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| OK, for those of you who have never seen a baby on a potty before this must look really strange. Elimination communication (EC), elimination timing (ET), natural infant hygene (NIH), or even <gasp> infant potty training (IPT). . . call it what you may, what it boils down to is nothing strange, abnormal, impossible or cruel. But let me tell you what it IS . . . NATURAL!! Yes my daughter does use the potty, and yes she has been doing it since she was 6 wks. old. And yes, she would have done it at birth had I started that early. We stopped using back-up diapers during the day at 8mo. She now wears undies at home and when we go out. No, I do not force her to potty, I never have. I simply take her to the potty when she tells me she has to go or when I think she may need to eliminate. And yes, she can tell me, despite not being able to "talk". She is not somehow "special" cause she can do this (although of course I DO think she is pretty special :-). All babies can do this, though I will admit that I don't necessarily think it is "for" all families. Yes, God did create babies with this ability and No, this is not a "fad" or something new. It has been done since the begining of time. |
| Piper 7mo. on her baby bjorn potty |
| What IS Elimination Communication? |
| Why I chose to use Elimination Communication |
| I first heard of EC before my son was born. I didn't really think it was weird, maybe a bit "radical" but that never swayed me before. It did however seem like a lot of work and, never being a mom before, I wasn't sure I was up to it. My interest was sparked again after my son got a bit older, but we had already passed the "window" for easy communication. I decided to, at the very least, give Xian a chance to go and try to communicate as best I could. So at 9mo. I started taking his diaper off during the day. Yes we had lots of puddles on the wood floors and yes he did use the potty some. I did't even attempt it when we went out. I am sure we would have done better had I done it 100% but I think we did OK. I started more conventional potty learning just before he turned 2 and he was diaper free before 25 mo. It really only took about a month. I am sure that the cloth diapers and the little amount of EC we used helped him become more aware of his elimination. I had seen enough of the benefits of EC with Xian to know that I wanted to do it with my next child. I didn't feel brave enough to start at birth though. So when Piper was around 6 wks. and I had gotten the hang of having 2 little ones I took the diaper off and we went from there. It has been an amazing journey since that day!! I WILL be listening to this need in all of my future children. I can't imagine not taking my baby to the potty. Now that I know that babies can and do communicate and use the potty, I can't NOT let them. I love the bonding that EC provides. I know my daughter better than I ever could have imagined. And I love the feel of her soft little tushy that has never had diaper rash! For a more indepth look at our adventures being diaper-free, read about our journey through EC. |
| For more information about Elimination Communication . . . |
| Infant Potty Basics - Laurie Boucke Infant Potty Training - Laurie Boucke Diaper Free - Ingrid Bauer |
| EC is based on the fact that babies know when they need to eliminate, and that they are born with the ability to communicate this need. If we are to believe that God created babies with the ability to let us know how to meet their needs (hunger, sleep, holding etc.) then why should we believe that He didn't also make them able to let us know they have to potty. This form of communication has been used in other countries forever, and is still widely used in countries like China and Vietnam today. It is best started with babies under 6mo. Older babies are harder as they have been "trained" to eliminate in a diaper. However, people have had success using EC with older babies as well. Most babies who are listened to from birth, take over their own elimination needs by 18mo. (some earlier, some later) and the best part is that not only have they not had to sit in dirty diapers for most of their short life, but they have been given an added bit of respect as well. |
| Diaper-Free |
| Books About EC |
| The Elimination Communication Station - Earthmoon's great EC site! My Journey to Elimination Communication - Lots of great info. and TONS of links Infant Potty Training - where I got most of my "how to" EC info. EC Mailing List |
| Helpful products for EC families . . . |
| Wonderbaby Designs - Home of Poquito Pants, baby undies Vavoova, Diaper Free Stuff - pants, toys, waterproof pads |