It's up to you whether you would like to practice EC full time and offer the potty every time your baby may need to eliminate, or practice EC part time and only offer during a certain part of the day.
Elimination communication signals are body language or sounds a baby makes when she or he needs to eliminate. Each baby has different signals, and an individual baby's signals change with developmental phases. The best way to figure out your baby's signals is to do hours of diaper-free observation time.
A couple hours at a time may be enough for a young baby, who pees frequently. If you are starting EC with a toddler, you may want to start with days of diaper-free observation time, since toddlers eliminate less frequently.
During this observation time, your full attention should be focused on your baby. Diaper-free observation is best done with your baby naked bottomed. It can take a while to adjust to the idea of letting your baby go diaper free.
If you are not comfortable with having your little one completely bare bottomed during observation time, he or she can wear a back-up that allows you to tell immediately when it is wet. One option is a cloth prefold diaper worn sumo style and secured with a diaper belt , as shown below. You could also use a fitted diaper without a cover or non-waterproof cloth training pants. For diaper-free observation time during cold weather, you can add a pair of long socks, leg warmers, and a warm shirt.
Prepare for diaper-free observation time by placing a waterproof pad, such as a wool puddle pad , under your baby. For mobile babies and toddlers, you may want to stay in a room with wood or tile floors or cover carpet with mats or blankets. Watch your baby closely for any changes in activity or demeanor right before eliminating.
When your baby pees, make a cue sound, such as "psss". This will help your baby start to associate the sound with peeing. You can either use the same cue sound or a different cue sound for poop, such as a grunt. For toddlers, instead of using a cue sound, you can say the phrase you would like them to use, such as "Mama, potty!
Don't get frustrated if you don't notice any signals at first. It may help to repeat this observation time on another day. Signals for poo are often more obvious than signals for pee. Even if you are unable to discern any signals, you can still rely on natural timing, transitions, and intuition.
Baby's natural timing refers to their pattern of eliminating as it corresponds to waking and eating. Natural timing encompasses how long after waking or eating your baby eliminates and the interval thereafter. For example, a young baby may pee two minutes after waking in the morning and then every 10 minutes during the morning. They may pee at a more spread out interval in the afternoon.
A toddler may pee five minutes after waking in the morning and then every two hours thereafter. You can also use diaper-free observation time to figure out your baby's natural timing.
Use a log to write down when your baby wakes or eats, and then each time afterward that your baby pees or poops. This will help you notice patterns. If you hit a point during your elimination communication practice where it feels like you are no longer in tune with your baby's natural timing, it's a good idea to repeat diaper-free observation time.
The baby might not feel comfortable with passing stool in an unfamiliar environment. EC can get messy. You will need time to understand the cues given by the baby during the diaper-free time. An accident may happen en-route the pot.
Since a lot of parents around you will be dependent on diapers, you may feel isolated at times. There will be apprehensions from people while lifting the baby. You will be facing a lot of queries and weird reactions. Remain calm and strong. At the end of the day, you have to decide what is right for you and the baby. Elimination Communication can be done part-time or practised full-time.
Some parents would prefer that the baby sleeps through the night with diapers and continue the EC toilet training during the day. As mentioned earlier, it may be difficult to continue practising EC when travelling. Diapers will still be required. However, the quantity will reduce drastically. Practising elimination communication will require a lot of commitment and patience from both the caregiver and the baby.
There may be accidents and messes to deal with in the initial days. But in the long run, it will be beneficial and rewarding. Approach the situation with a calm mind and enjoy the time bonding with your baby. Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Create an account. Password recovery. FirstCry Parenting. In This Article. Milo Name Meaning and Origin. Xavier Name Meaning and Origin.
Chair Sleep Training Method for Babies. Layla Name Meaning and Origin October 20, Baani Sethi - November 12, A baby trained with elimination communication needs to be physically supported on the toilet, because they're not strong enough to sit upright.
In China, where elimination communication has been the preferred potty-training method for centuries, parents hold their child by the hips over the toilet, facing away from them. To simplify the process, they may dress their kid in split-crotch pants and let them go commando underneath.
Moms adopting the method in the U. You'll increase your odds of success if you join a support group, such as the one at diaperfreebaby. There's no "proper" time to begin elimination communication. Some parents start immediately after birth; this helps incorporate the practice into their everyday lives. Others take it up several months later. According to Olson, most babies use diapers as back-up until they're months olds.
Whether parents choose part-time or full-time elimination communication depends largely on practicality. If both mom and dad work throughout the day, for example, it might make the most sense to do part-time training on the nights and weekends. Elimination communication works best for parents with a sense of humor who can make adjustments on the fly, says Christine Gross-Loh, author of The Diaper-Free Baby.
In America, parents often modify the technique to suit their lifestyle—for example, by using diapers when they're away from home and finding a potty may be difficult. And the process happens again and again and again until your child is a toddler and you choose to potty train. Parents who practice elimination communication EC cut out the middleman. They observe the signs and immediately act, getting their child to a potty or other designated waste receptacle.
The idea is that, over time, baby becomes accustomed to this process and, as a result, is more empowered and independent with toileting from a very young age. Depending on the source, you may also hear this method called infant potty training or natural infant hygiene. Related: Attachment parenting: Is it healthy? There are civilizations throughout the world that practice natural infant hygiene as early as between 1 and 3 months old.
You may also be surprised to learn that just 3 or 4 generations ago , babies in the United States often used the potty as infants. What happened? The disposable diaper was invented in A few years later , a child development expert named Dr. Berry Brazelton published guidelines on toilet training that encouraged parents to wait to train until children reached between the ages of 2 and 3 years.
In the most simple form, EC is about learning when baby is about to go and helping them get to an appropriate spot.
This means paying close attention to baby.
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