Elimination Communication
I'm tired of diapers. So very tired of diapers. Especially, newborn, breast fed, "blow outs." And having to stick said newborn under the faucet after each diaper change so that she does not develop some kind of horrible rash from being covered in her own waste.
I have a new plan: training myself to take the baby to the potty when they need to go, known by some as elimination communication (EC). See, when both my kids where maybe a couple months old they both seemed to be looking to me for permission when they needed to go. To which I would reply something like, go whenever you want, you've got a diaper on. (Basically, I trained them to go in a diaper and then had to untrain them later.) My friend's one year old baby came from China already poop trained. Russian parents still poop train their babies and toddlers. And it's always puzzled me to no end how women have carried their babies in slings or backpacks for umpteen generations and not ended each day covered in filth.
The U.S. mainstream parenting culture is really into late "no pressure" potty training, smack dab in the middle of the terrible two's/three's. Ugly. But noticing when a baby has to go is supposedly not much harder than learning when to nurse him or when he needs a nap. And while a young baby can't hold it until the next highway rest stop, there is usually a minute or so before they overflow in which an appropriate receptacle might be reached.
If you're interested, the DiaperFreeBaby website is a good place to start. And a very short, basic introduction is provided by the book Trickle Treat by Laurie Boucke. This is the classic of the field and inspirational.
Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene by Ingrid Bauer -- is a bit over the top attachment parenting even for me. Yes, birthing at home would be great if I had someone to suture me afterward. Yes, breast is best unless the additional work of nursing drains mom of her will to live. Yes, co-sleeping is good unless baby's every snuffle leaves one in a fight-or-flight full awake anxiety state which takes hours to calm down from. (Nope, after two babies I still can't react automatically to night cries. Must wake fully to use my whole brain.) And, of course, helping babies keep themselves clean is very important too, but not to the point of losing sleep or quitting one's job to be a Canadian homesteader.
My favorite book so far is Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh. The author breaks EC down into strategies for communication depending on how old the baby is (starting with mobile babies seems to be more challenging) and how often EC will be attempted -- full-time, part-time, or occasional. I love how she presents all the options from part-time half-assed to trying for a 100% completely diaper free baby. She gives advice and a wide range of experience from parents. This book asserts that almost all parents will be able to try some form of EC, just like now a lot of us at least try to breast feed.
God willing, I'll let you know how it goes.
I have a new plan: training myself to take the baby to the potty when they need to go, known by some as elimination communication (EC). See, when both my kids where maybe a couple months old they both seemed to be looking to me for permission when they needed to go. To which I would reply something like, go whenever you want, you've got a diaper on. (Basically, I trained them to go in a diaper and then had to untrain them later.) My friend's one year old baby came from China already poop trained. Russian parents still poop train their babies and toddlers. And it's always puzzled me to no end how women have carried their babies in slings or backpacks for umpteen generations and not ended each day covered in filth.
The U.S. mainstream parenting culture is really into late "no pressure" potty training, smack dab in the middle of the terrible two's/three's. Ugly. But noticing when a baby has to go is supposedly not much harder than learning when to nurse him or when he needs a nap. And while a young baby can't hold it until the next highway rest stop, there is usually a minute or so before they overflow in which an appropriate receptacle might be reached.
If you're interested, the DiaperFreeBaby website is a good place to start. And a very short, basic introduction is provided by the book Trickle Treat by Laurie Boucke. This is the classic of the field and inspirational.
Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene by Ingrid Bauer -- is a bit over the top attachment parenting even for me. Yes, birthing at home would be great if I had someone to suture me afterward. Yes, breast is best unless the additional work of nursing drains mom of her will to live. Yes, co-sleeping is good unless baby's every snuffle leaves one in a fight-or-flight full awake anxiety state which takes hours to calm down from. (Nope, after two babies I still can't react automatically to night cries. Must wake fully to use my whole brain.) And, of course, helping babies keep themselves clean is very important too, but not to the point of losing sleep or quitting one's job to be a Canadian homesteader.
My favorite book so far is Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh. The author breaks EC down into strategies for communication depending on how old the baby is (starting with mobile babies seems to be more challenging) and how often EC will be attempted -- full-time, part-time, or occasional. I love how she presents all the options from part-time half-assed to trying for a 100% completely diaper free baby. She gives advice and a wide range of experience from parents. This book asserts that almost all parents will be able to try some form of EC, just like now a lot of us at least try to breast feed.
God willing, I'll let you know how it goes.