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But if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, please remember that EC can be done very part-time, or even not at all if you want to take a break. The key is to make it about communication—the actual act of “catching” is less important than communicating and acknowledging what your child is doing. You can even just let your child experience the wonderful sensation of being free of diapers. Let him go diaper-free for a half hour, and don’t worry about anything else.

Parents Speak About Those Out-of-Sync Days:

There are definitely times when I know he needs to go, but he screams when I put him on the potty because he is dealing with teething pain. I just respect where he is at that particular moment. I know sometimes he just needs to be held and comforted and can’t deal with anything else, and then an hour or several hours later he’s happy to be on his potty again. It really changes that quickly. On the days when his mouth is hurting a great deal I just change his diaper as soon as he wets it. He stops cueing too, but when he feels better he starts cueing again.

—DEVON, MOM TO RYLER, 6 MONTHS

When Lillian’s EC’ing got challenging at around six months (when she became more mobile), I didn’t know anyone else EC’ing. We just worked through it. With Jack, not only did we have our experiences with Lillian to draw from but also we had the encouragement of the DiaperFreeBaby support group. So when Jack presented some of these same challenges, I had plenty of resources to draw from for tools, tips, and support. Now I look at these challenges as the exciting next step in the EC journey.

—ELIZABETH, MOM OF FIVE, INCLUDING LILLIAN, 2, AND JACK, 8 MONTHS

His signals change often, and sometimes he doesn’t signal at all, but our consistent success with communication leaves me awestruck at times. That isn’t to say I don’t have my frustrations and lapses. But so do parents of diapered babies.

—SARABETH, MOM TO BEN, 8 MONTHS

When confronted with a bump along the road of EC, it can seem like all too much work. Anything worth doing probably has some challenges along the way. Diaper changing involves plenty of them! Having a commitment to the basic premises of EC and maintaining a flexible attitude are the best ways to find solutions to common situations when babies and parents become out of harmony.

—RACHEL, MOM TO ISAIAH, 6, AND SIMON, 3

STAYING THE COURSE

If you find yourself having doubts about why you are doing this, just remember that EC’ed babies have the opportunity to experience the independence of really understanding their bodies and being able to communicate with you about them. This is an amazing gift in your relationship. Remind yourself of how many fewer diapers you are going through now and how much sooner you might be able to stop using them for good. These are just a few of the many reasons why so many families find EC to be immensely rewarding.

Here are a few inspiring thoughts from EC’ing parents:

There was a time when I had to remind myself to take EC lightly and not to be too attached to her going in the potty. Since then I’ve really tried to respect not only her resistance to going if she’s having a rough day, but also my own resistance to not staying on top of her patterns. There are some days that are just not meant to be full-time EC days. The point is not to potty-train your baby, but to communicate with her.

—LARA, MOM TO RUBY, 12 MONTHS

I would say if you want to try EC but are hesitant, give it a trial period. I was hesitant at first too. I thought it might be too hard to do with so many kids, or too time-consuming and that my other responsibilities would suffer. I also wondered if it might be too much pressure on me or the baby. But I decided to give EC two weeks, during which time I would really give my best effort to tune in to my son’s signals, make his needs top priority, and see how it went. If he didn’t like it or either of us got stressed out, we could always just stop. I found that my son really