Elimination communication
Sep. 17th, 2019 11:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
halojedhaI hadn't realised until I watched the latest season of Orange is the New Black that elimination communication had gone mainstream. We were told about it by aiwendel. It's also called baby led pottying or sometimes nappy free parenting, although the way we're doing it definitely includes nappies!
The basic idea is that babies are naturally sensitive to when they've soiled themselves, and prefer not to go in their nappies if they can help it. Which is why they often go on the changing mat. So if you give them the opportunity to go in a potty they will take it.
Of course tiny infants don't have conscious control over when they go, so it's about giving them a helping hand.
We hold E out over the potty at every nappy change, and whenever we spot a cue. For E, a wee cue usually looks like uncomfortable wriggles that start before they've quite woken up, or crying that starts very suddenly when they were previously comfy and calm. Poo cues are a particular sort of strained cry and wriggle, and farting is also telltale that there might be more to come!
We have a little silicon potty we put between our knees, and we hold E under the thighs in a low squat position, with their back resting against our tummy. The position relaxes the muscles in the pelvis, and gravity and instinct do the rest.
When I first read about it I was pretty sceptical, but the first time we did it we caught a wee, and the second time we caught a poo. I was sold!
If we're quick off the mark with responding to cues, we can catch a wee or a poo with a dry nappy, and put the same nappy back on again. Which is very satisfying. A few times we've managed multiple dry nappies in a row, especially at night when it's easier to spot the cues because we're primed to wake up when E starts to wriggle, and there are fewer distractions.
Other times we only seem to spot the cues when it's just too late. It varies. Some days we only use 6 nappies in 24 hrs, other times we get through 12 or more. I'd say we catch on average 90% of poos and about half the wees.
It's working really well for us. Because we use cloth nappies, every catch is one less nappy to launder, which means we fill the nappy bin more slowly and spend less time putting washing on, hanging up nappies to dry, and stuffing inserts. Spending less time sitting in a wet or dirty nappy means E doesn't get nappy rash. Even when we miss a cue, we change them very regularly, so they're more comfortable. Plus it's soooo much easier to give the potty a quick rinse and E a single wipe, than to have to painstakingly clean every nook and cranny! And it makes nappy changes less upsetting, because cleaning them is a much quicker and kinder job.
The other advantage is that they're maintaining their sensitivity to needing to go, and to being wet or dirty. It means that when we come to transition out of nappies, it'll be much easier. They won't have had to learn to ignore their body's signals and the feeling of being wet, like many babies have to.
We started EC at 3 weeks and I've found the process hugely satisfying. It's only possible if you're paying close attention, so it's great for bonding and developing non verbal communication. I'm looking forward to learning the baby sign for potty!
We've already had some fairly uncanny catches, like when E has been in the sling for over an hour sleeping happily, starts to wriggle, and we get them out and find a dry nappy... and as soon as we hold them out we catch a wee. It's pretty amazing!
aiwendel. It's also called baby led pottying or sometimes nappy free parenting, although the way we're doing it definitely includes nappies!The basic idea is that babies are naturally sensitive to when they've soiled themselves, and prefer not to go in their nappies if they can help it. Which is why they often go on the changing mat. So if you give them the opportunity to go in a potty they will take it.
Of course tiny infants don't have conscious control over when they go, so it's about giving them a helping hand.
We hold E out over the potty at every nappy change, and whenever we spot a cue. For E, a wee cue usually looks like uncomfortable wriggles that start before they've quite woken up, or crying that starts very suddenly when they were previously comfy and calm. Poo cues are a particular sort of strained cry and wriggle, and farting is also telltale that there might be more to come!
We have a little silicon potty we put between our knees, and we hold E under the thighs in a low squat position, with their back resting against our tummy. The position relaxes the muscles in the pelvis, and gravity and instinct do the rest.
When I first read about it I was pretty sceptical, but the first time we did it we caught a wee, and the second time we caught a poo. I was sold!
If we're quick off the mark with responding to cues, we can catch a wee or a poo with a dry nappy, and put the same nappy back on again. Which is very satisfying. A few times we've managed multiple dry nappies in a row, especially at night when it's easier to spot the cues because we're primed to wake up when E starts to wriggle, and there are fewer distractions.
Other times we only seem to spot the cues when it's just too late. It varies. Some days we only use 6 nappies in 24 hrs, other times we get through 12 or more. I'd say we catch on average 90% of poos and about half the wees.
It's working really well for us. Because we use cloth nappies, every catch is one less nappy to launder, which means we fill the nappy bin more slowly and spend less time putting washing on, hanging up nappies to dry, and stuffing inserts. Spending less time sitting in a wet or dirty nappy means E doesn't get nappy rash. Even when we miss a cue, we change them very regularly, so they're more comfortable. Plus it's soooo much easier to give the potty a quick rinse and E a single wipe, than to have to painstakingly clean every nook and cranny! And it makes nappy changes less upsetting, because cleaning them is a much quicker and kinder job.
The other advantage is that they're maintaining their sensitivity to needing to go, and to being wet or dirty. It means that when we come to transition out of nappies, it'll be much easier. They won't have had to learn to ignore their body's signals and the feeling of being wet, like many babies have to.
We started EC at 3 weeks and I've found the process hugely satisfying. It's only possible if you're paying close attention, so it's great for bonding and developing non verbal communication. I'm looking forward to learning the baby sign for potty!
We've already had some fairly uncanny catches, like when E has been in the sling for over an hour sleeping happily, starts to wriggle, and we get them out and find a dry nappy... and as soon as we hold them out we catch a wee. It's pretty amazing!