Elimination communication with two children

I've done elimination communication--also called EC or infant potty training--with both children. I wondered if I'd be able to do it with baby #2. Would I be too busy with a toddler to be able to potty my new baby? So far, it's been entirely doable. Zari loves helping out when Dio is on the potty: brining me a wipe, keeping Dio amused, or emptying the potty once he's gone. For her, pottying a baby is a normal part of life, since that's what she always did.

I started doing EC when both my children were a week or two old, once I was feeling recovered from the birth and settled into having a new baby. Some people also go diaper-free when they do EC, feeling that it helps them better tune into their baby's cues. I prefer to use a cloth diaper as backup. Why? It's easier to wash one diaper than to wash my shirt, my pants, my baby's clothes, my sling, the rug, and/or the floor if there's a missed cue!

When Zari was a newborn, I would hold her over a tupperware container resting between my legs (see this picture). Dio never liked being held in a reclined position, so from the beginning I held him while sitting backwards on the toilet, or for pees I'd just hold him over the sink. It's a bit more tricky pottying a baby boy than a baby girl, since a boy's pee sprays really far and you're never sure exactly which direction it's going to go. I was really happy when Dio was big enough to sit in his Baby Bjorn Little Potty at 3 months old. He loves it and pees right away, nearly every time I sit him down. Dio is much quicker to pee than Zari was, which is nice. He pretty much pees as soon as he sits on his potty. And if he's distracted, running the sink does the trick.

I do EC mainly on timing and schedule: after Dio nurses, and after he wakes up from a nap. Both of those times it's almost certain he will need to pee or poop. And even if we have a miss and he wets his diaper, he almost always can squeeze a little more out for me on the potty. I love seeing how much control he has over peeing and pooping. I make the cueing sounds (psssss psssss for pee and a grunting noise for poop) and he will immediately pee or flex his abdominal muscles and try to poop.

I haven't been doing EC much at night lately. I've been too tired--but if I did, I know we would both sleep better. But I can't convince myself of that at 2 am!

Elimination communication has taught me that there are two distinct stages to becoming potty trained. If your child is diapered, you might not have the opportunity to observe these two stages. The first stage--one that even infants can master quickly--is being able to release on cue. The second stage is one that often comes much later: being able to hold pee or poop after feeling the urge to go and to release it only when it's socially acceptable (ie, in a potty or a toilet). I wonder if these two stages exist because it's easier to relax a sphincter muscle than to deliberately hold it tight? Dio has mastered the first stage but, like Zari, probably will take much longer to master the second.

I love doing elimination communication. I don't do it to be some kind of "super mom." (No one's ever said that to me, but I imagine that some people unfamiliar with EC might see it as a kind of competition to see who has the better/smarter baby or who is the better mom...) So why do I do it? Fewer diapers to wash, babies don't have to sit in a wet or dirty diaper, and they usually are potty trained much earlier. And, most importantly, it's fun! Babies are much smarter than we give them credit for. They can recognize and control their bodily functions from a very young age, if given the chance.