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Keep a container, jar, potty, or bottle with you

“Cover up” with the baby’s dress or pants (pushed down just far enough) or with a blanket or a sling

If using diaper backup, you can just pull the diaper down a little and cue your baby to go into it when you find yourself in a situation where you know baby has to pee but it would be hard to potty

Offer pottytunities before leaving and when a bathroom is available, and change wet diapers as quickly as possible in between these times. Thinking of immediate diaper changes as “almost as good” as catches helped me stay relaxed

—ERIN, MOM TO EVE, 4, AND GRACE, 6 MONTHS

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“Pottytunities,” or Good Opportunities to Offer Your Baby a Chance to Use the Bathroom

After waking

During or after nursing

During or after meals

Before leaving the house

After returning home

Right after taking baby out of a sling, stroller, or car seat

When changing baby’s diaper

Before or after a bath

Before bed

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EC AT NIGHTTIME

Ah, nighttime. It’s crucial for parents to be well rested to function during the daytime, and you may be wondering if EC is at all compatible with a good night’s sleep. It’s usually the case that babies of this young age are not likely to stay dry all night, although a certain hormone, ADH, or antidiuretic hormone, is released during sleep and can help keep older babies and children dry for longer periods at naps or nighttime (this is why many babies—and adults!—pee as soon as they get up). It’s not unheard of for nighttime dryness to occur before a year for some babies. But the reality is that a baby in middle infancy is probably going to pee at night. Whether and how to assist babies with their bathroom needs in the middle of the night is a very understandable question for all people who are intrigued by EC.

First of all, how you approach nighttime EC depends in some part on where your baby is sleeping and what your basic philosophies about infant sleep are. Are you co-sleeping in the same bed? Is he in a crib in the same room or sleeping in a separate room? Does he tend to wake at night for a quick nurse, comfort, or in response to the urge to pee, or does he sleep for long stretches? Based on these factors, you will figure out whether it makes sense for you to EC at night.

EC’ing at Night

Many people find that their babies may actually be night waking precisely because their need to go to the bathroom makes them uncomfortable. If this is the case for your baby, using the EC skills you’ve honed during the daytime may, in the long run, make for a better night’s sleep. Taking her to the potty in a darkened room and then quietly getting her back to sleep can take just a minute or two.

If you’re EC’ing at night, remember that there are lots of similarities to EC’ing in the daytime. You don’t have to try to catch every pee. You will probably develop some sense of your baby’s patterns and timing. You may notice that your baby tends to pee while night nursing, for instance. And you may notice that the quicker you meet this nursing and elimination need, the quicker your baby drops off to sleep again. Moreover, many families who EC at night feel that nighttime EC goes more smoothly than daytime EC because there are fewer distractions.

You’re probably wondering how EC’ers handle the logistics of nighttime. Most people put a waterproof pad under the sheet where their baby is sleeping. On top of this they may put a large fleece or woolen puddle pad. Many parents keep a little potty by the bed for quick pottying. To streamline things further, they might put a cloth or disposable diaper inside the potty to absorb the pee so that they don’t have to go all the way to the bathroom to empty it. Some parents will leave their baby diaperless at night because they have developed such a reliable, mutual communication with their baby about her elimination needs. Others will put their baby in a diaper even if they will probably be catching most nighttime pees.

At night, her signs