The Diaper-Free Baby_ The Natural Toilet Training Alternative - Christine Gross-Loh [14]
—MEGAN, MOM TO NOEMI, 30 MONTHS
When I tell people what we’re doing, they mostly get hung up on how much work this must be. I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t time-consuming, but so is any other aspect of childrearing. I prefer to hang out and play with toys with Ben while he goes in his potty rather than clean his diapers every day after wrestling him down to let me change them.
—SARABETH, MOM TO BEN, 8 MONTHS
Many times, people comment that time spent pottying an infant could be better spent playing. Having conventionally trained my first three kids, and having had a miserable time with it filled with frustration and anger on both sides, I can see how one might think that there must be a better way to spend time with one’s child. It’s different this time, EC’ing our baby. One of the things that I love most about EC is that potty time is fun. I sing to Eden, her siblings sing to her, and we smile at each other.
—BETH, MOM TO ZEV, 9, ARAVA, 6, TEMIMA, 3, AND EDEN, 3 MONTHS
At first everyone thought I was crazy. But then I sent a book along with a baby potty to my sister, who had a little boy three months after I did. She thought it was strange, but gave it a shot, and the rest is history. Her son is an expert EC’er now, too! All it took to persuade the rest of our family and friends was a demonstration. Dexter is an adorable little ham, so he convinces everyone quickly.
—RIKKI, MOM TO DEXTER, 11 MONTHS
I noticed that the reactions I got from others changed as I myself got more comfortable and confident in what I was doing. At the beginning, I was skeptical of my own ability to practice EC. It also felt like the reactions I got from others were critical and filled with skepticism. I tried to remember that their comments were usually reactions to the choices they themselves had made. As I gained more confidence, I felt like any comments I received were now from people who were curious about EC and wanted to learn more.
—MARIE, MOM TO AIDAN, 29 MONTHS
My situation was a little different. My mother, who is from Ukraine, was more than supportive. It was summer when they visited and it was quite hot, so they didn’t want to keep Yunna in a disposable when they took her on walks. My mom suggested that we buy Yunna some panties and just change them if she peed. When I told her that there is no underwear sold for babies so tiny, she simply could not believe it! She told me that I probably went to the wrong store and insisted on going with me to several children’s stores to see for herself. She simply could not believe that babies in this country were kept in diapers for so long that the smallest underwear size was 2T!
—JULIA, MOM TO YUNNA, 11 MONTHS
SKEPTICISM CLOSER TO HOME
The larger problem that EC’ers may face is resistance within their own homes. Many parents run into a difference of opinion with their co-parent about whether to apply EC and to what degree. Many couples have differing degrees of tolerance for possible messes in the house, for instance, or different preferences for how they wish to spend their time with the baby. I admit that my own husband was very skeptical at first when he heard about EC. He wondered if this meant we’d have pee all over the house: a common concern.
If your partner is resistant for these reasons, point out that when you follow EC, a lot of waste ends up in the toilet instead of wadded up in the trash or smeared on a baby’s body. Remind your co-parent that this is something you can practice very infrequently, and that he or she can help support the EC relationship in other ways (by helping to clean out the potties, for example) if he or she chooses not to practice EC directly.