Elimination Communication
WARNING: The second part to this entry discusses controversial baby stuff! If you aren't deeply interested in babies then stop reading after the knit hat video!
Check out this adorable hat knit by an old co-worker of mine named Shelley. I decided to try it on Baby Girl today and not only did it fit perfect but it was sooooo cute on! i took photos but the video is better I think at showing the cuteness (baby and hat!).
Elimination Communication
I learned about EC via this cool website which was given to me from one of the nice women I met at the baby wearing group up north. I was talking to her I think about how Baby Girl would cry right before she would pee. I worried if something was wrong with her. Indeed something was wrong with her but not like I was thinking, she was uncomfortable because she had to pee.. I soon learned through reading "Diaper Free Baby" and other stuff online that when a baby is first born they have a natural inclination to pee outside the diaper, which is why when you change a newborns diaper then often will pee right on the changing table. Turns out it's a natural instinct to stay clean. Here is a video I made today of Baby Girl and I using the little Bjorn potty, she is 3.5 months now and has used it from 2 months on.
I'm not the type to go "nappy free" or diaper free as we would say here in the states... but I found it so interesting that in other 3rd world countries where either A) Disposable diapers don't exist or B) they can't afford them, the mom's are not covered in pee. Another interesting fact is that in other European Countries I have been told as well as even in the United States not that long ago it was common practice to let kids wee over a sink or toilet at a very young age. Today in our society where we like things to be as "effortless" as possible, it can be controversial.
After I read about it I felt very curious... they call it EC because it is truly about communication with your child, it is NOT potty training. It's about learning why your child is uncomfortable. As a first time mom, once I realized that she was fussing BECAUSE she had to use the bathroom I felt like some great understanding had been opened up for me and Baby Girl. So for a first step, as I am not going to go all diaper free, I'm just to lazy, I went the super-easy route. Everytime from about 4 weeks to 8 weeks, when she peed on the changing table and I saw her do it, me or the husbeast would go "pssssst" and smile at her. by 2 months I could say psssss and get her to go when I made the sound. It was then that my little Bjorn potty arrived in the mail, just the size for tiny bottoms. The first time I put her on it she went pee, it was amazing. It's just. plain. cool. Being in that position with her knee's up give her the natural urge to go, and my "psssst" sound just basically helps her along.
The most wee I caught in one day has been 7 times. It's effortless. Anytime I change her diaper I offer a chance, always after feeding and after waking up. On an average day I catch 3, and on a day when I am tired and she's extra fussy we seem to just get 1 and again I never let it stress me out and it's never much of an effort at all.
It's liberating. She could be on the floor playing and about 20 or 30 minutes pass and she begins to fuss. I take her right to the potty and she goes, all smiles and then she goes back on the floor and plays happily again. I would say 50% of the mystery of a fussy baby was gone as soon we started recognizing when she had to go. I can't catch number two's and I don't try. She has gone a I think twice in the potty that way after a wee, but I just personally found it to much effort to be able to tell when she is going. She doesn't make a lot of noise like some babies do. Also its a bit gross to clean up, hah!
The next great thing about it is how many diapers I save, for each wee I catch I save 1 diaper. This means less negative impact on garbage dumbs and also saves me money. I have some bumGenius cloth diapers but they where huge on her and most of her onsies wouldn't fit over them so I am going to save them for when she's a bit older and goes less often. I am in no way attempting to potty train my child. I think it's neat that she will have an early association with the potty and many EC children are able to use the potty and not soil any diapers by a year old, the ones who really do it all the time can have that happen much earlier and even use hand signals form the child to let them know when to go. It's all about you and your baby communicating with each other.
People's reaction to my telling them about this ranges from "WTF" to a blank stare, sometimes I get a "wow thats cool, how does it work?". I felt like I could use this blog as a way to share my knowledge and experience, it's been very rewarding for me and my daughter!
Comments
shelley says;
It's a KNITTED hat, now a crocheted hat. The kitty one is a crocheted hat.
And it's in Scoubi Du yarn!
Shelley
Mouse says;
I've been hearing about EC alot lately - and I think its really interesting that people are doing it.. and that it will lead to less disposable diapers going to landfills. I wish I would have known about it when my son was younger! I bet she will "potty train" like a breeze when she's a bit bigger!
pensguys says;
SUCH a cute hat!
Cool on the EC. ;)
Janice in GA says;
I have ZERO experience with babies, but I occasionally like to read about different stuff. I just recently read about the "Diaper Free Baby" stuff, and I think that's just amazing. Pairing the elimination with the "psssssst" sound is brilliant. Well done!
Of course, I'm sure Baby Girl is brilliant also. :)
eshy says;
cute hat :) And good job with the EC. I've read about it as well and your approach is great :) Nice work pairing the sound and lots of smiles! I'm glad you're not stressing about it, way to be a relaxed mama!
Alice says;
Darling pictures and hat! I can't believe I haven't heard of EC. It sounds very interesting though and I totally admire your commitment to it!
Bea says;
We do EC very casually too, and it's great! I started when Robby was a few months old, and he hated it, so I gave up and started back up a few months ago, it works so much better now. I don't stress over making every single one, it's just nice to have to change one less diaper. And, I found it got a lot easier to catch the #2's when Robby got older, as he started eating more solid food, (and sorry if this is TMI), he would make more noises, the biggest clue for me is he starts tooting, and when he gets really still for more than 5 seconds, I know somethings ups :D
April says;
VERY cute hat and baby pix.
I heard about the EC thing a little too late to take advantage of it, but I wish I'd known about it with my first baby. Hey! You're a potty pioneer! =)
Allegra says;
Very interesting info about EC. I just forwarded your post to my husband. Our friend started potty training her son at 8 or 9 months and I thought *that* was early! I know EC isn't about potty training, but anyway. Our babe never complains about her diaper, wet or poopy, but I think EC is definitely worth reading about. Also, where did you get the little potty?
btw, totally cute in the hat!
Samantha says;
Interesting. I will have to look further into this.
Alison says;
Howdy,
I am a fellow Atlanta knitter and I am a lurker on your blog (for a while now)... I commented a while back (before my son was born) -- now I just lurk LOL
Anyway - wanted to give you a thumbs up on EC. When my son was born I had heard about it, told my mother and husband and they both laughed at "potty training an infant." So I didn't do anything with it. We cloth diaper so I didn't feel too bad about all the diapers I was wasting.
Then when my son was 8 months old I decided, as we were brushing his teeth one night - that we brush his teeth for him to get him used to it and create good habits - why not do the same with a potty?
So I rant to BRU the next day and bough the BB Little Potty like you have. I put him on and we got a poop and pee. And again, and again. I offered just like you - each time I changed his diaper, after eating, and when I knew he "had to go" (he pushes when he poops - it's a great clue)... as well as when he gets up, before/after a bath and before bed. Once my hubbie saw him go on the potty he was hooked on the idea too!
Well my son is going to be 14 months old soon and he now signs "potty" to us when he needs to go and we rush him to the toilet.... regardless if we are home or out. We find that he poops/pees on the potty several times a day, even though we still have to change wet diapers (only poopy ones when he poops during a nap)...
Anyway - it's late and I am rambling... but I wanted to say WAY TO GO! It's amazing isn't it - something that is done all over the world and we too here can do it. It's empowering!
So congrats and keep up the good work!
:-) Alison
PS Baby Girl is beautiful!
liz says;
eh. This is nothing new. My mother is British and when I was a baby all the relatives used to hound her about why she wasn't potty training me (now that she was in the states). I don't know about third world countries, but I do know a bit about native americans..they used wadded up reeds and corn husks. I don't buy that "everyone but us backwards clods in the ole US of A does it this way which is of course the best way". This reminds me too much of housebreaking a puppy, which is something I disenjoyed so very much that the next dog i get will be a housebroken adult. I went the other way. My kids were not housebroken, er potty trained, until almost three. The oldest I told her she couldn't go to preschool unless she was trained and that was that. Pretty effortless. I am after ways to simplify my life, not make it more complicated. And watching for when a baby does the human equivelent of circling on the rug isn't part of that. As someone whose kids are older now, I can just roll my eyes at all the trend-o parenting stuff out there. And I thought the crafting world was safe from this stuff....
I bond with my kid by doing stuff with her and talking to her, not by getting in tune with her every BM. But hey, we're all different. more power to ya if this is how you want to spend your time. The only POSSIBLE thing I can say in favor of this is the environmental angle. But then, how far do you go with this? I knew a woman who had reusable sanitary products. It was quite possibly the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my life. Just because a few hundred years ago people no doubt used these out of neccessity doesn't mean I am in any rush to do the same now. They also did not bathe more frequently than every few weeks. I believe (seriously speaking) that this was why perfume was invented.
mamie says;
love the EC info, my friend does EC with her children, they use the potty for poo, not pee, but it worked for all of them. i read about EC and i think it is really cool but with twins i just do not have the energy. plus boys and directing their wee might be a little much. our two are really obvious poopers so maybe i will try it in a few months for that part. it is so cool to hear a little about the baby sydney stuff. as a mom i love the knitting but find baby rearing info just as fascinating. and she is adorable. what a looker, your little girl.
andrea says;
hey pixie,
i've never posted a comment before but i've lurked forever. i have two boys and we have done EC casually as well. Its awesome not having to wash out poopy diapers and to have a year old baby who so is aware of his own body that he now takes himself to the potty.
EC does not mean that you are obsessed with your child's elimination needs. it means that you recognize them, just as a mother can recognize when their child is tired or hungry. and you simply respond to it (rather than ignore it) as with any other physical need they have.
yes, parenting trends do come and go but there always seems to be the need among women to tear eachother down. that's a constant we can count on i guess. and i thought the craft world was pretty safe from that. why so snarky to a first time mama liz?
pixie, your baby girl is such a beautiful little sparkle! way to go with the ec, baby wearing, knitting and i miss hearing about your spinning!
Patricia says;
What a great post, especially about the EC info. I will have to look into that more. Thanks for sharing your experience with it!