EC Tips? (12 month old)

laurn321

Hi there ... I'm a lurker who's coming out of the woodwork for an elimination communication question.

My baby is 12 months old and up until this point we'd been doing pretty well part time... we catch most poops, about 3-4 pees a day. I was perfectly content with that because I didn't want to put any pressure on it for him or me. We'd had a few strikes, but by not forcing him he'd usually resume interest within a day or two.

Now he's on a strike that doesn't seem to quit and I'm worried about all my hard work going to the toilet (pun intended). If he doesn't have something new in his hands, he's not interested at all in being anywhere near the toilet. If I give him a book or something, he'll loosen up and go. 

There are a few problems with this though... 1. I don't want to lose books to our toilet and 2. I wasn't sure if it was ok to be doing this to get him to go (I definitely don't force him if he really doesn't want to, but he seems to have no problem once he's holding something).

Has anyone dealt with this? Any tips? Would a baby toilet help? (For what it's worth, I've tried singing, putting decals on the inside of the toilet seat for him to look at, etc, etc)

Thanks! 

lizztheo

I don't have an older baby but I had the same fear with books. We always read books on the potty and he likes to hold it. They have 1 books at Target in the dollar section so if one gets dropped every now and then, it's okay.

sunkissed7804

Our daughter had a potty that was easy for her to move around.  She would often sit on it just to sit on it and also use it when she felt like it.  She would also pee on the floor but we would just say to the pee "Next time your going in the potty pee!  You don't go on the floor!" And when she would pee in the potty we would say "Yaaaay pee!!  You found your way to the potty!!"

She had her own limited library in the bathroom that stayed in there always.  Her absolute favorite was "Everyone Poops" by Taro Gomi. She also had a few easy to clean small toys. I do not consider that rewards because they were always in there.  She would also help me to clean off the toys and books after she was done to say bye bye to the germs. 

Also, just talking to her while she sat made things smoother if she wasn't interested in her stuff.  She would love it when I made up stories about the little girl who just had to go potty but she couldn't find it.

Just make something an always ritual and keep it totally not serious.

Good luck!! 

sunkissed7804

Oh!  I also meant to suggest that you make your own books! You can even get the pages laminated before you put it together so that if it is dropped in the toilet or gets very soiled you can simply spray it with sanitizer and let it dry!  They are so simple to make and wonderful because they tend to hold interest longer.  Put pictures in there of the potty, her on the potty or even you on the potty!

To make cleaning easier...put the book together with a ribbon.  When you need to clean it just take the ribbon out and wash it, clean the pages, and when dry put it back together!

happywife2b

Try some plastic bath time books. That way if they fall in or get wet yo can just wash them off in the sink. No sweat. But if that's what works, then why switch to something else? Consistency will help things along more than diversity, IMO.