The Diaper-Free Baby_ The Natural Toilet Training Alternative - Christine Gross-Loh [8]
8. “I am too overwhelmed.”
EC can be practiced part-time, just as I did with Daniel during his infancy. At those times, my goal was simply to be vigilant and to help Daniel retain his bodily awareness by changing him as soon as he went, verbally acknowledging every elimination that I was aware of (even if I couldn’t get him to a potty on time), and practicing EC whenever I could without stressing out when I couldn’t. The key is to focus on communication; the actual act of “catching” is less important than communicating and acknowledging what your child is doing. I often suggest to people just to try it for a half-hour each day; let your baby go bare-bottomed while lying on a soft waterproof pad or some cloth diapers. Or try putting your baby on the potty before bath time and make it a fun ritual. Even carried out part-time, EC makes for a beautiful bonding experience.
9. “We live in a city” or “We’re always on the go.”
Being an urban EC’er has its challenges, of course, but it’s easier in other ways as well. You just have to adjust your thinking. It’s not a big deal to pop a little lightweight plastic bowl in your diaper bag; after all, there’s plenty of room if you’re not using as many diapers. Also, just as a parent might loosely plan the day around feeding or nap schedules, once you’re aware of your baby’s elimination patterns you will develop an awareness of the optimal times for your outings. Many parents also find that they just rely on diapers more when life gets hectic or when they’re going out, and that’s totally fine too.
10. “I’ve decided to try it, and it’s just not working—we have so many misses. I’m just not in tune with my baby.”
Elimination communication used to be practiced throughout every society, and being surrounded by support and guidance was a given. It’s just not as common today. This is why seeking out support—whether online, through a local DiaperFreeBaby support group, or by reading this book—is essential to success. Feeling discouraged from time to time is as common among EC’ers as it is among parents of older kids who are being conventionally toilet trained. Throughout the book, for each developmental stage, I will discuss how to approach the times when you feel out of sync with your child.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Each chapter in this book will discuss a specific stage of development pertaining to EC. Although every chapter contributes to an overall sense of what EC is about and how it works for babies and young toddlers, if, for instance, you have a six-month-old and are reading this book for the first time, you may certainly skip directly to the chapter on mid-infancy. I’ll repeat some of the most crucial information—how to cue, what your child’s signals are, the logistics of doing EC at nighttime or on the go, etc.—to help you make sense of new issues that may arise as your child gets older. (For instance, you’ll find that applying EC on the go with a newborn is different from practicing it with a walking, talking toddler. Each chapter will take into account your child’s developmental stage.)
In the next chapter, “Gathering Support and Making the Leap,” I briefly discuss some of the obstacles you might encounter as you prepare to practice EC with your baby. Just picking up this book is a wonderful sign that you are open to the possibilities of this method. Nevertheless, EC is so counter to the potty training dogma of the last several decades that you may find you need a bit more convincing to actually make the leap to practice EC. On the other hand, you yourself may be enthusiastic to get started, but you may have to convince a skeptical partner, relative, caregiver, or friend of the merits of this method. Take it from me; we’ve all been there, and this