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Late infancy does happen to be a prime age for stranger anxiety, and your baby may associate EC so much with bonding time with you that it takes some time to be receptive to someone else’s cues. On the other hand, babies this age are so interested in the world around them that they may actually exhibit a strong preference for new people to play with or assist them in going potty. Many children even go through phases where they will prefer one parent rather than the other for pottying and other needs. This is normal. Be sure to ask your caregiver to remain open to your baby’s cues.

Here are some of the most rewarding parts about EC’ing your vibrant older baby. Read this for inspiration and support!

Parents Discuss What They Love About EC at This Stage:

At nine months old, Alexander flew with me alone from Boston to Hawaii. Once in Hawaii, my son learned the joys of going naked in the warmth and peeing standing up. I have fond memories of a little pudgy naked guy crawling to a lawn chair, pulling himself up, and peeing while gazing at the Maui surf!

—ERINN, MOM TO ALEXANDER, 2

Some people think we’ve made it up and don’t believe that Nina is out of diapers. Most people are just amazed and tell us what a great job we’re doing—but I really believe that the decision to use the potty was more Nina’s than ours. We enable it, but she makes it work.

—THEMBI, MOM TO NINA, 12 MONTHS

What’s great about EC is that it welcomes Hannah into a common practice with other people—“Your turn to use the toilet, Hannah”—instead of excluding her from the bathroom experience. It really is a way to involve Hannah in her own care and help her to learn healthy body habits while building communication and trust between us. Plus, EC is fun because it’s better than going in a diaper!

—MELINDA, MOM TO SAMUEL, 3, AND HANNAH, 10 MONTHS

What my babies and I got out of doing EC was a very well developed communication. It was only on very rare occasions that I didn’t know what my baby needed. I believe that for us, this ability to understand what our babies were conveying to us was trained and refined by the process of EC.

—BIRGIT, MOM TO JOSCH, 4, AND NELLY, 2

Our journey to EC began with my aversion to disposable diapers. But cloth diapers weren’t satisfactory to me either. Finally, we pretty much stopped using any diapers at all. At five months things changed drastically—Yunna started signaling very actively, and our catch rate went up significantly. Although we’ve had some setbacks (like when teething), if we had misses, we would just laugh them off. Now, at eleven months, we usually have no more than one to two misses a day, with some days being completely dry.

—JULIA, MOM TO YUNNA, 11 MONTHS

I know my son in ways I didn’t think were possible until he was much older. You know how people say that once their toddlers start talking they’re like a little person? I already have that, and have had it since I learned to tune in and to be present with my baby.

—GIGI, MOM TO BEN, 18 MONTHS

It probably seems that time has flown incredibly fast—your baby is quickly moving toward toddlerhood! Life will change for you in so many ways. The communication skills you’ve fostered through the practice of EC will continue to benefit you greatly as you move on to this next, exciting stage.

7.

EC’ing Your Toddler

It’s one of the breathtaking privileges of parenthood to watch your little baby become a toddler. It’s never more apparent than now what kind of little person she’s going to be, and her antics are so much fun to watch! Children of this age are enthusiastic, love to imitate adults, and are often willing to participate in anything and everything with you. They take delight in discovering new things in the world around them. Learning to walk makes the world particularly accessible to them in a new way. Understanding and working with your child’s developmental stage will help you guide him in staying on the EC track while acknowledging his need to explore and play. Luckily, as many parents have found, the