Fairy Parent Poll: Diaper-Free Baby

[Fairy]

I'd heard of this, but I had no idea it was an actual movement. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20464264/wid/11915773?GT1=10252. So, I figured, time to poll it.

[kitmama]

I didn't vote, because I have never tried ECing but I do know it can work. I don't think it's hogwash. :)

[Joolsplus2]

I LOVED doing this with Leah when she was younger. You can't imagine how easy it is to read a baby's signals until you see it in action. Hogwash...funny word, considering billions and billions of parents and children have been doing this for millions and millions of years ;)

It's a little trickier when they get mobile and you don't want poo all over your carpet and hannas, so we went to diapers, but still tried to keep the lines of communication open...she'll be my easiest potty training subject yet (my other two...ay yi yi, potty training hell...)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[elliput]

I have heard of it, but didn't try it, and don't think it is hogwash. I guess I never though of it as a "movement" though. It sounds like the writer has a warped sense of humor- an elimination communication movement! HAHAHAHA!

[jeniferrlynne]

We did this exclusively when he wasn't walking. I didn't want to vote because I didn't like the wording. We are in diapers now only because it is easier for me and our lifestyle - not because I believe it can't work. I would hate to tell the other parts of the world without sposies or even cloth that what they are doing is hogwash!

[Fairy]

Guys, it's just a poll, not a comment on it. I didn't mean any offense. I use the same wording when I do funky weird stuff polls. Like bunk and malarkey and baloney. One end of the spectrum is yes, this is great, and the other end is no, I don't buy into this concept.

[cbscherer]

We actually have been doing a modified version of this with my 14 month old for the last month. I read that after you eat, your body signals you to "do your business." So after my daughter eats, we go to the potty and--knock on wood--she almost always either poops or pees in very short order. She DETEST diaper changes and quickly caught on to how to poop-I have changed maybe 4 poopy diapers since we started this. She'll pee in the pot as well, but since her bladder is not that large and I don't have the time to put her own every hour, I'll just put her on after she eats and after she wakes up and she will usually go. It only take a few minutes each time, so it's not that big of a burden on me. Plus, she gets a kick out of seeing her poopy in the potty and her mama doing the "potty dance" to celebrate her success. As for me, since I can "multi-task" by reading her a book while she does her business and avoid having to wash poopy diapers, it is worth it for me.

My hope is that it will be much easier to fully potty train her since she will be used to sitting on the potty and using those muscles when the time comes.

[kep]

Well, I think that it's mainly training the parent. I don't have any problem with it in inself, it's just not for us. ;)

Kelli

Proud Mommy to Lukey (2003). Weaned after 3 years of happy nursing!
And Mommy to our newest baby, Joseph, born 3 days after Christmas.

[mudder17]

I didn't vote, but I fall somewhere in the middle. Yes, it can work and yes, if it fit in our lifestyle more, I'd probably do it, but at the moment, we don't do it. Here's a website for those who might want to do it:

http://diaperfreebaby.org/


Eileen

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[o_mom]

I also didn't vote - I know it can work, I have seen it and it's not all about training the parent. We don't do it because I'm just not that bothered by diapers and have too many other things on my plate.

[MarisaSF]

I'm in the middle too. DS is only 3 mos old and he's been on the potty a couple times. I absolutely can tell when he needs to poop as he's a once-a-dayer. I haven't figured out his pee cues yet.

I didn't read any links in this thread yet, but there's a book called "Diaper-free by age 3" that is very good. I used it while PTing my daughter after age 2, but the book would be helpful for ECers as well.

[Nooknookmom]

I dunno how young I think this diaper free thing would work so I'm on the fence.

BUT I bought my older DD a potty at 12 months. Sat her on it every am & when she looked like she needed to go.

It got to where she recognized what it was for & would, at 13 mos, sit down & say "mama, I can't go poo" but she tried. Peed all the time though. Weird.

She sat on the & watcherd Barney vids too. She was super easy to PT & we were done by 2.

[daisymommy]

You need to add the option: "I think it can be successful, but we don't do it." That would be my vote :)

I have read about it, and know for a fact that this is the method used in many other cultures and countries (so it's kinda bad to call it hogwash...not very ethno-pc if you will).

However, I think it would take alot more time and patience than I am willing or able to put out right now. So, we take the cloth-diapering road in our house. A middle ground if you will between EC (diaper-free) and disposables.

[maestramommy]

I went to the forum in the article, and someone there said, it's not really right to call it toliet training, because it's not about training the kid. Which sounds about right when you really read into it. It's about the parent reading the child's cues in the beginning, at least until the kid is able to recognize the signs themselves and toliet for themselves. I think it's just as much about using as few diapers possible as it is about toileting. That's about as green as you can get.

[JBaxter]

I didnt vote because I dont think its hogwash but I didnt choose to do it myself. I know it can be done.

[spunkybaby]

Unlike DD1, DD2 has been extremely sensitive to dirty diapers pretty much since birth. She always wanted her diaper changed as soon as it was slightly wet. She had reflux so we switched her to Enfamil AR. (Please no flames about FFing. I could tell a long story about trying to BF with both DDs, which includes low milk supply and EPing. And please also no comments about how low milk supply is a myth since my LC confirmed it with both babies.)

Anyways, the Enfamil AR helped with the refulx but made DD2 extremely constipated. Finally, to help her out, I put her on the potty, thinking that gravity might help. It did (and I helped too), and ever since DD#2 prefers to poop in the potty. I think her first time on the potty was at 3 months. She also prefers to pee in the potty, and if I were able to put her on the potty all day, she'd probably be diaper-free except at nighttime. But putting her on the potty all day is not feasible, especially with an older active DD. We do whistle when she's on the potty just to help her associate the whistling with going to the potty, so yes, it's also a matter of conditioning.

So no, I don't think it's hogwash. Yes, I think it's possible. And yes, I believe that babies can have bladder control very early on. DD2 certainly does. If at all possible, she will hold her poop until we put her on the potty. And she never wets on me when her diaper is off.

I didn't vote in the poll because none of the options fits our situation.

Mom to a spunky preschooler (3/04) and a new spunky Christmas baby (12/06)

[Cilla_Heart]

I voted yes, but I don't call it 'diaper-free' because that's not how we practice it. I guess 'Elimination Communication' or just 'Infant Potty Training' would be a better name for what we do. 'Diaper-Free' is just one incarnation of the whole infant potty training method and represents one way to do it and one motivation for practing it.

We've been doing EC since our daughter was 3.5 months old. She caught on within 3 days, and the last 5 months or so have been a gradual process of improving on what she could do at that time. We respond to facial and body cues and rely a lot on timing (her predictable daily patterns like peeing upon waking). She wears diapers pretty much all the time because that's what works best for me. She pees in the toilet (held on an adult toilet with a potty seat) for me at least 5 times a day ( I miss the rest because it's too difficult for me to do more). Our latest achievement is that for the past 3 or 4 weeks we've been getting a lot more poops in the toilet and I now only occasionally have to clean a poopy diaper. I believe she now can distinguish between my cues for poop and pee, and she is visibly working the right muscles and concentrating when I ask her to go even if she ends up not going.

It definitely works and we're glad we learned about it.

[masha12]

I've heard of it, I'm sure it "works," but I have no interest in trying it.

God bless those moms who have the time to sit around and watch for the peeing "signal," but I am not one of them. As I am also not one of those moms who wants to turn motherhood into a competitive sport, none of my children will be "diaper free" babies.

Besides, as a poster already noted, you still want to put your kids in diapers in case you miss the "signal" so if your baby is truly "diaper free," you really can't leave the house without knowing where the closest bathroom is at all times and being ready to clean up quite a mess in case you are too late.

[Cilla_Heart]

>God bless those moms who have the time to sit around and watch
>for the peeing "signal," but I am not one of them.

I don't know very many mothers who have time to waste. EC does take effort and time, but then changing diapers and potty training later on can take time too. It's also possible to practice EC without spending excessive amounts of time doing it (practice part -time,rely on timing rather than signals, etc.). Granted, it's not for everyone, but I think people are often too ready to rule it out as a possiblity for their life.

>As I am
>also not one of those moms who wants to turn motherhood into a
>competitive sport, none of my children will be "diaper free"
>babies.

I don't think EC is about competition. There will always be moms who do the competitive thing, but there are plenty of good reasons to practice EC like earlier and possibly eaiser potty training, saving money on diapers, helping the environment, bonding, preventing diaper leaks at inopportune times, improving hygiene for your child, etc..


>Besides, as a poster already noted, you still want to put your
>kids in diapers in case you miss the "signal" so if your baby
>is truly "diaper free," you really can't leave the house
>without knowing where the closest bathroom is at all times and
>being ready to clean up quite a mess in case you are too
>late.

No, actually, people usually just travel with a potty, so that's not really an issue regardless of whether you're practicing EC with or without diapers. As for messes, I used to clean up a lot more messes before I started EC because my daughter would just pee all over as I was changing her diaper! I decided I might as well just offer her a chance to use the toilet right before each diaper change (It only takes a minute or two) and at a few other times during the day.

[kijip]

We will try this at least to some degree with any future kids. Toby was out of diapers well under three but we did not EC with him.


I think it is only a movement in this MSN article. :P

****Rocking out while parenting my smart little munchkin Toby. Just trying to do good in the world, a little at a time. Words to live by: it is *never* the wrong time to do the right thing :)

[anamika]

It's practically a way of life in India - nobody I know uses diapers in India (except nowadays and that is also usually only when taking the kids out). My aunts were shocked that DD was in diapers *all day*.
I have to add my mild reproaches to calling it hogwash :)

[Cilla_Heart]

I recommend reading "Infant Potty Training" by Laurie Boucke if you're even a little curious about the whole thing. It discusses going diaper -free as well as other versions of the method like Elimination Communication with diapers, part-time EC, etc.. It's very thorough and contains lots of journal entries from mothers practicing various forms of EC, as well as fascinating cross-cultural information.
"Diaper-Free" by Ingrid Bauer is also good, although it has a very different feel from the other book. Boucke's book takes a more "scientific" aproach, like an instruction manual, while Bauer's book, although well-researched and informative, stresses the emotional part of EC i.e. the mother-child bonding.
I enjoyed both books and thought they made an excellent case for incorporating EC into modern western life. Lots of helpful tips in there. And they were just plain interesting...