trying to get started

496 Views 5 Replies 6 Participants Last post by ~Coyotebones~, Apr 12, 2006

Nourishma

Discussion Starter · Apr 9, 2006

My son is 4 mos old and we have been talking about doing ec, at least to the best of our ability. I'm having a few problems though. The first couple of times we did it he was pooping and we just held him over the toilet mid poop and let him finish up there. However, he absolutely hated it and got progressively more upset. So, I thought I'd try getting a little toilet that he could sit on (he still has to be held upright) and he screamed as soon as I sat him on it. Is there just an adjustment period? The reason I want to do ec is because it seems like he would be a happier baby if he didn't have to sit in his own discharge....but if it just upsets him I don't know if I should try it...

Also, having not done it from birth, I don't really know how to tell when he may need to pee...do I just put him on the seat when he wakes up and after eating or what? Are there some common signs that a lot of kids do enough before that I can get him to the seat on time?

Most of all, does anyone have any ideas for how I can make the whole experience more enjoyable for him? I guess any thing that would help someone who has no experience with this would help. I really want to do this but not if it will make him that upset everytime I try.

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elight23

· #2 · Apr 9, 2006

I just starting ecing yesterday with my 7.5 month old. Basically, I already know when he is going to have a movement because over the months I've noticed he hunkers down or kinda grunts. Also, he gets quiet right before he urinates. I had him naked all day when we were in the house yesterday & today and kept the baby bijorn little potty near by. Most of the time he just ended up wetting me, but I accepted that as part of the learning process. I have to learn his signals when he's being carried, which is most of his day.
I sat him on his potty in the morning and when he hadn't gone in a while. I gave him some toys and magazines, which he loves to tear up, and I sang to him - to try to get him comfortable.
- He didn't seem to have a clue that he urinated when he did as I guess past 5 months supposedly they don't feel the urge as much or something.
- I can see how being held over the toilet would make your baby upset. All I can suggest is trying to play with him on the potty or get one of those nice seat covers for the bblp that make the seat so much more cozy. My ds is long at 29", so for him sitting on the pot is pretty comfortable looking. You can always try again in a month or two if he's not into it after you've made a good effort.
Best of luck!

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rubelin

· #3 · Apr 9, 2006

Try some different positions to find one that's comfortable for him. There are several reasons he was upset on the potty; it might have been cold, he might have been too far from your body, etc. We did transtion with my oldest from an in-arms postion to a potty at 3 mo old, but we mainly did it because he was heavy, not because he has problems peeing in-arms and it was just a matter of peeing him over the potty and lowering him a bit each time until he was comfortable sitting. You may want to look at some of hte pottying positions on the diaperfreebaby.org website for ideas.

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spiritmomma

· #4 · Apr 10, 2006

I almost wrote your OP, Nourishma! I started EC when Isa was 3wks old, but then gave up (though it was going great!) due to moving, holidays, stress, etc.

Now I want to get us going again, but I too, now am missing her cues. When I inherited a little potty chair from my great aunt, I took it as a sign that it was time to start up again. It's rough starting out at 4.5 months!

So I'm here....

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gonnabeamom

· #5 · Apr 11, 2006

i have been part-time ec'ing for about a month now, and it has worked well for me. Because I'm not trying to do it !00% of the time, I'm relaxed about it and just treat each sucess as a fun game.

I started by doing just the first thing in the morning, and I sat on the toilet with her back against my stomach. I got really excited each time it worked, and then I added peeing into a mixing bowl potty, or the sink after naps.

I never wait very long, always stop when she's upset, and sometimes play mirror games at the sink.
She's learning quick enough to satisfy me, and we're both having fun.

oh, she's 4 1/2 months old

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~Coyotebones~

· #6 · Apr 12, 2006

I think that maybe putting your son over the toilet mid-poop could have made him uncomfortable. Maybe you could introduce the concept a little more slowly. When I started ECíng my 11 month old son I put him over the toilet (in-arms) when there was no signal that he had to go. I tried it then (with no signal) only because I was changing his clothes and it was a good opportunity. I made the psss sound and lo and behold, he went! We only caught one pee that day, and I think he pooed in the toilet the next day. It was definately intentional that he was pooping into the toilet. Oh, and just 3 days after starting he started pooping in the toilet upon waking in the morning. Before that he always pooped a few minutes after waking up. So really, he seemed to get the concept pretty quick (I started when he was 5 months and 1 week old.)
As far as making it more comfortable, I would sing a certain song when he pooped and soon used it as a poop cue. Also, I held him over the bathtub for a while, but mostly to make catching easier, and so then I wouldn't startle him by moving him to make sure it made it into the toilet. I don't think that holding him over the toilet would scare your baby at all, as they don't have any toilet associations yet at this age. Also, remember that it was only the beginning, you'll figure it out soon enough. Good luck!

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