[clevelandmom]

The Summer Babies thread was so awesome to read, but my dd was born the end of Aug. I'm hoping for some companionship on this journey of EC. dd is now 6wks and have been doin ec since birth. Only put a diaper on her when we go out. Otherwise she sits on open diapers. Very overwhelmed in the beginning. Also have 2yr old who decided that she wasn't wearing diapers anymore when the newborn came home. It was a lot at once. Broke down crying more than once.

Do ec with a lot of timing. dh is sick of hearing the timer ding. But setting the timer gives me a chance to focus on something else for a few minutes to catch up with the rest of my life (laundry, dishes, etc.). But the timer also keeps me from getting too wrapped up in something else so I can focus again on dd and ec.

Set timer for 10min if dd is out-of-arms and at least 15 if in arms. Also use intuition b/c timing is not perfect. Have been noticing that she pees upon waking, then 10min, then 15min and maybe we can get 20min. Poo comes with pee 98% of time. I make a sss sound when I'm ready for her to go. Usually, I sit on couch and hold her over basin (the one the hospital gave me). Very comfortable and easy on my back and I can see and talk to 2yr old.

You don't know how great it feels to talk to other moms about this. Our friends think it is interesting, but no one really understands what we're experiencing. It is amazing and sometimes amazingly frustrating. But I don't want to quit b/c I believe it is the right thing to be doing for and with dd.

I've talked enough. Hope there are more fall babies out there!

 

[beebs]

I already crashed the summer babies thread cuz my DD was born a week early, but I'll join you here, too, if that's OK with you

First of all, let me say how awesome it is that you started from birth, and that as a new mom I can't imagine how much time and energy it takes to care for your 2yo and a newborn at the same time! I really have a newfound admiration for parents, especially those who have more than one. I've done my share of crying, but not just cuz of EC, but because everything about having a baby was and still is overwhelming to me. Not to mention those crazy hormones.

We do pretty much what you do - DD sits on prefolds all day at home. Too chicken to go out diaperless yet, but we did catch two pees yesterday (one in a toilet stall, one in a parking lot) and missed a poo (always while nursing!) while we were out for almost 5 hrs. We don't use a timer, but I can see how that would be helpful with another child to look after. And chores? Hmmm, haven't done those in a while...I'm one of those people who tries to get things done when the baby sleeps and then wind up being sleep-deprived myself. Seriously, when are you supposed to do stuff otherwise??

DH is totally on board and always helps EC when he gets home and at night. He tells one person at work all the "crazy" stuff we do, like EC, cloth dipes, homebirth...While his co-worker is not what I would call supportive, he at least listens and says, "Wow, wild" after everything. Probably just thinks we're big weirdos, but at least he doesn't judge (we live in a conservative part of LA county). My parents and in-laws are cool with it, too. They helped EC her while they were here (ok, just the moms, not the dads). Perhaps because the parents are all from Asia (Hong Kong and India, and DH and I were born in the usa as they say) they are kinda more open about this method, even though they didn't raise us here that way. I'm a 'sposie babe myself, but my mom said she started pottying me at 6mo cuz I hated my diaper.

Otherwise, we pretty much don't care what anyone else thinks, and if people ask why we EC we just explain that we take her to potty cuz we don't like her sitting in her own waste and that she can actually tell us when she needs to go. I think most people think we are either forcing her to go or we have a super-genius baby, but whatever. Like you, we're doing it cuz like you we know it's right and it just makes sense. Hope I can keep it up like the rest of the mommas on this board!

 

[rebecca26]

Thank you both for sharing your success stories. I have a 10 week old daughter and would like to begin EC with her. I just found out about it today. I am going to start this weekend and see how it goes for a few weeks. I need to find a basin to use cause the toilet is a bit big and not convient when playing in the living room. Everyone that I tell about it is going to think that I am crazy so I printed out some information on it for any of my friends or family that thinks I am crazy. My mom is my daughters care giver while I am at work so I have to get her backing to do it before we can go forth, so hopefully she agrees to want to try it. Then the next is my husband, he's gonna think I'm crazy, he already had comments when I brought the cloth diapers home. Oh well though I don't like the thought of my baby sitting in her own waste, and if I can help her out that's what I am going to do. So thanks again, love the stories about babies near my daugher's age.