About a month ago, we decided to start the elimination communication (EC) method and we seriously love it! I decided that I needed to write a post about our experiences with it, in case there were any others out there who didn't know about it either. Here's how we got started and what it is....
I saw a friend's facebook post of a picture of her (I think) 6 month old girl on the potty. I thought to myself....is she seriously on the potty? Can she even walk? So...I asked her about it and she, along with one of her friends, introduced me to elimination communication. They both stated that it was working awesome for them, so I decided to do a little research......I'm so glad I did.
If you aren't familiar with elimination communication, it the process by which a baby, starting in early infancy (or later) learns to communicate about and address elimination needs. Through the process, the parents learn the signals that the baby gives out and places them on the potty to go. Babies don't get used to a wet/dirty diaper, therefore, they really dislike being wet/dirty and will hold it as much as possible for their age. EC also includes giving cues to your baby when putting them on the potty in order to make associations about when to go.
Since I was a little skeptical at first, I ordered the book "The Diaper Free Baby" and started reading almost immediately. And the book has some great points! It states that newborns are born with the instinct to know when they are eliminating and as parents we "train" them to go into the diaper. Then later in life, we "train" them to not do that anymore. So, why not skip the diaper step altogether?! And, it seems as though we are one of the few countries that even uses diapers. Most countries let their babies go completely diaper free. The book discusses this more in detail, including the 3 tracks of EC: Full Time, Part Time and Occasional. This way, you can pick what you feel you can do.
The first time I put Mellany on the potty, she was sitting in my lap and I noticed (very noticeably) that she was starting to poop. So, I went into the bathroom and put her on the big potty (didn't have a little one at the time) and low and behold she pooped right in the toilet! From that point on, I was hooked and I haven't missed but 2 or 3 since then. (It is so nice not to have to change a poopy diaper!) The pees are a little harder to catch. Especially since Mellany literally pees about every 30 minutes--and a LOT! But, I have gotten it somewhat timed out and have learned her "signals" and have been able to catch about every other pee. At this point, I feel that Mellany even understands what is going on; because when she does pee/poop in the potty, she will sometimes smile.
It may seem a little odd to most (as it kinda did to me at first), BUT I AM SOLD ON IT! It has been an amazing process. Not only have I(we) gotten to know Miss M SOOO much better than I did, but I believe that we are setting ourselves up to have a diaper-free baby before the age of 1. She is peeing on the potty about 98% of the time (starting to actually go within about a minute of putting her on the potty) and we haven't changed but 2 or 3 dirty diapers in about a month!! And the best part is that the process hasn't been frustrating at all. And even if she isnt' completely out of diapers by the time she is 1, I look at it as though we are setting ourselves up for some "pleasant pottying"; meaning we won't have to have a battle with her for her to go and sit on the potty, this is all she will have known.
Now, you may be asking a few more questions......one may be "How long does she have to sit on the potty?" Well, it just depends. I've never had her on the potty for more than 20 minutes and that was just in the beginning. Usually she will do her business within 10-15 but sometimes I have kept her on longer thinking "it will come" and it doesn't......after about 20 minutes, she's not really a fan of sitting there anymore....and really, I can't blame her. So at that point, I will lay her back down on the changing pad and more than likely about 5 minutes later, she'll go....which is still great; I just change her diaper right then and put her in a new one.
The process is somewhat more detailed than what I've explained, but if you want more information, a great website is http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/ (they also have a facebook page). That's where I started and then I read the book (super easy read by the way).
There are tons of benefits to practicing EC. Some of the benefits include less diapers, understanding babies' fussiness, better relationship with baby.....I could go on and on (these are also on the website).
NEW PRODUCT FIND: Through EC, we have also discovered Baby Legs. We absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE baby legs. We had seen these in a few baby stores, but hadn't really tried them until we started EC. They are great for not only EC, but crawling too. Plus, they are super cute! You can check out www.babylegs.com for more info!
MY ADVICE:
1. Have a small potty, it will be much easier.
2. Wait till your baby can hold their head; this will also make it much easier.
3. I have already done this, but I recommend cloth diapers!
4. I also recommend baby legs.
5. Be patient.....there's really no right or wrong with this method; it's what is best for you and your baby. If you go an entire day and don't catch any pee's or poops, it's OK.....you just start over the next day. And even if baby isn't potty trained by a certain age, it's ok too. It will just make it that much easier because you won't have a "battle" every time he/she needs to go potty.
Doesn't she look like such a big girl....
