It’s sometimes hard to find a balance between living life and offering the potty.  For me the thing that has always worked the best is timing.  Just getting to know about how often my baby goes potty.

This past week I picked a day and jotted down when Galen went to the bathroom so I could get a feel for how often I should be offering potty opportunities.

He’s not peeing nearly as often as he did when he was a tiny baby   And since he’s crawling (and cruising!) he’s not on his belly, which seemed to cause him to pee very frequently.

Now I’m able to offer him the potty with longer stretches in between and he stays dry.  I usually still offer based on timing, or if he goes for one of his potties.  Even if he seems to only want to play with it, I still put him on it!

The most frustrating thing for me thus far has been mealtimes.  Even if I offer right before a meal he always seems to wet his undies while he’s in his highchair.  I need to teach him not to do that! :p

I mentioned last month that I wasn’t sure how to deal with the cold, EC’ing, and an older baby.  Well this month I’ve got it a bit more figured out.  Galen has one pair of wool split pants.  These pants are great – I slip those on him and they keep his legs cozy warm.  Then I pull on a pair of undies/trainers over them and he’s covered.  The wool wicks any moisture if we have a miss, and I notice misses right away so there’s never much chance at them getting wet.  If you’ve ever used a wool diaper cover or longies you know how this works.  I think I’ll probably get at least one more pair so if I need wash and air dry one pair I’ll have a backup pair.

So that system is working well, and timing things is working well.

Galen also shows a classic Cassidy sign that he needs to poop.  Cassidy, my oldest child, was also my first elimination communication baby.  I could always tell when she needed to poop because she’d get very still and her eyes would get red-rimmed.  Galen does the exact same thing.  He’s also pretty vocal and “grunt-y.”  I miss a poop every once in awhile but not often.

We’re still using diapers at night right now, and some days I still have Galen in diapers, though I offer the potty.  I’d like to have him out of diapers, soon, though, so I’ve been making a big effort the past couple of weeks to keep him in undies and offer the potty a lot.  Hopefully once he starts toddling he’ll be able to learn to sit on the potty himself, too.  He’s already super coordinated so I don’t see it being much trouble for him

I began by laying a waterproof mat out on the bed, underneath where Galen and I sleep.  I put a light baby blanket over the mat because the mat’s material is kind of scratchy.  Then I put Galen in his little trainers.  I want him to have something on so our sheets don’t get wet

It’s just been recently that Galen has been sleeping without being swaddled.  I don’t think he sleeps as well at night without swaddling, but the weather is warm (most nights) and I just think it’s too warm for him to be swaddled.  I also felt it was too warm to be bundling him into a bulky diaper, which is what prompted going diaper free at night.

Most nights Galen will stay dry through the night.  I offer to potty him when we take him upstairs for the night (he sleeps downstairs near us until we go to bed).  Then he’ll often stay dry the rest of the night, but he pees almost immediately upon waking.  So if I don’t catch him quickly enough, he’ll wet.  Sometimes he wets in the night and I’ll just change him and our mat when that wakes me up.  I haven’t yet held him over the potty when that happens but I probably should, so he will come to understand that he can go potty at night too.

All-in-all it’s going well.  We’re using the same setup at naptime and he’s dry through naps

In other elimination communication news things are going very well.  Galen’s little “potty strike” appears to be over in that he’s pooping on the pot again.  He’s going several days between poops right now, though, which makes me a little nervous.  He’s working on getting solids in, nursing tons, and peeing a lot though, so I’m trying to assure myself that maybe he’s just using so many nutrients right now there’s not a lot coming out!

When I’m holding Galen I still catch almost all of his pees.  However, when he goes down on the floor I get a lot of misses.  I’ve noticed that putting Galen on his belly is generally the perfect way to get wet trainers!  If I put him on his back, he rolls to his belly and pees!  It’s a little frustrating but I really think it’s the pressure on his bladder.  He’s not crawling yet – just getting up on his knees and rocking.  I’m hoping when he actually gets crawling down and spends less time on his belly maybe he’ll wet less when he’s on the floor. If not, though, I don’t mind too much because I can easily change his little trainers.

He’s in trainers pretty exclusively at home now, and still diapered when we go out – though I have started taking walks with the children with Galen just in trainers.

All in all EC’ing is still going well, and still pleasing all around.  I feel more confident this month than I did last month.  It’s really an enjoyable thing to know that I’m helping Galen maintain awareness, and that I can cut down on our laundry and diaper use

So I’ll give an update on how things went over the past month. Galen’s fifth month started much like the rest of his early months, with EC’ing going pretty routinely. However, it ended much differently.

Galen began to enjoy being on the floor more, and got really proficient at rolling from his back to his tummy. It seems like I’d put him down on the floor, he’d roll onto his belly, and immediately pee.

Now that got frustrating! It seems to be whenever that pressure is on his belly, or whenever he decides he’s done with being on the floor and starts fussing, that he just lets go and pees.  It was a bit discouraging for me because I’m used to catching most of his pees throughout the day.

The most discouraging thing would be when I’d offer him the potty and he wouldn’t go – then I’d put him down and he’d pee almost immediately.

I felt conflicted because on the one hand, I don’t want to get stressed or convey any stress about pottying to him – he’s just a baby.  But on the other hand we’d been “catching” most pees and I didn’t really want to give that up.

In the end I’ve decided just to be more vigilant about offering to potty him.  We ordered a couple of new potty bowls (BabyBjörn Little Potties), one for the van and one so we have a nice potty bowl in both the office and the family room.  As you can see from the picture, my oldest child Cassidy can help Galen to sit on the Little Potty!  That’s very helpful to me and both of them seem to enjoy it.

We had our first dirty diapers since Galen’s newborn week.  One was at our CSA farm… a complete blowout diaper.  I felt so bad.  The other was right after Cassidy and Asher’s Japanese lesson.  I was strapping Galen into the car seat and heard him start – by that point I had the new Little Potty in the van so I pulled him out of the seat, pulled off his pants, and sat him right down on the potty.  I squeezed into the van so I could shut the sliding door and give him some privacy while I helped him sit on the pot   That diaper only got a little in it since I got him over the potty as soon as he started.

I’ve decided I probably need to plan time to offer him the potty when we go somewhere.  I really don’t want him to have to have dirty diapers and he has such a clear preference for pooping in the potty.  I don’t want him to lose that preference.

So this month was a little frustrating as far as elmination communication goes – but also a good reminder.  He’s getting bigger, and things are changing for him and so they’ll change with EC’ing too.

One of my goals for the next couple of months is to get him more trainers made so he can be used to wearing the trainers full time, and having them taken off to go potty.  I have 5 pairs made now, bringing our total to 8 pairs.  I’m working on 7 more pairs (two different styles to see which I like best).  I’m debating if I want to switch to trainers for going out and about or stick with diapers.  It’s something I’ll have to think over!

This is the first audio Natural Birth and Baby Care has offered and it took me a bit of time to get it worked on.  There’s a learning curve for audio editing!  I feel the recording turned out great – a bit of an echo bit overall very nice!

We had a lot of good questions submitted to us and we were able to get to all questions – I think you’ll really enjoy the track; I enjoyed hearing it again as I edited it.  You will know that EC is a “do-able” thing once you hear this!

Get the EC Talk!

During the talk we jumped right into questions and we covered a wide range – from EC’ing with young babies on into toddlerhood.  I think you’ll get a lot out of it.  If you are new to the concept of elimination communication or want to review some basic suggestions check out the main elimination pages!

Learn more or contact me (be sure to note your question is for the Q&A)!

I think it’s because we’ve been taught that babies are not supposed to have any bladder control or any ability to do anything but soil themselves until they’re well over two years old… but Galen’s expressions just amuse me endlessly.

When I cue him to pee or poop he just has this relaxed, matter-of-fact look on his face.  As if it’s completely natural (and isn’t it??)  And sometimes a “well, yeah, what did you think I was going to do?” kind of look.  I just love it.  And I am 100% sure that it is completely natural and that the “experts” are completely wrong about baby ability to control bladder/bowels.

I don’t of course think that everyone needs to use elimination communication with their babies.  It’s a matter of personal choice.  I take EC’ing over poopy diapers any day though :p  We do still use diapers, just not all the time.

Galen has crankier days where we have a lot more misses and on those days I’ll use diapers more.  And when we were all sick a couple of weeks back, I kept a diaper on him full time.  I still checked it frequently and offered potty opportunities to him, but I kept the diaper on him so I didn’t have to worry while I was feeling bad and tending to the other children.

I do think that Galen has come to associate having cloth against his bottom as being “ok” to wet.  Of course I want him to wet if he absolutely needs to, but I’d also like to be able to put little trainers on him without him wetting those.  I tend to let him go diaper free/trainer free mostly around the house.  So I think I’m going to start keeping trainers on him and offering the potty a lot so he’ll get used to the trainers being on but still pottying in the potty.

He’s got three types of trainers now – the little ones I made him and I bought him two different types to try: Shi Shi Nix and EcaPants.  I really can’t decide which ones I like best out of the Shi Shi Nix and the EcaPants.  The ones I made him are not waterproofed at all.  They just stop the “fountain effect.”  The Shi Shi Nix are partly waterproof – eventually the ribbing will get damp but they protect whatever baby is on from pees.  The EcaPants are fully waterproof and have a PUL outer cover.  They also have a soft little belt that goes around the baby, so you can unfasten the front of the EcaPants and pull it out of the way for pottying.

I like the EcaPants because they are completely waterproof and they work well with split pants for quick and easy pottying.  But I also find myself reaching for the Shi Shi Nix often because I can just slip them on Galen quickly.  They work really well over legwarmers because I just slide them up and down to offer potty times.  I’ll also slide them on over split pants and that goes nicely too.

I’d say that I’m still going mostly based on timing with taking Galen to pee.  He will squirm and fuss sometimes and I offer then (I’m often sorry if I don’t!), but a lot of it is based on timing.  I have started to note a lot of intuitive feelings – if I think that I ought to try and potty him then I try do it right then because more often than not he needs to go!

Galen has fussy days every now and then where he decides to have what I call mini potty-strikes.  He’ll just fuss and grump most of the day and he won’t really be interested in going potty.  He goes right back to being fine with it the next day, though, so I don’t know if he’s just having an “off” day on those days or what.  He tends to be fussy overall so maybe those are just grumpy days.

One last thing I’m trying to work on is offering Galen the potty whenever we go out.  He likes his little potty bowls here but I want him to be comfortable going wherever we go.  This is harder for me because I’m also much more comfortable with his potty bowls.  But I’m trying to make a point to hold him over the toilet and the sink more so he’ll be used to that, and hopefully ok with using a toilet and sink while we’re out.  I don’t want him to only be willing to potty at home – we had that come up with Brennan and it was hard for awhile there because well… you just can’t always be home!!

Do you have questions about infant potty training/elimination communication?  We have a Q&A session coming up and want your questions – get more details here!

(Galen is modeling wool split pants in the picture above – prefold between his legs for modesty! These pants are Re-Ewes from ECWear.com and we love them!)

Galen has had some fussy days lately, and along with fussiness he’s been resistant to use the potty some. 

He’d fuss and fuss and we’d take him off the potty bowl or move him from the sink and diaper him.  Then just a few minutes later he’d soak the diaper.  He kept using the potty for all poops. 

Thankfully the past couple of days have gone much more smoothly – he’s back to peacefully and happily peeing over the potty.

It’s sometimes frustrating when I can tell he really needs to go (or it has been hours since he went last, which was often the case!) but he just wants to fuss.  I don’t want to hold him over the potty if he doesn’t want to be there. 

If possible I try to let him lay on his lambskin with a couple of prefolds underneath him.  Sometimes he enjoys kicking around and I’ll pick him back up after a few minutes and he’ll go.  Other times I can wrap a prefold around him and nurse him to calm him, then he’ll go.  But if I need to be up and moving around I usually diaper him and he uses the diaper.  Not the end of the world of course, but I don’t like him having to be wet!

Most of the time Galen is cue-ing he needs to go by fussing.  It’s either fussing or I just offer the potty to him because it’s been awhile since he’s gone.  I also usually know when a poop is coming because he’ll start passing a lot of gas or leave little streaks on the diaper I have him on (unless he’s wearing his trainers I always have a prefold under his bum).  Sometimes I’ll feel little bubbles/air in his belly and I usually offer if I feel that because it sometimes means a poop is coming.

He still goes over the sink for Scott better than he will for me.  Maybe he associates Scott with the sink and me with the potty bowl?

I’ve gotten one little pair of trainers done for him and I’m almost done with another pair (that’s what he’s wearing in the pictures!)  They fit him really well.  I’m going to modify the pattern a little and make some more for him.  A friend sent me another pattern I may try working with it as well to see which I like best.  The one thing I don’t like is stretching the elastic while I sew.  That’s a complete pain!

I also think I’m going to try some of the work at home mom designed trainers made for families using elimination communication.  I’ve been debating with myself for days about which ones I want to try and I think I’ve finally made up my mind   I definitely want some waterproof ones and they can complement my own non-waterproof design.  And someone else deals with the hassle of the elastic on those! I’ll be sure to update with pictures and a review when they come in. For now, another parting shot of Galen in his “mama-made” trainers!

Me holding Galen over his potty bowl during the holidays - he's wearing split pants I made him (I'm holding the potty between my legs). Sorry his hat is in his eyes!

It helps me remember to put it in perspective – he’s just a baby and there are going to be wet diapers and even a wet mama from time to time.  It comes with the “diaper free” territory. 

I have begun to make sure I put a diaper on Galen if A. I know I may be distracted or B. when he’s upset and I can’t calm him enough to go.  It’s much easier to know the diaper is there if he does decide to go.

Oftentimes I’ll put him in a diaper in the evening when the big kids have gone to bed and I’m trying to focus more on work or planning and he’ll stay dry.  But it’s good to know that if I miss a cue there’s a diaper.

He’s still mostly diaper-less during the day.  My project over the next few days is to work on trying to make him some tiny undies – trimmer than a diaper but with a few absorbent layers.  Basically training pants, since they don’t make baby-sized trainers.  Galen actually doesn’t much like diapers but I think he’d be ok with some trim undies – and Scott would like him to have something covering the little fountain.  I could use the undies rather than diapers at times when I may be distracted.

I’ve found a pattern online for smaller undies. It’s a 0-6 month size so I’ve scaled it down just a bit more for a trimmer fit between his legs. I don’t have any PUL right now for the outside so I’m just making them covered with fleece and prevent fountain effects. It’ll let me perfect the design while I wait on PUL to make them waterproof

I’m still really enjoying having an EC-d baby. We end up with a few wet diapers most days and that’s ok with me. Galen obviously dislikes being wet (and just dislikes diapers, period), and he waits until he’s on the pot to poop, so his awareness of his elimination is wonderful. It feels good for me too, to be able to read his cues and know when he needs to go. I do still “catch” his pees mostly by timing – he goes every 30 minutes, or after waking up. He often starts to pass a lot of gas or bear down slightly when he needs to poop and I’ll know to put him on the potty, or continue to hold him over it if he’s already on it.

It’s very rewarding and feels as natural to me as nursing him. I’ll keep giving updates about how it goes as he continues to grow… I’m not sure how well I’ll keep up my track record of “catches” when he’s mobile! I’ll also post when I finish his trainers.

I felt ready when Galen was 2 days old   I held him over a small bowl, made a “psss” sound and was happily surprised when he peed!  Things have gone very well since then.

We kept Galen in diapers completely at first.  His first week I kept him in disposables (Tushies brand) while he was clearing the meconium from his digestive tract.  If I felt like he needed to go I just unstrapped the diaper and held him over his “potty bowl.”  If he wet in the diaper I made the “pss” sound and held him over the bowl, and put a dry diaper on right away.

A Clear Preference

After the first week we switched to cloth diapers.  Not long after Galen cleared all the meconium and started having normal breastfed baby bowel movements he developed a total preference for pooping over his potty bowl.

I continue to be amazed by this.  He’s only had a few dirty diapers ever… The first couple of weeks he’d poop in the night, and I didn’t catch those.  He quickly stopped, however – I was expecting this because I remembered my others got to where they didn’t poop at night.  After he stopped going at night we pretty much stopped having dirty diapers.

He would wet diapers, but would wait for the potty bowl to poop.  He still does now, at 7 weeks.  Now he’s having 1-2 bowel movements a day, skipping a day occasionally.  He goes in the potty bowls or over the sink.  Scott finds it much easier to hold him over the bathroom sink; I prefer a little potty bowl.  We keep a bottle of spray cleaner by the sink now :p

Galen would have a lot small smears on his diapers in the early weeks.  We called them “wet farts” which is a pretty accurate description.  Once I was up and about and our out-of-town visitors were gone I started keeping Galen dressed in long sleeves and leg warmers or split pants at home.  I’d just keep a prefold diaper under his bottom since he had the little smears whenever he passed gas.  Scott preferred (and still does) for me to put pocket diaper on him.  If he’s fussing and Scott thinks he needs to go he just takes the diaper off and holds Galen over the sink.

Six Week Changes

At six weeks exactly there was a big change for Galen – he stopped having the wet farts.  He still passes gas, of course, but his muscles have matured to where there’s no longer anything coming out with the gas.  I still keep him over a prefold but I’m pleased they stay nice and clean.

Galen also started to stay dry through the night most nights.  I try to cue him to pee when we go to bed (between 10 and 11pm) – if he goes then he’s usually dry in the morning when we wake around 6:30am.  In fact some mornings I’ve had a hard time getting him to go even then!!  He isn’t dry all nights, but he is most nights now.  That’s pretty exciting!

During the day we do still have wet diapers and prefolds but I feel pretty confident about “catching” his pees.  A lot of it is based on timing – if it’s been awhile since he’s gone, if he’s just woken or finished a long nursing.  But if he gets fussy we can often offer him the potty and he’ll go.

I feel comfortable about napping with him diaperless now.  I put him on a diaper with a towel and waterproof mat underneath.  I also just drape a prefold over his private area so he doesn’t spray me should he go!  But he stays dry during our nap time.  When he naps in the baby hammock next to me I still diaper him, and I do overnight as well.  I still diaper him when we go out, though I’ve been able to get him to pee over the potty at our children’s library!

Keeping Cozy

To keep warm around the house Galen wears a hat and socks all the time.  He wears a lightweight baby t-shirt under a long-sleeved shirt and then either baby leg warmers or split pants I made for him, as I mentioned above.  He almost always either sitting/nursing right up against me or he’s in mine or Scott’s baby carrier so our body heat keeps him cozy too.  I’ll put a blanket around him as well, if I think he needs it.  We live in northern Michigan, so keeping an EC’d baby warm while allowing easy potty access has been one of my focuses.

All in all EC’ing is going very well and I continue to be amazed just how aware he is.  Some days we get through most of the day with just one diaper.  Other days there will be a bunch of wet ones.  Rarely are there dirty diapers though.  It’s clear to me that Galen wants to stay clean and dry, and has the capacity to let us know when he needs to go – and to let us know when we missed a cue and he needs a dry diaper… right away