Elimination
communication. Natural Infant Hygiene. Diaper Free Baby. Infant Potty
Training. It's called many things, but around our house we
simply call it Using the Potty. Now, using the
potty might not seem like such a strange thing if you’re dealing with a
toddler. However, my son was 3 ½ months old when I first started holding
him over the toilet.
What!? You’re probably
thinking I’m crazy. It’s ok. My husband looked at me like I was crazy
when I walked up to him at Wal-Mart with a potty seat in my hands. (I
hadn’t yet told him about this strange thing called Elimination
Communication.)
Where did I hear about Elimination Communication? Mayim Bialik(from Blossom and Big Bang Theory) talked about it in her book
Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way.
On a side note- this book was really good. I love all her points on
nurturing and loving your children by breastfeeding, baby wearing and
co-sleeping.
Levi 4 Months- December 6, 2012
Why Potty a Baby?
You might ask why I
would go to the trouble of pottying my baby. Why not wait and do potty
training at the typical age of 2 or 3? To me it just makes sense to
start them from the beginning teaching them how to
control their peeing and bowel movements. Babies do have the ability to
hold pee and release it on cue. Of course we’ve still had many many wet
diapers. At 10 months he is just now holding his pee for longer periods
of time. Pottying from the beginning has
many benefits. First it doesn’t allow the baby to lose his ability to
know that he is going to the bathroom. Babies that use a diaper for
years actually lose the control of these muscles and don’t even realize
that they are peeing. Secondly, babies are simply
used to using the potty and big toilets. They don’t know any different
so it’s no big deal at all. Finally, you save on diapers and wipes! I’ve
used a combination of cloth and disposable diapers. With the cloth I
would simply change it when it got wet. This
allowed him to know the feeling of a wet diaper and hopefully prefer a
dry one. Without prolonged contact to his skin from a wet or poopy
diaper he has never had diaper rash. In addition, I think it’s more
comfortable for him to poop in this sitting position
and there is nothing smeared all over his booty so it doesn’t take a
million wipes to clean up.
Levi 6 1/2 months- February 17, 2013
Getting Started
My
son was 3 ½ months old when I started using the potty. Many people will
start from birth but I think when I started was the ideal age for
two reasons. 1. He had better control of his body and he was better
able to hold up his neck. 2. He was not yet rolling over or crawling so
accidents were confined easier. I could use white pre-folds held in
place by an elastic band or baby safety pins. I
have long since stowed these away because it’s hard to use pins with a
very mobile baby.
My
first attempts started with me using our big toilet. I would
stand/squat facing it holding Levi under each leg with his back resting
against
me. I would also use one of my fingers to help aim him toward the bowl.
I would then say a Pss Pss sound and he would go pee. This position
works great. However, I did find that after a feeding he would spit up.
His little legs would press against his full
belly. I am still using this position with my son 6 ½ months later. I
use it while we are at a public place or at other people’s houses.
Sometimes you just don’t want your baby sitting on the toilet,
especially a public one. There are also portable potty seats
that fit over toilet seats. I haven’t yet purchased one because I can
still hold him.
I
decided to buy a potty seat to help relieve the pressure on his belly,
and for longer times on the potty when he’s working on a poop, This
is when I walked up to my husband with the big white Summer potty seat.
I told him he might not understand but to just trust me. Sometimes
being a new mom anything is worth a shot and the support of a spouse to
try something crazy. We have a small potty in
his nursery right by the changing table. We keep a pad right under the
seat to protect the carpet. (Honestly there are not many accidents, but
better safe than sorry.) Having it in the nursery allows us to sit
comfortably in front of him and have toys and
books to entertain him. He loves his books!
Levi 6 1/2 months- February 20, 2013
He loves pulling his shirts out of the drawers.
Timing
A lot of books and
articles discuss watching for your baby’s communication that he is going
to pee. This could be a squirm, a look, moving his hands, or a break in
nursing. Every baby is different. And for me,
figuring out his communication is hard! The only one I was able to
catch was while nursing. He would be eating then all of a sudden pull
off and refuse to re-latch. Since there weren’t many other signs that I
noticed I have mostly relied on timing. The following
are the times I have found that Levi most often goes pee:
1.
Right
when he wakes up, either in the morning or after naps. There have been a
few mornings that he has woken up with a dry diaper! You go dude! And
most other mornings he is barely wet.
He probably went potty right before he fell asleep or just before he
falls into his deep sleep.
2.
Right
after a nursing. Levi does not pee while nursing. Many times I nurse
him without a diaper on. He will let me know he needs to pee either by
coming off or I’ve noticed is that he has
started “talking” while still latched on and looks up at me.
3.
15 minutes after nursing.
4.
Right before a bath (less chance of him peeing in the water) and right after a bath (the warm water must relax him).
5.
Sometimes
I just get a feeling that he has to pee. Some people swear by this
“feeling” but for me it’s probably me just figuring he hasn’t gone in a
while and will probably need to go.
6.
If
I haven’t pottied him in a while. I don’t keep track of timing between
pees but I try to potty him about every 30 minutes- when he starts
fidgeting, making a “help me” sound or crawling
like crazy around the house.
7.
When
I’m going to put a clean diaper on him. A potty right before a clean
diaper means the clean diaper has a longer chance of staying dry.
Levi 7 months- March 6, 2013
Modeling the Baby Bijorn we got at a kids consignment sale for $3!
Levi 7 Months- March 6, 2013
We stay entertained with lost of different toys.
10 Month Old Potty Signs
As
my son is getting older he is learning to communicate to us that he has
to pee or poop. The following are signs that I have picked
up on:
1.
He
says Pa Pa. I assume it’s short for Potty. I swear one time he was
nursing, he came off, looked me in the eyes and said Pa Pa. He doesn’t
always say Pa Pa anymore because he has moved
on to other new words that he can say.
2.
While
still latched on nursing he “talks” and hits his hand on my chest.
However I can’t quite decide if this is “I need to pee” or “Give me more
milk Mommy.”
3.
He waved his hand (ASL for potty). He was standing up across the room from me (still holding on to the table),
he turned, looked at me and waved his hand.
4.
Crawling
around like crazy. He was sitting content, playing with his toys, when
all of a sudden he started crawling all through the house making a Hmm
Hmm sound. It was like he was looking
for his potty.
5.
He
“jumps” in his play pen. Sometimes I need to keep him in one spot so I
put him in the Pack-n-Play. He will stand up, look at me, “jump” and
make a Hmm Hmm sound. It’s almost like he’s
saying “help me!”
6.
He makes a “pss-ss” sound. I assume he’s imitating my “Pss Pss” that I cue him with while on the potty.
Levi 8 1/2 months- April 17, 2013
My Husband’s Role
When I
first started using the potty I told my husband about pottying, but I
did not ask him to join in. (I wasn’t quite so sure how it would work
out myself! Therefore, I didn’t want to drag him
into it too.) So, I just let him see me doing the potty thing. He was
so patient and still is! He was ok even if I gave him Levi to hold with
just a white pre-fold on, or sometimes nothing at all! He was patient
when we would be watching a movie, I would be
nursing, and then we’d have to pause it (multiple times!) so that I
could take Levi potty.
After a month or so,
David saw how awesome Levi was doing and he joined in the pottying! He
knows to take Levi potty when he wakes from a nap (usually on Daddy’s
chest!) If Levi is acting fidgety on the potty
Daddy will lean his head in the door and get a smile out of him. He
will sit in front of Levi and show him books or play with animals. My
husband has been a big help and a great support! I appreciate all that
he has done with Levi.
Levi 9 months- May 9, 2013
Time spent pottying is special bonding time.
We enjoy looking at lots of books.
Patience, Not Perfection!
I can’t say pottying an
infant is easy. Sometimes there are accidents. Sometimes they arch their
back and say no to the potty. Sometimes you feel like you’ve pottied
them a dozen times that day. You have to trust
in the process, take it one day at a time and know that your little one
is smarter than you think. They can learn where to go potty just like
they learn how to eat, crawl, walk and talk. I enjoy using the potty
with my son and I know he will be potty trained
in his own time. Just be patient and don’t expect him to be out of
diapers in a month. Enjoy these moments you get to communicate with your
little one.
Levi 9 1/2 months- May 22, 2013
Finally bought him a big boy toilet seat.
(We still use both types of potties though)
Levi 10 1/2 months- June 24, 2013
He's becoming a pro at it!
Getting really good at letting Mommy and Daddy know he needs to go.
Hopefully I covered all the basics- I know this post is long!
And there's so many more stories I could tell you about pottying!
Check back later for more
posts on this topic, cloth diapers and natural birth.
Intrigued? Just let me know if you have questions and I’d be happy to help you out.
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