The Diaper-Free Baby_ The Natural Toilet Training Alternative - Christine Gross-Loh [51]
Older babies can sit alone on the toilet with a seat reducer, but stay nearby for safety’s sake.
How Parents Started EC with Their Older Babies:
I started when my son was around eleven months old. I put him on the potty clothed, then I tried positioning him without a diaper, and he was happy staying on it but wouldn’t go. I tried timing too (first thing in the morning and right after naps), but no luck. Then I did a mostly bare-bottomed weekend, to get a sense of his timing and signals. It seemed to help him understand his elimination functions, because after that he generally started going in the potty after waking up in the morning, after naps, and at a couple other times during the day.
—JULIE, MOM TO BEN, 14 MONTHS
I used to be a preschool teacher and saw many potty-training methods that I would never want to use with anyone. People see so many preschool bladder and bowel issues as normal when in reality they are a result of improper potty training. When we first heard of EC, it just made so much sense. We started when Katie was about ten months old. We bought a Baby Bjorn Little Potty and started part-time. We also taught baby signs to Katie so that she knew the sign for potty before we even started EC. Most of the time, she used the sign for potty as a cue for when she had to go. Sometimes she’d grab at herself in the beginning. By eleven, nearly twelve, months she was walking and would just go to the potty herself.
—KELLY, MOM TO KATHLEEN, 2
I gave my son lots of naked time since he was a newborn, but I didn’t try EC at first. By nine months, I knew his patterns and signals pretty well, and I just couldn’t keep ignoring them and letting him pee in his diapers. Because I knew he’d pee ten minutes after waking up, I started EC’ing at that time and had success right away. We added pees after naps the next week, and then went for all pees. We only practiced EC at home in the beginning. After we were more comfortable with the process, I’d take him to potty while out. Eventually I stopped using backup diapers at all.
—SARAH, MOM TO WALLY, 19 MONTHS
We started with Samuel at eight months. It was easy in a lot of ways and just got better and better. Practicing EC really made me regret the days when I used to sit there and wait while Samuel pooped in a disposable. Starting at eight months, I thought it might be hard, but it wasn’t. We only had about three poop misses after we started EC’ing.
—MELINDA, MOM TO SAMUEL, 3, AND HANNAH, 10 MONTHS
If Nothing Seems to Be Working
If you have tried all three steps and your baby still doesn’t seem to be getting the hang of releasing pee or poop into the potty or toilet, or if he doesn’t even want to sit on the potty, try taking a few steps back. Make it your primary goal to simply let your baby become aware of his body again. Don’t think about the toilet or potty. Give your baby as much naked time as possible and call his attention to his elimination as soon as you notice it. This will lay a foundation that you can build on when your baby reaches a new window of EC opportunity.
Parents Speak: If You Are Feeling Discouraged:
Don’t underestimate the value of what you’re doing! I know it’s easy to wonder, “What’s the point?” especially if your child is refusing to sit on the toilet or potty or won’t pee in a container. When this resistance occurred with our older baby, we changed diapers frequently and simply communicated about the elimination process. Within the next few weeks or months you will almost certainly hit a window of time during which he will