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Todd at ~3.5 months old – December 5, 2014
This will be the first in a series of posts specifically about using Elimination Communication (EC) to facilitate our baby Todd’s early potty “training.”
(Technically, I started writing about this topic in my post, “Diapering Todd (and Early Potty Use).” As of that post, Todd was 3 months old and he’d peed in the plastic baby potty 3 times. We were just starting out.)
Elimination Communication (EC) is something that I’d originally heard about from a podcast that I listened to while I was pregnant (BBL: 003 and BBL: 013). I was immediately intrigued by the idea that potty “training” could begin basically from birth. It makes sense to me that babies would have the innate desire to stay clean and dry. It’s obvious to me that babies communicate in a number of non-verbal ways. Babies start learning from birth, and probably even before that.
EC starts with simple parental observation. Todd is my baby and I know him better than anyone else. I’m the one who spends the most time with him. We’re in constant communication with each other.
I observe how often Todd soils his diapers. I can estimate how many times he’s urinated based on the degree of saturation. I recognize that he has a bowel movement after eating. I pick up on subtle and/or blatant cues that tell me that his movements are imminent or already happening.
Before December 1st, I tried, off and on, to potty Todd using the Baby Bjorn potty on top of his changing table. I used it intermittently, without much success. I found it difficult to position him on it without smashing his penis. He didn’t seem to like it because he would often try to stand up. Eric had a little better luck than I did.
On Monday December 1st, I decided to try holding Todd over the bathroom sink for the first time. I’d been feeding Todd at 5 AM, and I noticed his “poop signs.” I quickly got up and fortunately, there was only a small nugget in his diaper. I held him over the sink and he passed the rest of a large poop. Success! That was much easier than using the baby potty. A short while later that morning, I held Todd over the sink again. He peed. Success again!
December 3rd ended up being our “official” start date for using EC consistently…
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 3–
I decided it was time to dismantle the diaper changing station in our living room. I set it up in Todd’s bedroom instead. There’s a bathroom right across the hall from his room, so it’s convenient to carry him there after removing his diaper. (The second changing station is still located in my bedroom, which is also near a bathroom).
After Todd’s morning nap, he peed in the sink for me. After I fed him, I decided to try holding him over the toilet. He peed for the first time in the toilet. About an hour later, he peed in the toilet again. After a short nap, he peed in the toilet for the 3rd time that day. Finally, later in the afternoon he did his first poop in the toilet. We were off to an amazing start!
MY METHOD–
When I position Todd over the toilet, I hold him in a forward squatting position by supporting his chest/underarms with my left arm and supporting underneath his flexed knees with my right arm. We’re both facing the toilet. I set his feet on the back of the toilet seat (socks off).
During this time, I make a cue sound, “psss,” and I repeat the word, “pee pee.” If he poops, I say “poo poo.”
If Todd deposits anything in the toilet, I praise him and act very excited. I repeat to him, “Todd peed in the potty!” He lights up in a big smile…so cute!! His extra cool “reward” is standing or sitting while looking in the bathroom mirror, which he LOVES.
If Todd doesn’t go in the toilet, I still talk to him sweetly and I thank him for trying. He gets to stand up a little at the changing table before I put a new diaper on.
THURSDAY DECEMBER 4–
Todd peed in the toilet upon waking and then another 5 x during the day. He pooped in the toilet.
FRIDAY DECEMBER 5–
That day, I did a “test” after Todd drank 6 ounces of formula at 2 PM. I took him to the toilet 4 times within an hour of eating. I observed that Todd peed at least 4 times within that hour. He did 3 pees in the toilet when I offered it in 10-minute intervals. The diaper stayed dry between those intervals. When I took Todd for a fourth time 30 minutes later, Todd’s diaper was already wet and he didn’t pee in the toilet.
That evening, we drove to our condo in Wenatchee, WA. When we got there, Todd demonstrated his power of “skill generalization” by peeing twice in the condo toilet…Yay!
SATURDAY DECEMBER 6–
We were in Wenatchee because we ski there on weekends. Todd peed twice in the toilet before we left the condo to go skiing. He didn’t pee in the public restroom at Mission Ridge that day, but we gave it a shot. Todd did poop for the first time in the condo toilet when we got back.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 7–
We were up at 4:30 AM after we all had a good night of sleep. Between 4:30 AM and ~8 AM, Todd ate 3 times and peed in the toilet 6 times. The really awesome thing was that he had dry diapers at 5 of those instances.
The real shocker was that Todd’s diaper was still dry after he awoke from a 3 hour nap at the ski lodge. Todd then peed in the men’s room toilet for Eric. First public bathroom pee…wahoo!
After I fed him, I tried taking him to the ladies restroom. His diaper was dry but he didn’t pee. Instead of calling it quits, I waited several minutes. Luckily there’s a bench inside the very large handicap stall. I tried to potty him again without success. Then, just moments later, when Todd was still sitting bottomless on his dry diaper, he peed. I stood him up and out popped a small BM. Oh, well- you win some and you lose some! A while later he did end up peeing in the restroom for me.
During the drive home, we actually pulled over to give Todd a potty opportunity. He didn’t go. I think he was fussing because he was tired.
MONDAY DECEMBER 8–
Todd pooped in the toilet shortly after having his first bottle of the day. At first I thought he was all done so I stood him on the counter for his reward time. He started flexing forward and I suspected that he wasn’t yet done. Sure enough, he plopped out another nugget. That day, he peed 5 times in the toilet and had 2 dry diapers.
TUESDAY DECEMBER 9–
Todd peed in the toilet after I got him out of his crib. After he ate, he peed and pooped in the toilet. He ended up peeing 9 times in the toilet and he had 4 dry diapers.
FINAL THOUGHTS–
Right now I’m very happy with how things are going. My current goal is simply to teach Todd that the toilet is where he goes for peeing and pooping. Based on the positive results, I believe this is happening.
At this point, I don’t expect Todd to be able to “hold it,” so I do expect wet diapers. I’m tracking when the diapers are dry vs when they are wet so that I can better anticipate his needs. When a diaper is dry I feel great knowing that I got to him “in time.”
Hopefully at some point I’ll be washing fewer diapers. Presently, the benefit is that the diapers that I do wash are not nearly as saturated with urine as before. More often, I’m removing a wet diaper that has only been peed in once instead of multiple times.
So that’s all for now! When things change or when I have more to report, I’ll post another update.
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Weekly Stats:
December 3: 1 pee in sink, 3 pees and 1 poop in toilet
December 4: 6 pees and 1 poop in toilet
December 5: 9 pees and 1 poop in toilet
December 6: 4 pees and 1 poop in toilet
December 7: 8 pees in toilet
December 8: 5 pees and 1 poop in toilet
December 9: 9 pees and 1 poop in toilet
(Note that Todd typically poops once a day)
Recommended Reading:
Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene, by Ingrid Bauer
Todd at 1 week old – August 28, 2014
Well– I started writing the post called “Baby Todd’s Second Month,” but then I realized that I was spending an awful long time writing just about Todd’s toileting. It made sense to dedicate a post to the topic. So here is everything related to Todd’s elimination in his first 3 months.
Let’s start with the set-up. I didn’t waste my money on a specific changing table with specific changing table pads and covers. First of all, I don’t have the space for extra furniture. Second of all, I wanted to use things that would be useful beyond Todd’s diaper days. I purchased a set of 4 washable bed pads for about $25.
I used a desk in my bedroom as the night time changing area and my sewing machine cabinet in my living room as the day time changing area.
- First layer: non-slip shelf liner
- Second layer: folded up towel (for padding)
- Third layer: folded waterproof bed pad
- Fourth layer: cloth diapers
- “Side wall” layer: folded cloth diapers
Night time diaper station
Day time diaper station
I purchased cloth diaper supplies from Green Mountain Diapers while I was still pregnant. I bought 2 dozen newborn and 2 dozen small Cloth-eez Unbleached Organic Prefolds. I also bought a large Blueberry Diaper Pail Liner Laundry Bag, 2 smaller zippered Blueberry Wet Bags, 3 different kinds of cloth wipes (a dozen each), a pack of Snappi Fasteners, and a couple diaper pins.
Green Mountain Diapers order
Note: If you use new cloth prefolds, be sure to wash them multiple times in order to get them ready for use. I had mine ready to go before Todd was born. The Green Mountain Diapers website has lots of instructional content.
Cloth-eez Prefolds, Blueberry Diaper Bags & Baby Bjorn Potty
I didn’t have to purchase any diaper covers because I got them used or as gifts. My initial stash included: 2 Bummis Super Whisper Wraps (size newborn), 2 Thirsties Duo Wraps (size one), 1 Bummis Super Whisper Wrap (size small), and 3 other similar covers (Green Earth, ProWrap).
Cloth Diaper Covers
I recently received another size one Thirsties and 2 g diapers. My cloth prefolds fit well inside the g diaper liner. I also have some size medium covers for when Todd gets bigger.
g diaper with newborn prefold inside
For Todd’s first 5 weeks, I used only disposable newborn diapers. I’d originally planned to start using cloth diapers right after his cord stump fell off. It fell off when he was 2.5 weeks old (9/9/14), but I waited a little longer because I was still too overwhelmed at the time to start something new.
On September 28th, I put him in cloth for the first time. Once I started cloth diapering, I found out that it’s really easy.
Todd started out in the size newborn cloth covers…his frog covers. Ribbit! I didn’t need to use a Snappi or diaper pin (and I still don’t today). I just fold the prefold, line the cover with it, and put it on Todd. Voila!
1st time in a cloth diaper (Newborn Bummis Super Whisper) – September 28, 2014
The large laundry bag is actually a lot bigger than I need. I wash the prefolds and the diaper bag(s) every other day. I do a warm/warm rinse-only, no detergent cycle, followed by a hot/cold + extra rinse wash cycle. Since I have 3 laundry/wet bags I always have a bag to put dirty diapers in while I’m doing laundry. The smaller wet bags are a nice travel size for when you leave the house.
With rare exception, I use the same diaper cover all day. I just change out the prefolds. I’m glad that I didn’t purchase more covers, because I definitely have enough. At the end of the day, I put the cover in our regular dirty laundry basket. (warm/cold wash cycle + air dry).
Since we started cloth diapering, Todd’s bowel movement frequency has been about once per day. His soy formula poops are soft but well formed, appear greenish and they don’t really stick to the cloth because they have a slightly oily sheen. Clean up is easy! I conserve on baby wipes by wiping first with toilet paper, then I use 1 wipe to finish the job.
Soy formula poop in a newborn cotton prefold.
Since we’re on the topic of poop, I should mention that it’s always really obvious when Todd is going. First, he gets a certain faraway look on his face. Then, he emits a series of forceful groans and his face turns all red. It’s hilarious! (Sorry, baby…)
We haven’t had any problem with diaper rash. Only briefly in his first month did he have a mild problem, but that’s when he pooped several times a day. At the time, we used The Honest Company’s Diaper Rash Cream (from Target) and it cleared right up.
Todd in his Thirsties diaper at 10.5 weeks old – November 2, 2014
For night time, I do use disposable diapers. Especially now that Todd is sleeping up to 8.5 hours in a stretch, I appreciate the super absorbancy of the disposables. (Thank you, Costco!)
I haven’t tried using my cloth wipes yet. I still have lots of disposable wipes (Seventh Generation, $2.99 at Target) and they’re really lasting a long time since I only use ~1 per day. Once I run out, I plan to try out the cloth wipes.
(Note that one package of the cloth wipes I bought has really been handy for Todd’s feedings. I call them Todd’s “face wipers.” He doesn’t spit up much, but he can be messy at times, dribbling formula while he eats.)
The latest thing we’re delving into is Elimination Communication (EC). So far, Todd has peed in his potty three times. The first time, I thought he was starting to make his “poopy face,” so I quickly moved him onto his potty. He didn’t poop, but he peed. That was on November 6th (11 weeks old). Since then, I’ve put him on his potty occasionally during diaper changes, but he hasn’t produced. Usually he fights it and tries to stand up. I don’t push it. Eric’s had better luck. Todd peed in his potty two days in a row this week (11/19 & 11/20).
1st pee in the potty – November 6, 2014
Usually Todd prefers to take opportunities to pee on the changing table. We have some Pee-pee Teepees for the sprinkling wee-wee, but to be honest, you need a third hand for them to be effective, and it’s kind of a moving target! It’s a cute idea, but not very practical. (Thank you, aunt Ginny- for the gift, though!)
Pee-pee Teepees
Here’s Todd today, at 3 months old, showing off his muscular upper back and his g diaper. A few days ago, he weighed 11 pounds, 12 ounces.
Tummy time in the g diaper – 3 months old – November 21, 2014
Todd’s g diaper
Freeheel Vegan 