooping.) He grunts, we ask "Do you need to use the potty?" He goes into the bathroom, squats beside his potty with his hand on it, and waits for us to come pull his pants down and help him sit. We've had few misses since then, a couple a week, usually when we aren't paying attention to take him or if he's playing across the yard or something. I don't worry about it at all when he's in his car seat, in the backpack, out in public--he tells us!<br><br>
So, the moral of the story for me? If you never see your baby signaling, that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. You can keep ECing, and eventually it will come. I am aware that we could have a potty strike even at this point (13 1/2 months), but I'd have the trust to keep going.<br><br>
Now, when will he be able to pull down his pants on his own? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">
