S/O: EC (Elimination Communication) moms here?

[momm]

How many EC moms here? What resources do you use? Share your stories!

Mine:
11 months - uses IKEA potty for pee and poop in the day. I offer him every hour and after every meal and he goes. He holds his pee and poops till I offer, unless I don't offer for more than 2-3 hours.
We wear diapers when out (mostly dry unless it's a long trip). And overnights every night (always soaked through).

The only resources I've bought are the IKEA potties (2, one for upstairs and one for downstairs - at $4 each, they were totally affordable)

Your stories?

[mum-to-be]

Sorry, I only just saw this post! I was searching for recommendations on what I should buy at IKEA tomorrow, and this came up.

We do EC with 16 month old DD, who is now in undies constantly, except overnight. She has been dry the last 3 nights though! And she dropped the night-time breastfeed about 3-4 nights ago, so I'm hoping it is no coincidence and we will be done with diapers soon!

I didn't do EC with my first, and I stumbled into EC with DD because she was communicating her need to me so clearly from 2 months on, and I then researched it and decided to give it a go. If I have a third child I will EC from an even earlier age, possibly even from birth.

We just use the bjorn toilet seat insert and a BBLP in the car. Around 15 months she started refusing the toilet in favor of her little potty, so I placed extra potties around the house and let her go naked a bit and that is when she truly potty trained. She's been dry for naps since then.

I have discovered so many tricks along the way. DD will almost always pee on demand if held above a public toilet, but will stretch it out at home as long as possible. I get nervous if it's been 2-3 hours, but she doesn't seem to, and will only go when she is ready.

We read so many books each day on the toilet. I don't see it as wasted time. I'd rather read to her while she does her business than wrestle with diaper changes.

[mum-to-be]

Sorry, I only just saw this post! I was searching for recommendations on what I should buy at IKEA tomorrow, and this came up.

We do EC with 16 month old DD, who is now in undies constantly, except overnight. She has been dry the last 3 nights though! And she dropped the night-time breastfeed about 3-4 nights ago, so I'm hoping it is no coincidence and we will be done with diapers soon!

I didn't do EC with my first, and I stumbled into EC with DD because she was communicating her need to me so clearly from 2 months on, and I then researched it and decided to give it a go. If I have a third child I will EC from an even earlier age, possibly even from birth.

We just use the bjorn toilet seat insert and a BBLP in the car. Around 15 months she started refusing the toilet in favor of her little potty, so I placed extra potties around the house and let her go naked a bit and that is when she truly potty trained. She's been dry for naps since then.

I have discovered so many tricks along the way. DD will almost always pee on demand if held above a public toilet, but will stretch it out at home as long as possible. I get nervous if it's been 2-3 hours, but she doesn't seem to, and will only go when she is ready.

We read so many books each day on the toilet. I don't see it as wasted time. I'd rather read to her while she does her business than wrestle with diaper changes.

Oh and now she ignores the potty in favor of the toilet. I think the potty obsession might have been her way of taking charge of the potty learning. Toddlers are so very clever. I understand her so well, even though she doesn't have that many words. I'm sure EC has helped strengthen our bond.

[momm]

She has been dry the last 3 nights though! ...

and we will be done with diapers soon!



:cheerleader1: that is AWESOME!!

We are nowhere near overnights yet because he feeds multiple times a night. but when we are, I might PM you with questions, if that's ok!

I agree that the next one, I might try from birth, too. I only started with DS at like 7 months, and am just astounded at the results.

Here's hoping for dry nights for you for good!

[Simon]

We used a modified version of EC with both boys. It started when I was desperate for sleep and trying to eliminate all possible causes of nightwaking in Ds1.

Ds1 had *strong* preferences from a young age to not go in a diaper. We started EC full on, during an international trip, when Ds1 was about 4.5mo (adjusted age). I say we, but really Dh got it all started :) I just told him to hold Ds over the potty every few hours and let him go. We eventually bought a toilet seat insert. He never had a little potty. We CD'd full time as back-up and switched to underwear around 14 mo? He was dry all day by 18mo, no more accidents. Ds1 did wet at night until 3 or 4yo, I don't recall anymore.

Ds2 was in daycare full time and in disposables but we borrowed a friend's Bjorn Little Potty and offered first thing in the morning regularly for a while, then Ds was really sick so we stopped. When I brought out a BBPotty Chair, he got really interested (16mo?) and pretty much went to using it all the time when at home. He's in underwear all the time now though he still had an odd accident, only at home though. He trongly prefers the little potty to the insert.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i used to be really into EC with DS, when he was less than a year old (i started it when he was 3 months). he would pee on the toilet every time he woke up, for the most part. he even pooped in the potty a few times. i remember some days only using 2 diapers or something like that.. it saved me so much laundry!!

i really do think the method works, if you are consistent with it. however, once DD was born it pretty much turned our routine upside down and i stopped taking him to the potty. now at 20 mos i almost never put him on the potty, bc i'm usually busy with DD or doing something else, and i just don't have the time/energy to do it.

also, my DS just isn't interested anymore. he could walk around in a pee or poo-filed diaper for hours and not care at all..he just wants to keep playing. i think my DD is different, and wet diapers her bother her a lot. i am going to try doing EC with her once she is a little older and can sit up better. I wouldn't be surprised if they PT around the same time.

[momm]

We used a modified version of EC with both boys. It started when I was desperate for sleep and trying to eliminate all possible causes of nightwaking in Ds1.

Ds1 had *strong* preferences from a young age to not go in a diaper. We started EC full on, during an international trip, when Ds1 was about 4.5mo (adjusted age). I say we, but really Dh got it all started :) I just told him to hold Ds over the potty every few hours and let him go. We eventually bought a toilet seat insert. He never had a little potty. We CD'd full time as back-up and switched to underwear around 14 mo? He was dry all day by 18mo, no more accidents. Ds1 did wet at night until 3 or 4yo, I don't recall anymore.

Ds2 was in daycare full time and in disposables but we borrowed a friend's Bjorn Little Potty and offered first thing in the morning regularly for a while, then Ds was really sick so we stopped. When I brought out a BBPotty Chair, he got really interested (16mo?) and pretty much went to using it all the time when at home. He's in underwear all the time now though he still had an odd accident, only at home though. He trongly prefers the little potty to the insert.

Wow! Awesome stories. Thanks for posting. (Sorry I saw the response a little late)

[momm]

i used to be really into EC with DS, when he was less than a year old (i started it when he was 3 months). he would pee on the toilet every time he woke up, for the most part. he even pooped in the potty a few times. i remember some days only using 2 diapers or something like that.. it saved me so much laundry!!

i really do think the method works, if you are consistent with it. however, once DD was born it pretty much turned our routine upside down and i stopped taking him to the potty. now at 20 mos i almost never put him on the potty, bc i'm usually busy with DD or doing something else, and i just don't have the time/energy to do it.

also, my DS just isn't interested anymore. he could walk around in a pee or poo-filed diaper for hours and not care at all..he just wants to keep playing. i think my DD is different, and wet diapers her bother her a lot. i am going to try doing EC with her once she is a little older and can sit up better. I wouldn't be surprised if they PT around the same time.


I totally feel ya! I often wonder how people do it with two kids. Well I often wonder how people get ANYTHING done with two or more kids, but that's another story :)
I agree you need to be consistent with EC. Good luck for whenever you start trying next!

[mum-to-be]

:cheerleader1: that is AWESOME!!

We are nowhere near overnights yet because he feeds multiple times a night. but when we are, I might PM you with questions, if that's ok!

I agree that the next one, I might try from birth, too. I only started with DS at like 7 months, and am just astounded at the results.

Here's hoping for dry nights for you for good!

Absolutely! Feel free to PM me any time - that goes for anyone with questions about EC. I see it as a learning journey - there is so little written about it and looking back I now understand it so well, but there were times that it took me a few weeks to understand her new signals, desires for potty vs toilet, frequency changes.

DD is 17 months today. She still wears a cloth diaper overnight. She was dry for 10 consecutive nights, then wet for 3 nights, and is back to being dry the last few nights. She weaned completely 2 weeks ago, so that has probably contributed to the dry nights (although she was not waking in the nights for feeds before that). When she is dry 14 consecutive nights, I will not put her in a diaper any more. It was so nice when she was dry 10 nights - I enjoyed not having the extra laundry. She actually did wake at midnight a few nights ago, and I think it was because she was wet.

She doesn't want to poo in public though. DS didn't either. I guess nobody really does ;) It's a pain though because it means I have to get her home before her nap or she'll be uncomfortable. She doesn't want to sit on public toilet seats but will pee if held above the toilet. And we have the BBLP in our car. So, the public poo is our issue right now, as well as me getting worried she might wet her pants if it has been close to 2 hours since her last pee. As long as we don't mention the words potty, toilet, pee, poo, we are usually fine.