The Diaper-Free Baby_ The Natural Toilet Training Alternative - Christine Gross-Loh [30]
LET’S REVIEW STARTING OUT: THE BASICS
Set aside some times to keep baby loosely diapered or diaper-free so you can check easily and observe her signs
Cue her as soon as you notice she’s going. Hold her in position and go “pssst” or make any other cue sounds that you want her to associate with peeing and pooping. She doesn’t necessarily need to be diaperless for this when you’re first starting out
Place a tiny bowl, loose diaper, or Potty Bowl in your lap, or hold baby over a toilet or sink. Have a variety of positions in your repertoire until you settle on which positions she prefers (and keep in mind that her preferred positions may change over time)
If you notice that she’s already gone to the bathroom, change her as soon as possible so she doesn’t become too conditioned to the feeling of sitting in a wet or dirty diaper
TUNING IN TO BABY’S PATTERNS AND SIGNALS
Although people tend to think that newborns just go to the bathroom at random throughout the day (and it certainly can be somewhat erratic at the beginning), newborns actually begin to settle into discernible patterns fairly soon. As I will mention throughout the book, it is fairly common for babies to go more often in the morning than in the afternoon, right after awakening from a nap, and several minutes after (or during) a feed. They may also continue to pee soon after you remove their diaper. By the same token, babies are less likely to spontaneously go to the bathroom if they are asleep, in arms, or in any upright position where they are not comfortable going to the bathroom (such as in a car seat). This doesn’t mean that they won’t go to the bathroom, but that they may fuss in an obvious way before doing so.
In any case, when thinking about times to offer your baby the potty, consider these typical times because you will likely have a higher chance of cueing or catching a pee or poop. (Remember though that all babies are different and that yours may have her own unique patterns.) Each time you perform a successful cue or catch, you build up a loose awareness of your baby’s patterns, your baby learns what you are helping her with, and the two of you feel more in sync.
If you’re just starting out, you may decide to use one of these typical times to give your baby a little diaper-free (or loose diaper) time so that you can concentrate on observing what her signals and cues might be right before she goes to the bathroom. If she tends to awaken in a good mood, you can take her out of her diaper, put a loose diaper under her or hold her over a bowl while she’s cradled in your arms, and see what her behavior is like. She may shiver, spit up, look intent, or start squirming and grunting. Your baby is going to have her own individual way of expressing the impending need to go to the bathroom. Once you recognize the signs your baby makes, you can start to look out for these signs at other times as well.
At first, EC does require the willingness to spend some time just observing. It’s a nice chance to slow down during those hectic newborn days. I just spent some time with a three-month-old EC’ed baby. His father held him in-arms over the toilet and the baby just quietly hung out there, gazing around, enjoying all of us watching. Suddenly he stopped looking at us, started to squirm, moved his arms a bit, fussed for a few seconds, and then—he peed!
Some parents may feel that no matter how much they observe their baby, they aren’t really seeing any obvious signals or cues. Or they may see signs but not every time, not enough to feel that they can rely on them. If so, you can rely more on timing—simply noticing when your baby tends to go—and then remain open to the possibility that as your baby grows older, it will become easier to read her bodily cues.
Keep your intuition well honed; many parents find that a combination of timing and intuition (just a feeling