The Diaper-Free Baby_ The Natural Toilet Training Alternative - Christine Gross-Loh [3]
I’m here to say that EC can be accomplished. If EC is something you’d like to try, you are about to hear from many parents just like you who have done it with great success. This book is filled with their reassuring voices and the rich variety of their personal experiences. You’ll learn how to practice EC in the way that is best for your family situation and preferences, with plenty of options to make it work for anyone in any situation. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or dad or you are separated from your baby for long hours because of work, whether you use cloth diapers or disposable ones, whether you’re starting with a tiny newborn or are coming to this with a baby who is six months, ten months, or well over a year old, there are guidelines in this book that will work for you.
EC HISTORY AND SUPPORT GROUPS
Although parents in our society have easy access to diapers and use them liberally with their babies and toddlers, this isn’t the case for everyone. In much of the world, elimination communication is still the norm, as it always has been. Some of the most ardent advocates of EC have been influenced and inspired by time spent in a country where EC is the cultural norm.
Laurie Boucke, Linda Penn (Natec), and Ingrid Bauer all came to EC through their contacts with other cultures and went on to write on the subject for Western audiences. Bauer refers to infant pottying as “Natural Infant Hygiene” (NIH) and also coined the term elimination communication. Boucke, who has written several books, including Infant Potty Training, and is coauthoring several forthcoming medical studies on EC, says, “For years, I’ve emphasized that it’s really important for parents to be presented with more than one option so they can make an informed decision” about whether to use diapers exclusively or to learn to recognize baby’s elimination signals and assist her in using a potty or toilet.
EC became more well known through such advocacy, but only a relatively small group of Western parents were familiar with the concept. Most parents who embraced EC were drawn to it because of its close connection with attachment parenting principles.
Recently, however, the word has been spreading rapidly. Growing numbers of parents have been gathering in support groups to assist each other in the practice of EC. These support groups are so inspiring! In addition to groups people have started on their own, many groups have been formed under the umbrella of a wonderful nonprofit organization called DiaperFreeBaby. Founded in 2004 by two of my close friends, Melinda Rothstein and Rachel Milgroom, DiaperFreeBaby’s membership has just ballooned. At the end of its second year there were support groups or practicing families in nearly every state as well as in fourteen countries, and growth has continued to be exponential thanks to sustained public and media interest in EC.
I myself participated in one of the first EC support groups with Melinda, Rachel, and a few other friends. During our monthly meetings, we all came together with our babies and shared tips, which was a really great experience for us. It became obvious that parents all over the country who sought EC guidance would love to share their experiences with each other, and thanks to Melinda and Rachel’s dream of bringing this camaraderie to parents everywhere, DiaperFreeBaby was born.
I am now a Mentor for my local support group. Mentors bring parents together in a forum where they can talk to each other about the daily practice of EC. This sort of forum is so important when you are practicing something that isn’t all that commonly done. I urge you to go to a local meeting if you can. You will see adorable babies gently being assisted to use the potty; and you will also be introduced to real EC’ing gear, such as portable potties, split crotch pants,