[hrsmom]

We started in her first week, but that's because I had read about it when I was pregnant and she kind of let me know she didn't want to poop in her diaper. Start times vary, depending on what else is going on at the time of birth and how old the baby is when the parents learn about EC. Lots of variation on that one. With us, there was a lot going on at the time of her birth, and I wouldn't have started that soon, but she did.

For night time, I didn't use diapers from just before three months to about 5 1/2 months. Since then (8 months old tomorrow) I use diapers almost every night. Maybe the random night where it's just easier not to put one on and easier to lay her on something that protects the mattress. But mostly diapers. Right now, I take her potty at night if she squirms, otherwise I don't disturb her and I change her diaper if she wets. (Last night I misread a signal, I took her, she didn't have to go, and it was a disaster!) I would say that 3/4 of the time she doesn't wet her diaper at night.

For going out, I usually have a potty in the car and I offer her chances to go when we're at a bathroom where we can do that. She rarely takes the opportunity to go when we're not at home. She holds it and goes when we get back home, or goes in her diaper if the trip is longer than she can hold it. In the summer when it was really hot and I was pretty over whelmed, there were times when I just plain didn't offer. She doesn't like it, anyway, so it worked out, I guess.

Experiences with EC- you can get a good feel for that by reading the posts here and other places. It's a journey, for sure. I have learned a lot about myself and how I react to things and I've learned a lot about my baby! I can't imagine not doing it. This is my first baby. I love how clean it is, that when she goes in the potty, the pee and poo isn't touching her skin like it would be if she went in the diaper. We go through plenty of diapers (between 2 and 10 a day) and sometimes I get peed on, but that has become normal to me.

 

[mama2peyton]

We started EC'ing at 7 months because that's when we found out about it (thank you MDC!) but I would definitely start from birth or newborn age if I could go back.

We don't do diapers at night anymore, but DD has always been very good about squirming a bit and then waking up before she pees. She rarely pees during the night though.

For going out on short trips (like to the store) I put her in a diaper but I find that she will rarely pee when we're out and about especially if she's in the sling. For longer day trips (usually doesn't happen often and mostly to see family) we take some diapers for backup but she just uses the regular toilet wherever we are.

My experience with EC is that it has been an incredible opportunity to bond with my baby. I feel a sense of accomplishment that I have learned to read her cues and am much more in tune with her now. From a practical standpoint it has helped with diaper rash (DD has incredibly sensitive skin), and it saves me quite a few loads of diaper laundry so I give it a big

 

[hrsmom]

I used diapers when she was a newborn, the times I had the diaper off there usually was a missed pee, they do pee a lot. I could tell while she was nursing, she did pop on and off, or get a weird look on her face as she was about to latch on. It was very cute, but it took me awhile to realize that was a pee signal. People have different comfort levels with nakey time and diaper use. There's no one way to do it! I had a lot of nakey time this summer because she was a good age for it (I think) and it was hot. Right now it's too cold! Good for you to look into it! It's just part of how I take care of my baby, feeding her, knowing when she needs a nap, taking her to the potty or changing a wet diaper quickly. The idea takes some getting used to at first. When I first read about it, I wasn't going to do it, then when I thought about the cleanliness factor for my baby's bottom, it seemed like something I needed to learn more about!

 

[sapphire_chan]

We began the process at birth, but only had success around 4 weeks. We use the same diapers (flats, tied origami style) 24/7, with a waterproof pad under her at night and waterproof diaper cover (Bummis basic nylon pull-on style that's just like the old-fashioned ones only breathable) when we go out or I just feel like it.

I started out by holding her over an empty yogurt container while sitting at the computer, then after starting to see some of her signals and having managed to cue her while going a few times, we moved to the sink. The first time over the sink I cued herbefore she started to pee and she responded by peeing.

: Then we were going to go visiting and I didn't want to use another person's sink, so I tried holding her over the toilet, and now that's what we use 99% of the time. We have a basket of TP on the toilet tank in 2-square sections because we face that way when holding her and that way we only need one hand to grab a bit to wipe her.

When there wasn't an open stall I held her over the trashcan of a bathroom once, dh says he has her use the urinals when he takes her

, and I've also peed her in the bag of dirty diapers in the car a couple times.

 

[mama2peyton]

I didn't EC her as a newborn but I did notice that DD had a pretty predictable pattern, she would usually nurse for about 5 minutes then squirm a bit and pee and then she would pee again as soon as she was done eating. I've seen pictures of women just holding a large bowl under the baby and letting the baby go while still latched on. My DD also had a face, but hers was a poopy face. It was terribly cute!

Yes we have had plenty of misses and I imagine there would be alot more with a newborn, but it's not that hard to deal with. I would like to think that in the long run there would be less "accidents" than with traditional potty learning.

I was pretty skeptical when I first tried EC, I really didn't expect to have any catches at all. But now that I've tried it I couldn't imagine going back to full time diapering!

 

[isabchi]

We started at day 3 with prefold diaper as back up. Now at 4 mo. DS is mostly diaper free at home, we waterproof his enviroment, mostly us (our lap or carrier) or our bed. For errands DS wear diaper or trainer( for 1 pee) and longies. We used mostly a potty seat and yhe sink. We still having a lots of misses especially at home, is his safety place.

We don't care about misses, because is all about the journey.

 

[mama2peyton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEJJ I was wonder how did you water proof your environment? and with what? like those plastic seat covers you put over couches? Also do you wipe them after they pee or poop? and what's their poop like? I'm sure it differs though from ages and babies. I've been trying to find some post on it lol.

As far as waterproofing we just laid towels down on the couch and bed if DD was going to be nakey butt on them, we really don't even need to do this anymore. We didn't do anything special to protect the carpet.

Yes I wipe DD after she's done using the potty with our cloth wipes same as if she were using a diaper. IMO it's soo much easier to clean up after a poop in the potty than a poop in a diaper.

In an EBF newborn the poop tends to be yellow and runny or seedy, but fortunately it doesn't have that much of an odor. The poop usually changes as you introduce solids, DD's is now the consistency of peanut butter and man it can stink! Also as they progress from newborn to older baby the number of times they poop decreases. As a newborn DD pooped with every meal, thankfully now it's down to twice a day.

Don't be embarrassed about poop questions, we've all had them and you'll probably have many more

 

[isabchi]

We have old wool blankets (lanolanizaded) and over that a couple pre-fold diapers four our bed. For the couch, we just use set a pre-fold between the baby and the parents lap. We have this potty seat http://www.amazon.com/Thermobaby-T17...98958&sr=1-153 and we love it. We take the potty seat everywhere we go. I thinking right now to buy another one to have close to our couch.

Sometimes we use a towel (for the laundry pail) when is a large area.
DS rarely has a misses poops. So it's to clean with a cloth wipe. If we're close to the bathroom we just wash a little with plain water. We're trying to keeps as simple it's possible.

 

[accountclosed3]

when do you start?

we wanted to start at birth but because of some early nursing issues, we started at 10 days or so. maybe two weeks.

but i think one can start any time.

what do you do at night (do you use a diapers) and when you go out?

we use diapers all the time. we use cloth when home and disposable when out for a longer duration.

on average, we use about 4 diapers per day, though some days we use only one and others we can't catch a thing!

when i'm down to most days with 1 diaper, i think i'll get something easier for me to use like trainers. but until then, diapers are the easiest bet.

at night, i tend to miss more because i'm sleepy. he goes about 3 times at night, and i usually catch two--so that's where one of my diapers go. but, sometimes i manage to catch all three--hooray! i love it when that happens. but it's not all that often due to my own sleepiness!

also, in regards to signaling has been funny. i started with "sssss" of course, but that's now turned into a series of songs--pop songs in fact--wherein "party" has been replaced to "potty." for example, "tonight we're going to potty like it's 1999!"

look, it's silly, but it works for some reason. he prefers the 'potty songs' to the signal, and he's more likely to go if i give him a song before or during SSSS.

also, his signals are easy. when playing, he becomes still when he needs to go and may become fussy. when eating, he gets squirmy.

 

[wendypf]

We started at birth, I would hold DD over a prefold when she went. Around 5 weeks we started using the BBLP since she could support her neck and sit well with my help. We use cloth diapers all the time (prefolds + ecstore covers). Everyday is different, we have days with few misses and days filled with them. We catch almost all poops now! She'll be 4 months next week.

The signals (at least for us) were the easiest to read in the beginning. Though, they go so much in the beginning, changes are they'll go when you try, so lots of catches!

At night we use BBLP. I keep it in our arms reach cosleeper (she sleeps in the bed) and if I think she needs to go, I put her on. Until 2 weeks ago she would poop at least 3 times a night, but this week she's been doing 8-9 hour stretch of sleep and wakes up dry.

ECing is addictive and fun. I really love that DD doesn't get poop all over herself, much easier to wipe and go then have to change her clothes cause poopy diapers tend to leak.

The only thing I dislike about it is that DD dislikes going in her diaper, so at night, I didn't really have a choice but potty her. If she's distracted, she'll go, so during the day she doesn't mind it as much. At night, if I ignore her grunting and squirming, she'll eventually start crying, so it was better to just do EC at night.

 

[wendypf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoebird also, in regards to signaling has been funny. i started with "sssss" of course, but that's now turned into a series of songs--pop songs in fact--wherein "party" has been replaced to "potty." for example, "tonight we're going to potty like it's 1999!"

Too funny... I do the same thing!

 

[sapphire_chan]

As for poop, I've seen everything from pumpkin orange to mucousy green (when she had a cold).

 

[mama2peyton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEJJ Thank you all for your replies! I was wonder about one other thing, if you baby wear what do you do? cause I'm guessing you don't want poops or pees on the carrier.

I think you'll find that EC'ing and babywearing go very well together. Most babies when being worn will give very clear cues that they need to potty. They will squirm, try to get down, arch their backs, become fussy all of a sudden, and the cues are easier to notice at least for me.

I have not ever had a miss while wearing DD, but when I first started EC'ing I would tuck a prefold under her just in case.

 

[sapphire_chan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEJJ Thank you all for your replies! I was wonder about one other thing, if you baby wear what do you do? cause I'm guessing you don't want poops or pees on the carrier.

I put her in the carrier in whatever she's wearing. This means that I have to hang the carrier up to dry out a spot of pee from time to time (she likes to do some pees with no signal) when she's sans cover. I'll also put a folded prefold under her in the carrier sometimes.

 

[paulamc]

We started EC'ing on day 11, to great initial success! Before day 11, I would say "sssssss" every time I noticed him peeing or pooping (I heard the poops, and sometimes he'd pee while I was changing his diaper). On day 11, I sat on the side of the bathtub, held him in what I believe is the classic newborn position (his back resting against my belly, my hands under his thighs), said "ssssss", and he immediately peed, then pooped! The newborn stage is great - they go so often that pretty much whenever you put them over the potty, they'll go! Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we shifted from the bathtub to the toilet. We use the same position with the toilet but I / DH sit on a stool. We have a BBLP but haven't used it yet.

We started out saying "sssss" but have shifted to a whistle, because I frequently say "shhhhhhh" to soothe him, and feared he might confuse the two. Whistling was the suggestion of a Chinese friend of mine who is doing Chinese style EC.

He's been in diapers with covers from day one, but I'm starting to think that it's affecting our success. We miss a lot, and I don't recognize his cues all that well. We do have some 'catches' every day, and that keeps me going. As I posted in another thread, I feel like we need to make a change, kick it up a notch. He's got so many clothes on that it takes forever to get him to the potty - first I unsnap his little suit, then the onesie undershirt, then the diaper cover and finally the diaper. (Some days he wears pull on pants and that's much faster.) So I'm going to be looking to make a change in our system pretty soon.

One thing I've been wondering is all you mamas who said you have your baby go diaperless or with a diaper but without a cover, what do you do in winter - are your babies wearing pants and if so, do you just not worry about them getting wet? Or are you all using legwarmers instead? The idea of being able to tell immediately when he's gone is appealing, but I worry about his clothes getting wet all the time. And I want him to be warm. Sorry to hijack your thread BEJJ!

 

[mama2peyton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulamc One thing I've been wondering is all you mamas who said you have your baby go diaperless or with a diaper but without a cover, what do you do in winter - are your babies wearing pants and if so, do you just not worry about them getting wet? Or are you all using legwarmers instead? The idea of being able to tell immediately when he's gone is appealing, but I worry about his clothes getting wet all the time. And I want him to be warm. Sorry to hijack your thread BEJJ!

This will be our first winter EC'ing so I haven't figured everything out yet, but we have been using Babylegs most of the time or some sweat pants that are easy to pull down in a hurry. But I'm in Texas, and it hardly ever gets terribly cold here so it's not a huge issue for us. We have had some misses that resulted in soaking wet clothes but not very many. I look forward to hearing some tips from the experts!

 

[hrsmom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoebird also, in regards to signaling has been funny. i started with "sssss" of course, but that's now turned into a series of songs--pop songs in fact--wherein "party" has been replaced to "potty." for example, "tonight we're going to potty like it's 1999!"

I'm going to have fun with this, I think!

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendypf ECing is addictive and fun. I really love that DD doesn't get poop all over herself, much easier to wipe and go then have to change her clothes cause poopy diapers tend to leak. The only thing I dislike about it is that DD dislikes going in her diaper, so at night, I didn't really have a choice but potty her. If she's distracted, she'll go, so during the day she doesn't mind it as much. At night, if I ignore her grunting and squirming, she'll eventually start crying, so it was better to just do EC at night.

Definitely! And same here, no choice really, since my dd doesn't like going in her diaper at night. (Until recently!)

Poop questions are totally appropriate, BEJJ. It's one of the most interesting topics of conversation, that and pee! And, I want to add, that once the poops start getting a little more solid, I think you'll be VERY glad you started with EC! I know I am! Again, much cleaner!

 

[lisavark]

I gotta jump in on this awesome thread...

This is our first winter EC'ing too, but right now my favorite way to dress DD is in fleece split crotch pants. I made them, but you can buy them from The EC Store, Continuum Family, etc. The split crotch covers the baby's bum when they're standing, but when they crouch--or you hold them in the classic EC position--voila, the split widens, and there's space for a pee.

Fleece repels any misses so you don't have to change clothes if they get a little damp. I'm going to make a pair of split crotch pants from an old wool sweater, too (found instructions for this online). Definitely going to be our best winter clothes!

Long shirts help, too. And for girls, wool dresses or skirts with legwarmers. And of course, easy pull-up pants work, but we still have lots of misses, so wearing cotton pants with no diaper is just asking for it around here. LOL. Oh, and when DD was littler and we had tons of onesies that people I had given us, I found that snapping them on one side actually makes them awesome for EC because then they're held out of the way while peeing. Last summer she wore onesies snapped to the side all summer...that and nothing else!

I also cut the snaps off quite a few of our onesies. They are just an unnecessary layer most the time, in my opinion--the snap part, I mean. They're clearly designed to cover up disposable diapers for people who use those, but if you're using cute cloth diapers, why would you want to cover them up?--especially when you need quick access for EC!

And I think Chinese EC is basically the same, except that it's considered normal there because everyone does it. Split crotch pants originated in China--all the babies wear them there. EC is also still practiced by most people in India, Russia, many countries in Africa, etc....