Elimination Communication

mdarmetko · May 2014

Has anyone tried this or hope to try this? How could this work for working parents?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elimination_communication

shevaCC · May 2014

To each their own. We did it with DD and will with DS. At daycare she used diapers and at home she often used the potty. It didn't seem to phase her, she just learned the different expectations of the different places, like any other difference between home and daycare. We started around 3.5 months old and she "graduated" around 18 months old. Communication was really the best benefit, but a nice side effect was that I've dealt with less than 10 poopy diapers since she started solids.

mdarmetko · May 2014

@shevaCC So you just used the potty at home? What did you do when you were out and about? Did you read a book or helpful sites to get started?

BeachM · May 2014

Not for us, but I'm pretty lazy and prefered not to deal with PTing where the parent is really the one doing all the work.

lizztheo · May 2014

I tried it with my son and it just wasn't working for us. I started when he was 6 months old and it was way too difficult to catch pees but I was pretty good at his cues for pooping. He would hit phases when he didn't want to go on the potty anymore and I didn't force him. But I ended up just throwing in the towel because it was just impossible to ever know when he needed to pee but it might have been because we started late. I would highly recommend the book "Diaper Free" to learn more.

Barefoot84 · May 2014

I intended to do it with DD, but it didn't work out. I was just too tired from problems with breastfeeding and recuperating from a hard birth. I'm not considering it this time because I'll have enough work with two kids to take care of. However, if you want to try it, there's really nothing to lose. You'll need to buy a potty eventually, why not buy it now and see if EC works for your family? I strongly recommend the book Diaper-Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh.

shevaCC · May 2014

@mdarmetko‌, I read the Diaper-Free Baby, as others recommended. I particularly appreciated the advice I read either there or elsewhere saying that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. And if you get frustrated, just let them go in their diaper for the rest of the day of weekend or however long of a break you need. DD was in a diaper fulltime for the most part, but we often took off and put back on the same diaper all day long. If she peed in the potty, then that was one less diaper for me to wash. And if she peed in her diaper, oh well, no worse than if we weren't doing EC at all.

We did EC at home, and when out either I or DH would take her when we had to go. I hold her over the toilet in public restrooms so she doesn't have to touch anything. She's comfortable peeing in that position since she's been doing it for longer than she can remember. I still use the same hold now that she's potty trained which is really nice in grosser bathrooms.

sammarrs · May 2014

I am planning on attempting this with my baby. From what I have read it is not potty training so it's ok if they use diapers too. In talking with some of my co-workers, this is pretty standard practice in other countries - this made me feel like it was a little less of a crazy idea!! You just have to do what works for you and your baby.

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