Potty Communication
Baby E just pooped in the toilet. Yes, really.
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I've been reading a bit about elimination communication lately. It's not early potty training, as the goal isn't to teach the child to develop bladder and bowel control, or even necessarily to get them to go in the toilet every time. A just-turned-10-month-old using the toilet is a bit unusual these days, but it was pretty common in my grandmother's day.
The basic idea is that you're aware of your child's signals and simply offer them the opportunity to use the toilet or another receptacle instead of in a diaper. It helps develop an awareness of using the toilet, but the main advantage (at least to my mind) is that it minimizes the amount of time Baby is sitting in a wet or poopy diaper.
Of course, it goes along with keeping your baby very nearby. Since Baby E has been sick and then teething, I've gone back to carrying her, wearing her in the wrap or having her very close to me almost all the time. She seems to need the extra comfort and closeness. So I figured it was as good a time as any to give EC a try.
Last night, I started trying to pay more attention to when she's evacuating her bladder or bowels, and began making a psss-pss-psss sound when I noticed she was doing it, along with the "potty" hand sign a friend taught me.
This afternoon I noticed she had a bit of a diaper rash, so decided to leave her diaper off after changing it. At worst I'd have to clean up a mess, and either way it would allow her bottom to breathe a bit.
So I sat her in the high chair on a folded diaper to absorb any eliminations, and just kept a close eye on her. Pretty soon she started grunting, with that intense look of concentration that every parent quickly learns to recognize.
I picked her up, saying, "Do you need to go potty?" and made the potty sound as I held her over the toilet. She didn't like being dangled over the toiled AT ALL, fussing and wriggling. So I tried sitting her on it. She'd seen us doing that before; she knew that was how it was supposed to work.
She gave me a huge grin and proceeded to poop in the toilet.
A little while later, I looked at her and something told me she needed to pee. She had just finished by the time I picked her up. I was encouraged by that. Even though I didn't get her to the toilet in time, I recognized her signals.
Not bad for a first try. We're going to go buy a little potty chair today, so I can keep it nearby and not have to worry about whether anyone's using the bathroom at the moment Baby E needs to go.
###############
I've been reading a bit about elimination communication lately. It's not early potty training, as the goal isn't to teach the child to develop bladder and bowel control, or even necessarily to get them to go in the toilet every time. A just-turned-10-month-old using the toilet is a bit unusual these days, but it was pretty common in my grandmother's day.
The basic idea is that you're aware of your child's signals and simply offer them the opportunity to use the toilet or another receptacle instead of in a diaper. It helps develop an awareness of using the toilet, but the main advantage (at least to my mind) is that it minimizes the amount of time Baby is sitting in a wet or poopy diaper.
Of course, it goes along with keeping your baby very nearby. Since Baby E has been sick and then teething, I've gone back to carrying her, wearing her in the wrap or having her very close to me almost all the time. She seems to need the extra comfort and closeness. So I figured it was as good a time as any to give EC a try.
Last night, I started trying to pay more attention to when she's evacuating her bladder or bowels, and began making a psss-pss-psss sound when I noticed she was doing it, along with the "potty" hand sign a friend taught me.
This afternoon I noticed she had a bit of a diaper rash, so decided to leave her diaper off after changing it. At worst I'd have to clean up a mess, and either way it would allow her bottom to breathe a bit.
So I sat her in the high chair on a folded diaper to absorb any eliminations, and just kept a close eye on her. Pretty soon she started grunting, with that intense look of concentration that every parent quickly learns to recognize.
I picked her up, saying, "Do you need to go potty?" and made the potty sound as I held her over the toilet. She didn't like being dangled over the toiled AT ALL, fussing and wriggling. So I tried sitting her on it. She'd seen us doing that before; she knew that was how it was supposed to work.
She gave me a huge grin and proceeded to poop in the toilet.
A little while later, I looked at her and something told me she needed to pee. She had just finished by the time I picked her up. I was encouraged by that. Even though I didn't get her to the toilet in time, I recognized her signals.
Not bad for a first try. We're going to go buy a little potty chair today, so I can keep it nearby and not have to worry about whether anyone's using the bathroom at the moment Baby E needs to go.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 1:53 PM[Permanent link]
3 Comments:
"elimination communcation"
I do have to laugh at the terms they come up with now days to tell about something as old as the hills. They did used to teach potty training that way, it wasn't just a catch them before they go thing. A lot of kids were potty trained before they were 1.
that is really neat! WTG Baby E and Mommy!!
Wow! I am very impressed! And envious! My little guy will be 3 this month and he WILL NOT POOP ON THE POTTY. His bladder is completely reliable, but when it's time for poop nothing but a diaper will do.
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