I hope this is the start of something good… This afternoon Henry sat on a little potty and pooped! YAY! I can’t remember the last time he pooped anywhere but his trainers and… the floor. Ugh.
I really hope this is the first of many poop catches.
Filed under: General on August 17th, 2008 by emiLy | No Comments »
We are officially full-time, hardcore training underpants-wearing ECers right now. Ella Rose (9 months) has become a gung-ho, leave all your cares behind (including pottying) crawling machine. We blow through so many trainers during the day, I had to pull out her brothers’ hand-me-downs which are literally falling apart to add to the pile.
In-arms, it’s all good. She’ll hold it forever, squirm and fuss, bounce up and down to indicate ‘yes’ if I ask “potty?”. She’ll even occasionally sign ‘potty’ on her own. But, on the floor? In her chair? Anywhere near food? Faghettabahdit! She has her priorities.
I’ve begun leaving potties around where we play. She has twice crawled to one, and then peed once placed on it, so we’re crossing our fingers that will become a regular sign. She does not like peeing in-arms anymore unless we are outside (just like her brothers at this age). Having something interesting to hold while in position is only slightly helpful. I don’t love potties. 4 years of dumping, rinsing, cleaning potties has gotten really old. I do like how they make independent pottying so accessible, though. Sigh. I’ll just have to suck it up and hope the baby will think seat reducers are way cooler than the BBLP at some point. Hopefully sooner than her older (2.5yo) brother. He refused potties his whole infancy. Now I don’t think he’ll ever let them go. We may have to pack up the BBLP with him to take to college.
Filed under: A Day in the Life, Laundry, Updates: 6-9 months, Updates: 9-13 months on July 30th, 2008 by Gigi | No Comments »
We are having fewer and fewer misses around here lately. We still miss all the poop. Don’t ask me how that happens! Well, actually, it happens because Henry sits on the potty for about 2 seconds. And then he’s up. I actually ask him to sit back down and “pee more” to get all the pee out - he doesn’t sit long enough to fully pee!!
I tend to notice changes like this several days after they start, and only kind of in the back of my mind. EC is so casual around here that we think about it rarely, and talk about it even less. It’s only tonight that I realize my husband and I have been saying “he’s been dry all morning” and “he’s been dry all afternoon” to each other lately.
Henry has been refusing to sit on the toilet seat reducer on the toilet for about a month I’d say. At night now I sit on the edge of the tub and point him into the tub to pee. He also only needs to pee 1-2 times at night, compared to almost every time he woke to nurse before. He gets quite upset if I try to take him to the bathroom if he doesn’t need to go!
I keep saying I’m going to try to catch the poops, but I honestly don’t know what else I could be trying. I’m pretty happy with how our journey is progressing even if it’s not what I expected or how I’d have chosen.
All the differences between boys and girls were vague before, but now I’m seeing some trends from reading a lot of others’ experiences and having them mirror mine so closely. Delia (my daughter) used the potties much more often (she still does in fact); Henry prefers the toilet and in-arms positions much more often than he does the potties. His tendency is to NOT sit whereas Delia would sit happily for 10+ minutes.
Something I haven’t experienced myself, but have heard a lot about it boys’ tendency to pee in underwear or close-fitting clothing for a while before they “get it.” Seems like a lot of boys will stay dry and communicate about needing to pee when they’re naked, but as soon as they have underwear or clothes (or trainers or diaper) on, they’ll pee. Henry doesn’t SEEM to do this right now, but I’m mentally prepared for it if it does happen. I know others have had good success with putting their sons in loose fitting shorts with nothing on underneath - going commando if you will - and this gets them clothed enough for leaving the house while maintaining that naked feeling.
Something else I’ve noticed is that Henry has stopped signing. He never signed potty, but he was signing to nurse pretty consistently. Now that he has started to talk a bit, it seems like that’s all he wants to do. The trouble is he doesn’t have words for nurse or potty. If we want to talk about shoes, however, we’re golden. 
I’m looking forward to some vocabulary growth in the next few months to cut down on the grunting and pointing and pushing/pulling we have going on around here.
Filed under: General, Updates: 13-17 months on July 25th, 2008 by emiLy | No Comments »
We went to a music festival in Illinois last week and camped for 5 days. It seemed to give us a boost in the EC department. Several days before we went camping Isabela started saying “potty,” which prooved very beneficial as she was pooping 5-6 times/day on our trip. I don’t know if it was teething related or a food reaction, but I was definitely glad that she was telling us every time she needed the potty!!! The frequent poops have continued since our trip but seem to be tappering off. Here’s a 16 month update:
> Age of your EC-child…
16 months
> We started at…
1 week old
> Generally speaking we are doing…
Awesome!
> How do you know your baby has to go? Baby’s signals? Timing?
> Intuition? Is there a difference for poos and pees?
We’ve been doing EC mostly on timing and intuition, but Isabela now says potty every time she needs to poop and sometimes when she needs to pee.
> Which positions/receptacles do you use?
Daytime is between my legs facing forward on the big toilet. Nighttime is in bed with the BBLP.
> Do you use diapers or training pants?
EC store side snap waterproof trainers when we’re out; non-waterproof trainers or undies at home.
> How are you doing away from home?
Great! I just have to have a book handy when we use public toilets, or she usually refuses.
> What are you doing at night?
BBLP in bed. She has been staying dry, and might pee in the potty once or twice depending on her level of wakefullness.
> Who takes baby to the potty?
Me, DH
> Accidents - how many do you have?
> What times are especially accident-prone?
There’ve been much fewer lately. On a good day, none. Other days 2 or 3 pee misses. Accidents are mainly when she is playing with other kids and distracted. I’ve learned that I still need to take the initiative at these times and not wait for her to ask for the potty. And she still usually wants to be reading a book on the potty, so I always need to have reading material handy.
> What do you like most about ec’ing at the moment?
I love that she is asking for the potty. I love that she is being read to so much because of all the potty story time we have! The trainers are so nice because I don’t have to find a spot to lay her down when we are out. In fact, it feels weird to try to lay her down for anything (except sleep)! We pull trainers on and off while standing or sitting and she gets dressed standing up too. She’s getting big so fast!!!!!
> Do you ever wish you’d have never heard about it?
No way!!
Filed under: Travel, Updates: 13-17 months on July 10th, 2008 by Jennifer | No Comments »
The 2nd Babywearing Conference is now happening, and it’s fun! I’m at The EC Store booth in the Exhibit Hall at the Student Center at Depaul University in Chicago. Saturday, Keila will be at the DiaperFreeBaby booth on Saturday. Saturday from 12-5 PM is free admission to the exhibit hall with lots of community outreach activities, classes, story time, all sorts of stuff!
When I first arrived, I saw a woman by a van and knew immediately - I said to my husband “Pull over there, I can tell she’s my people.” He laughed, but sure enough she was another WAHM! Because I live in a small rural area, I rarely see anyone wearing or pottying their babies - if I do, I already know them. It’s utterly … refreshing to be surrounded by parents wearing their children. My mom is here helping me and she said she feels like people are “looking at her” for pushing Henry around in a stroller!
If you’re anywhere near Chicago, I’d highly recommend making the trip in for this. I have recognized people from their web sites and blogs, and have gotten recognized a few times too!
The EC is going OK. I’m glad I have as many trainers as I do, since Henry used 3 for pooping this afternoon. :) He does the same thing at home, so I can’t really blame the travel or strange surroundings.
DiaperFreeBaby has potty equipment in many of the bathrooms in the conference building! Many people have commented about how exciting it is to have those there. Consider this at the next conference you attend or at which you exhibit. It gets noticed, and used!
Filed under: EC Gear, General, Travel on June 26th, 2008 by emiLy | No Comments »
I just read a little factoid that the single most important factor in your child’s future success at reading is dependent on your reading out loud to him/her regularly. I chuckled to myself because Isabela (16 months) and I are reading about 20 times a day due to her love of potty story time. Her favorite position for the potty is sitting between my legs on the big potty facing forward. This frees my hands to hold the book and read to her. Sometimes she pees right away and we just read one story. If she has to do more, or if she’s not doing anything, we usually read 2 or 3 books (or more, if she keeps asking). She’s at a phase where most of the time she will not pee until I start reading a book to her. We have 5-10 books on the back of the toilet. It took about 3 or 4 pee misses while out and about for me to get a clue and have a book handy! She would not pee! Now that I carry a book with us, it usually does the trick. Happy Pottying! And enjoy a book while you’re at it…
Filed under: A Day in the Life, General, Tips & Tricks, Travel, Updates: 13-17 months on June 25th, 2008 by Jennifer | No Comments »
Due to my daughter’s sensitivity to dairy, I have been largely dairy free for the past several years. I increased dairy during my pregnancy (cravings…) and immediately after Henry was born (colic!!!! until I quit the dairy). It gets easier and easier to eat this way, with temptations to “cheat” coming less and less often as I am more able to see the consequences. Yesterday, I guess the memory of my last exposure had faded… so I made a casserole with cream of mushroom soup in it. It was good.
Henry peed as I nursed him to sleep after dinner - that’s really strange. He stayed dry while asleep after that, and peed in the toilet at night as usual. When I went to sleep, I put a diaper on him and this morning, the bed was wet. The diaper leaked! It was on him for six hours, and was TOTALLY soaked. This afternoon (after I ate leftover casserole for lunch) he peed and peed and peed and peed some more. I offered the potty several times, but he didn’t use it. It was like he couldn’t pee when he wanted to (not that he visibly tried to pee, but usually when I offer the potty and it’s been an hour since he peed last, he’ll pee there) and peed uncontrollably other times.
If you see no rhyme or reason to your child’s urination, it may worth thinking about possible food sensitivities. Anything can be the cause of a sensitivity (my daughter is also sensitive to blueberries - it took me a LONG time to figure that one out). But there are some more common culprits. Dairy, wheat, corn, and citrus are biggies. It is very scary to think about eliminating one or more of these from your diet, but it does get easier, and for me it’s worked better if I go slow. It took me about six months to get dairy out of my diet, what with finding ways around dairy in my my regular meals and to find alternative things to order when we go out. The Yahoo! Group foodlab is a wonderful resource for support during this process.
Happy Pottying!
-emiLy
Filed under: Food Issues on June 5th, 2008 by emiLy | 1 Comment »
In the past two weeks, it has seemed time to have a Little Potty around the living room for Henry. I haven’t up to this point because it was always easier to take him to the bathroom and use the seat reducer. But now he is walking really well, and he has used it three times all by himself already! This requires him having nothing on his bottom, which is not that common, but I guess I have been leaving the trainers off enough to give him these chances.
In general, it seems he’s in a big learning spurt. It’s like now that he’s got the walking thing down, he can think about all this other stuff like making new sounds, playing with toys in new ways, and being more aware of his elimination needs. Exciting!
Happy Pottying!
-emiLy
Filed under: General, Updates: 9-13 months on May 12th, 2008 by emiLy | No Comments »
So my husband and I set up a booth for DiaperFreeBaby at the St. Louis Earth Day festival on Sunday. We had a great time talking to people about EC and how much of a positive impact it can have on the environment. Most people who stopped by were open to the idea of ECing. I was amazed at how the time flew (7 hours) and how much I enjoyed talking to so many people about EC. Of course having Isabela at the booth probably caught people’s attention as well… 
We considered our day at the festival a huge success in exposing more people to EC and an alternative to diapers! Happy Earth Day!
Filed under: A Day in the Life, General on April 23rd, 2008 by Jennifer | 1 Comment »
I’ve been pretty lazy about posting updates. Here’s my first ever for my one and only babe…
*Age of your EC-child
Almost 13 months!
* We started at…
1 week
*Generally speaking we are doing…
pretty well
*How do you know your baby has to go? Baby’s signals? Timing? Intuition? Is there a difference for poos and pees?
usually timing and sometimes intuition.
* Which positions/receptacles do you use?
On the toilet, between my legs, facing backwards
* Do you use diapers or training pants? On what occasions, what kind of diapers?
Use cloth diapers during the day when at sitter, training pants with me, disposables at night
* How are you doing away from home?
good
* What are you doing at night?
Isabela still is resistant to being bothered with pottying at night. She usually sleeps in a disposable.
* Who takes baby to the potty?
Me, dh, sitter
* Accidents - how many do you have and what times are especially accident-prone?
usually 3-5 pee misses/day. evening is when most pee misses occur
* Other new insights:
Isabela loves reading books while on the potty now. Just ordered trainers from the EC store and I’m pretty excited. I saw them in action when I hung out with Emily and Keila and I liked that you could unsnap the trainer and switch it with a dry one all while the babe was standing there. Looked super easy to use. I think they’ll be really handy for when we’re out and about (and around the house too…)
* What do you like most about ecing at the moment?
Not changing poopy diapers! And also being so aware of my dd’s patterns.
* Do you ever wish you’d have never heard about it?
No way
~Jennifer
Filed under: Updates: 9-13 months on April 2nd, 2008 by Jennifer | 1 Comment »
