Marvelous Elimination Communication
MUST HAVE potty for infant EC
The first week with Bianca was fairly hit or miss because obviously she did not know the cues or what the potty was for or anything. We had a number of meconium diapers in the first couple of days (and by diapers I am referring to the prefold, flat diapers that she is always laying on). There was one breastmilk poo that I missed because I was trying to get Brielle to sleep and other than that, she has consistently waited to be on the potty to poo.
Pee is another matter entirely. She probably only pees twice a night which isn’t so bad but she is NOT interested in going on the potty. In fact, she gets pretty pissed at me if I try to potty her in the middle of the night. She has plenty of absorbent and waterproof stuff underneath her so the bed is protected and after she goes, the wet prefold wakes her up and I whisk it away and replace it with a dry one.
During her day naps she always wakes up and fusses so I have time to potty her. If she is awake she usually gives fair warning and there is plenty of time to potty her. Her signals are very easy to interpret. I am using the potty in the picture at the top of this post. It is the best thing for infant EC without question. I don’t bother trying to do the mad dash to the bathroom to hold her over the toilet. The potty method (which I can use anywhere that I am sitting down) is much more gentle on Bianca and easier on me. She does not even need a cue now. I can just set her on and she will go.
The most remarkable part of all, however, is her ability to hold it. We have had her out of the house on three separate outings, and she consistently holds it until she is held over a potty (either in the car or at home). I am simply astonished at the amount of pee she releases when she finally goes. I am also astonished at the length of time she is able to hold it. I am talking HOURS.
Thirsties Fab Fitted Diaper
What irks me every single time I see media coverage of EC, there is some boneheaded pediatrician who is brought on as an alleged “expert”. The bonehead will always, without fail say that babies cannot “hold it” and have no sphincter control until they are 18 months or so. Where do they derive this information? They are just pulling random sentences out of their ass……who is the one with no sphincter control? Where do they get these clowns? Sorry guys, but babies have it hands down over you. I have got a two week old baby who is ready, willing and able to hold it and go in a proper receptacle.
Anyway……..parents can choose to diaper their babies in whatever way works for them. Parents choose disposables for convenience but there is a clear tradeoff in expense, time to diaper train and environmental factors. Parents may choose to use cloth so their baby doesn’t have to wear paper diapers, they save money and they train sooner. Diapering for convenience is a valid and understandable factor. Diapering because you refuse to believe that babies are capable of EC is simply ignorant and closed minded.
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Tags: Cloth Diapering, diaper free baby, ec, Elimination Communication, infant potty training
January 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
[...] a change of clothes, and a small wetbag. Parents consistently find that EC’d babies will ‘hold it’ for a surprisingly long time on outings, so less ‘just in case’ gear is necessary. Rather than a large diaper bag, you can [...]