I am pleased as punch with my little girl. Once her meconium cleared out, I noticed that she peed and pooped with nearly every feeding, usually after finishing the first side. She also likes to take a 15 minute snooze between sides, unless she is desperately hungry. So five days after she was born, I had the bright idea to take off her diaper after she ate on the first side, hold her over a little Tupperware container, and see if I could make a “catch.” Sure enough, out it came. Is that cool or what?
Since then I’ve gotten between 50-75% of her eliminations, depending on the day. Sometimes she goes right when she starts eating, sometimes she doesn’t go at all until the next feeding. But most of the time I get something. I’ve started making a “psssssss” sound when I notice her going, in the hopes that she will learn to associate the position and the sound with elimination. To learn more about elimination communication, I suggest reading Infant Potty Training or Diaper Free!
She pees a lot, so she often has a wet diaper by time she wants to eat again. But most of the time, all of her poops have gone in the bowl (and soon thereafter into the toilet), rather than in her diaper.
While she is sitting over her little chamber pot, I hold her with one hand and use the other to write in my journal or check my email, since I keep the laptop on the bed with me. I snapped a picture this morning. You can’t see the Tupperware, but it is between my legs. She is suspended over it, held up by my legs and my one arm:
On another note, I just ordered a new sewing machine!! My old one is giving me a lot of grief with the upper tension adjuster. I can’t get any tension on the thread at all, no matter how high I turn the dial. It might be a simple repair, but I’ve had this beauty for almost 8 years, and it only cost me $4 at a thrift shop. So I decided to treat myself to a swanky new machine, rather than running around trying to get it fixed. I purchased a Brother CS 6000T. It’s reconditioned, but still has the same 25 year warranty as the brand new models.
To learn more about EC, visit these sites:
"Infant Potty Training and Elimination Communication" by Laurie Boucke
"Natural Infant Hygeine or Elimiation Communication" by Ingrid Bauer
Hmmmm...Interesting idea. What will you do as she gets older? Will she start using the toilet sooner, or what is the general idea? Where did you come across this? I'd sure love to have all of mine toilet-trained. Ben, my 2yo, sure hates having his diaper changed. Me, too. :)
ReplyDeleteHere are 2 sites to answer some of your questions: http://www.natural-wisdom.com/nihgentlealternative.htm
ReplyDeletehttp://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/5-diap/42-infant-potty-training.htm
I highly recommend the book "Infant Potty Training," the first 100 pages especially.
Random Question, not related to elimination. How do you go about getting a birth certificate for an unattended home birth?
ReplyDeleteWhere we live, you go to the county courthouse, fill out a piece of paper, sign your name, and voila! It's done. Eric signs as both the father and certifier/attendant.
ReplyDeleteEach state has different requirements. Some ask for a doctor's proof of pregnancy or other outside paperwork.
Tasha,
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm pretty sure I got your consent form. I'm off to read Zoe's story...
Good stuff. We didn't do EC, but w/ cloth dipes, I haven't changed a poopy diaper since my daughter was about 11.5 months old... :)
ReplyDeleteFYI, both of your links seem dead (one's hosting expired 10/10 and the other is parked, too).