Elimination communication

Mrs. XYZ

Thu, Feb 01 2007, 6:18 pm

I was just reading somewhere about this and I'm really curious, is there ANYONE here that does this?? I just can't even imagine how it could work? An infant 'pees' about 10 times a day, how could you know when they have to? OK, when they 'poo' maybe they make some faces, but by that time its usually too late! And don't babies 'go' when they sleep? Anybody??

BinahYeteirah

Fri, Feb 02 2007, 2:35 am

Yep, I do it.

As far as how you know when they have to go, different babies have different "cues". With my second daughter (I've done this with both), I would take her whenever she woke from a nap. She would wiggle around until I took her to pee. She couldn't wait very long, but I was always close by when she was very young, so it worked out. I have found with mine that they will wake up (at least partially) to pee. Perhaps all babies are not like this, but it's easy to use a diaper when necessary. I think that is a baby gets the idea that you will take him or her to a specific place to "go", then they get used to that just like other babies get used to going in a diaper. If they are used to a diaper, then they don't wait or look for an opportunity to do anything else, but the opposite also applies. Even tiny babies are born able to "hold it" for short periods of time.

My two daughters are all done with this now. The older has been "trained" for a few years now, and the younger finished about a month ago at 17 months of age.

amother

Fri, Feb 02 2007, 7:50 am

WOW! I had read about E.C. and also wondered if anyone actually practiced this!

Okay this might sounds really crazy, but I think my 6 month old baby knows to poop in the bathroom.
I mean, she wears diapers, but I take her in with me whenever I go, and 9 out of the 10 times that she poops, it is the bathroom with me. My mother told me I'm crazy to think that a 6 month old has that much awareness of whats going on (what I am doing the in bathroom) and she no way has that much bowel control (to realize she also should poop there). But I really dont think it is just coincidence that she goes at those exact times.
Now that I hear that you do E.C. maybe Im not crazy after all....

amother

Fri, Feb 02 2007, 10:25 am

Gosh, I never heard of such a thing! Wish I had known it when my kids were younger. And to think I considered myself a 'natural-parenting' parent, lol. Always hated them luvs/pampers/huggies and hated doing the cloth diapers as well, but hey, here's something I was never aware of! Guess cuz I didn't own a computer in those days, lol...

withhumor

Fri, Feb 02 2007, 12:54 pm

I totally hate diapers, it is such an un-natural thing. Why should a baby have to sit in it, and we have the privilege of using a toilet? You can see early signs on babies, this is no joke! Although I haven’t practiced the above, I do toilet train very early. I prefer the accidents to the diapering and it’s much cheaper. I do not torture them and I never say anything when they make an accident. I ignore, and only praise when they get it right.

BinahYeteirah

Sun, Feb 04 2007, 11:40 pm

amother wrote:

Nope, you are not crazy! If you want to, you could even try holding her over the toilet or a potty. Personally, I would go for it just for the benefit of not having to change that one poopy diaper. My older daughter had lots of wet diapers, but she almost always went #2 in the potty. It was worth it for that alone, if you ask me.

BinahYeteirah

Sun, Feb 04 2007, 11:44 pm

amother wrote:

Guess cuz I didn't own a computer in those days, lol...

That's how I learned about it. Although apparently it is the normal thing to do in countries such as China and India when they have less access to disposable diapers and many people don't have the money for them.

BinahYeteirah

Sun, Feb 04 2007, 11:47 pm

withhumor wrote:

I do not torture them and I never say anything when they make an accident. I ignore, and only praise when they get it right.

Exactly, no forcing or punishment. Just being laid back about it.

Milk Munch

Tue, Mar 06 2007, 1:16 pm

I have also been trying to do this since my baby was about 2 months old. I realize now I should have bought a book on it though, we are not so good at it.
She is now 8 months old and when I try and put her on the toilet she flexes her legs and won't sit down like she used to. I'm wondering if I should keep trying. I was really hoping to make this work.

Babies are TOTALLY aware of thier body functions. I see it so clearly.

JRKmommy

Tue, Mar 06 2007, 3:20 pm

While this is considered fairly "out there" in Western society, it is common in places like China and the Philippines. My Filippino nanny told me that she did this with her kids at around 4 mo. of age, and she swears that it works! Of course, training at that age is different, because the parent needs to listen to the baby's cues - obviously, no 4 mo old is able to get up and go to the toilet on their own. Instead, they basically start to fuss when they feel the urge to go, and then the parent picks them up and holds them over the toilet.