The Diaper-Free Baby_ The Natural Toilet Training Alternative - Christine Gross-Loh [29]
Parents Speak About How EC Made Their Newborns Happier:
My baby was eleven weeks old when I heard about EC. He had experienced eight weeks of severe diaper rash and was in so much pain. Everyone kept telling me to leave his diaper off to air him out. As soon as I learned about EC and started doing it, he had no more diaper rash at all. Those eight weeks before EC were the most miserable weeks of his life.
—JENNA, MOM TO DAVID, 10 MONTHS
Since my baby was born, she really struggled with bowel movements. We had thought she was constipated, but really she just has a hard time going when she has a bowel movement. She would cry two or three times a day. We tried all sorts of things—I rubbed her stomach, pushed her little legs up on her stomach, everything. Nothing solved it but EC’ing her in the in-arms position.
—AMYLYNNE, MOM TO MEREDITH, 4 MONTHS
Lucia was miserable every time she would wet her diapers. It got to the point that when she cried, the first thing I would do was check to see if she needed to be changed. When we started EC’ing at six weeks old, that all changed almost immediately. She became a much happier baby overall and cried a lot less.
—KATE, MOM TO LUCIA, 6 MONTHS
Ben cried at random intervals all day long, and grunted all the time too, as if constipated. The first time I tried EC at two months, we caught a poop, and my son turned his head toward me and gave me a huge smile. I was hooked and went to a DiaperFreeBaby meeting. I was told that EC isn’t an alternative to potty training; it’s an alternative way of thinking about elimination.
—SARABETH, MOM TO BEN, 8 MONTHS
Both of my children popped on and off the breast during nursing sessions. With the first, I thought it was a milk-supply problem, so I even tried pumping and giving her bottles. With my second, when she did the exact same thing, it finally occurred to me to take her to the bathroom—and then she was satisfied. Lots of babies pop on and off the breast at this age, and their moms are told it’s a nursing issue. In my experience, it was an EC signal.
—KEILA, MOM TO HELEN, 27 MONTHS, AND JANE, 8 MONTHS
Our baby had a UTI, which the doctor told us was most likely from a poopy diaper. No matter how diligently we cleaned her and how immediately we changed her, this could still happen. To add insult to injury, the antibiotics that she needed completely changed her rhythms; she was pooping constantly and developed a horrible red, raw diaper rash from all the pooping and wiping and the diapers.
When we finally started EC, she looked at me as if she were saying, “What took you so long?” and promptly pooped in the toilet. Suddenly there was no big clean up, no anguishing over “cracks and crevices”—just a little toilet paper and a flush.
—THEMBI, MOM TO NINA, 10 MONTHS
During the first few months of her life, Neshama would struggle during nursing at times, popping on and off the breast and appearing terribly uncomfortable. Within a couple of days after beginning EC, I realized that pulling off the breast was one of her most reliable cues for needing to pee, poop, or pass gas. Once we made that discovery, we never had that problem again.
—LAMELLE, MOM TO NESHAMA, 12 MONTHS
CLEANING UP AFTER BABY
While commercial wipes are useful, it’s not that necessary to use them on your baby’s tender skin, especially if you’re practicing EC and your baby’s skin is not getting that dirty anyway. If you do use wipes, a few pats will probably suffice. Many parents quickly rinse their babies off in a sink or a bathtub. I know one parent who keeps a small watering can near the toilet so she