Using EC to to minimize diapering
As a follow up to Madeleine’s last entry about cloth diapering, I want to tell you about my experience with a diapering/pottying technique called Elimination Communication. To quote Wikipedia: “Elimination communication (EC) is a form of nurturing in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to help an infant address his or her elimination needs, partially or completely avoiding the use of diapers.”
When I first heard about this practice four years ago from a friend, I thought EC was too crunchy, bizzare and complicated for me - so, I dismissed it. By the time I had Garret, I had heard a lot more about it, seen it in action, and had lots of friends to ask about how they EC their babies. I’m not a hard core EC’er. I practice it part time, when I have my complete undivided attention on Garret and his pottying signals. I started EC when he was about 4 months old. When I can sense he needs to go, I squat him over the toilet and make a ‘psss’ noise. Behold, he goes! Well, OK, only sometimes, and only when he wants to. The most reliable times it works is: just when he wakes up, shortly after nursing, and catching him squatting or making his tell tale grunting sounds just before a BM. Needless to say, practicing EC cuts down on the number of diapers I need to wash. (Here is me and Garret in our hotel bathroom in Penticton last weekend. I’m happy to say we used only a handful of disposables on this trip. Otherwise, we did the EC thing or used cloth.)
There is a great list of resources (websites, books, etc.) on EC, but the best article I’ve read about it is here on MDC, by Sarah J Buckley, MD. I highly recommend it if you are considering EC today or in the future. Interestingly enough, there was a discussion thread on MDC about why EC has never been profiled as a story in Mothering magazine. I don’t get why not, as EC to me is just like practicing breastfeeding on demand - you read your baby’s cues on when they need to nurse/potty. Moms who practicing breastfeeding on demand or EC do it because they think this is best for baby (and mom). Even one of our customers talked about EC in her guest post a few months ago. Talking about it doesn’t imply, in my mind, passing judgement that those who don’t do it are less worthy as moms. It’s just another mothering technique that brings mom and baby closer together. Having said that, I am mindful that EC’ing can backfire. Forcing your baby to go on the potty when they don’t want to can result in a real power struggle. Garret lets me know very clearly when he doesn’t want to/isn’t ready to potty. And, when he does, I completely back off. Often, he’ll pee in his diaper a few minutes later, and I’m OK with that.
The other thing about EC is that it is controversial topic. Here is a link to an article and news story on MSNBC this week on the controversy. Naysayers claim that EC is about forcing your baby to potty train too early, or that it is really about potty training the mom/caregiver. There is some truth to the latter comment. However, like I said earlier, I never force Garret to potty when he doesn’t want to. Finally, a neat story: Garret will sometimes crawl to the bathroom to indicate he needs to have a BM! I’m really hoping that this extra work will pay off in that he will learn to potty train sooner so that we can finally stop using diapers all together. Hooray for that!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Having the opportunity to see EC in action at the office has made me a convert as well…though I don’t have any kids to practice on yet! Just yesterday I saw the tell-tale red face and alerted Suzanne to Garret’s potty needs - with only one washroom at the office, we suddenly heard “we need to potty” before Marie-Genevieve was rushed out so Garret could have his turn!
August 31st, 2007 at 10:21 am
Persephone is 7 months and even as a SAHM I’ve got a hard time recognizing the signs until she’s in the act of using the bathroom. I’m thinking as soon as she is walking, we’ll start trying EC, I like the idea, and I think for me it really would be potty training Mommy to see the signs and know when she’s got to go. The less laundry the better!
August 31st, 2007 at 10:59 am
We practice EC with our DD who is now 8mo. We started when she was 3 weeks old, and I too used to think it was a ridiculous idea… until I tried it!
I just wanted to address the statement “… that it is really about potty training the mom/caregiver. There is some truth to the latter comment.”
I used to think that’s exactly what was happening when I heard people claiming this EC thing worked for them. But it’s really not true at all. If it were, then we’d have to say that we are ‘parent-trained’ to feed our children when they are hungry, comfort them when they are sad, clothe them when they are cold.
The part that seems ‘true’ is that the parent is the one doing the ‘work’ in taking baby to the potty, since baby is not old enough to take themselves (take off their clothes, clean their own bottoms, etc etc). However, this is true for ALL baby care needs.
Until they are old enough to care for themselves, we must help them with EVERYTHING. By practicing EC, we’re just helping them with one more thing — following their own inborn instincts to eliminate in ‘open air’ rather than in enclosed clothing.
We’re total converts now that we’ve experienced it. We’re pretty relaxed about it, and DD has been diaper-free since about 5mo, when we made the switch to (cloth) training pants for backup. She’s now even started wearing cute baby undies some of the time. We ‘catch’ most pees, not all of course, but the good majority, and nearly every poo goes straight into the toilet. That’s a whole lot of laundry saved right there!
We find this SO much easier than washing diapers all the time (especially poopy ones, since the wet trainers can go straight in with the regular laundry), wrestling with a mobile baby who doesn’t want to lie still for a diaper change, washing poopy bums, dealing with diaper rash, carrying around massive diaper bags, etc etc.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:13 am
This is the reason why the lessons from diversity is necessary in the world. In Harlem, NY, where there is a substantial Senegalese population, you rarely see mothers carrying diaper bags. My sistah-friends think they are too much.
They strap their kids to their backs, using only a cloth. When a child is strapped to your back, you can feel the workings of her/his body; this is how they know when to take the child to the bathroom. Also, when you trip, you tend to fall forward, and the weight of the child will help pull you.
Try wearing your baby on your back to suppliment your EC while you are out, and if you need to feel secure, carry a diaper with you. My sisters aren’t absolutely diaper-less, but its use is rare.