Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Well...

The past few days haven't been as great. But, that's ok--it's all a learning experience! Every poo has been in the potty, but the pees have been off--I think it's because his nap schedule has been off this week too, making it more difficult for me to know when I should try.

Charlie does have a new game to play while sitting on the potty though--peekaboo! He uses the shower curtain. It's SO cute! :)

Friday, November 13, 2009

Another dry day!

Day 2 of being 100% dry! He went 4 1/2 hours today from the time he woke up from the morning nap until he woke up from the afternoon nap--and I tried about 4 times before he went down for the 2nd nap, he just wouldn't go!

This is amazing and I can not believe he has gotten EVERYTHING in the potty 2 days in a row(except overnight)!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Perfect day!

And, what would my first day of blogging be without a rundown of our day??

This morning Charlie woke up with a very wet diaper. I took him to the potty and he peed, then he went back to bed. He woke up again about an hour later with a dirty diaper. Again, brought him to the potty and he peed. The remainder of the day he STAYED DRY! And this was in diapers, not training pants! He pooped 4 more times today, and ALL of them got in the potty. Then the 7 or so pees. Both naps he stayed dry! He even had a 4 hour stretch since he wouldn't pee before his afternoon nap, then slept for an hour, and finally peed when he woke up.

This was his first dry day! Probably one of the reasons I finally got the motivation to start this blog!

You don't have to be a tree-hugger

I like to think of myself as environmentally friendly, but in reality, I am nothing compared to the other EC moms I have spoke to. I didn't start EC as a way to reduce waste. I started because it made sense to me and I wanted to do something good for my son.

I don't do attachment parenting. I was not a baby wearer--my baby was born 9 pounds 12 ounces and 22.5 inches long--it hurt too bad! I have let him cry it out on different occasions for different reasons. We don't co-sleep(yes, if he wakes up in the middle of the night, I walk all the way to his room to take him to the bathroom).

Anyone can do EC! :)

It all made sense to me

I read up a lot online as well as in some books about the history of potty training in the United States, as well as other countries. Come to find out, there are many countries that do EC. I also learned that before disposable diapers were invented, the average age of being potty training was a LOT younger than it is today. This intrigued me.

Then I talked to some EC parents who said that diapers essentially teach your child to be comfortable being wet. By not changing them after every pee, they learn to tune out to what is happening to their body and they get used to it. Some even say this is why potty training at 2-3 years old is so difficult--the child has learned to not know when they are eliminating, and all of a sudden they are being punished for not knowing to go to the potty.

It all made sense in my head. I understood what all of these people were saying and I figured, let's try it. If it works, great. If not, well, we'll just be where we started. And guess what--2 months later, we stay dry most of the time!

It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing

Even though I am a stay at home mom, I don't have the energy to devote to diaper-free days. We did about 3 days without diapers at home in the beginning, and I was going nuts! And we have hard wood floors--I can't imagine it with carpet!

You can start with offering the potty at good opportunities(known as "pottytunities" in EC circles). Examples of good pottytunities would be in the morning when baby first wakes up, immediately after naps, and when you're already changing a diaper. I try to make the experience a completely happy thing--no pressure. If Charlie doesn't want to sit on the potty, I don't force him. I do try to distract him so that he will sit(our bathroom has more toys than his bedroom!) and sometimes it works, but if it doesn't, that's ok too. I want the potty to be a positive thing with no crying, fighting, etc.

Start out by simply offering the potty when it's convenient for you. Your baby may completely surprise you!

Intro to My Experience

This is going to be a blog about my experiences with Elimination Communication, or EC(also known as infant potty training). EC is a laid-back, calm approach to teaching your infant to communicate their needs to eliminate.

I had heard about EC before I had my son. I thought it was way too out there for me, so I blew it off. When my son was about 9 months old, it became VERY obvious when he had to poo. I started to think about EC again, and I did some research. I found that you don't have to be gung-ho about it, and even if you get 1 catch a day, that's teaching the baby something. So I went for it, and the first time I put him on the potty, he pooed! I soon started doing it when he would wake up in the morning and after naps, and he would almost always pee!

We started EC on Charlie's 10 month birthday. He is now just over 12 months old, and most everything gets in the potty! He is not doing the sign for "potty" yet, but I continue to do it when he goes. He gets fussy if it's time to pee, although sometimes he gets so angry that getting him to sit on the potty is difficult. But that's what this is all about--it's a learning experience for both of us! I have to learn to recognize his signs BEFORE he gets fussy.

This blog will be a shot into our lives of my easy-for-anyone approach to EC!