The basics of ECing

Port and edit of earlier work.

EC generally means asking your infant to pee on demand. It doesn't mean you have to head to the potty every hour, or give up diapers, just that you allow your infant a greater than normal chance to understand and control elimination.

EC stands for Elimination Communication, implying some wonderful connection where you actually know what your baby is trying to tell you, I never had any such connection! But then I am dense, some mothers actually do get it. (they often become 'diaper free' mothers)

Another term often used is IPT, meaning Infant Potty Training, implying actually training your infant as you would a 2 year old, but that is too drastic for me.

For me I really do just ask my kid to pee on demand, thats it till they want to hold it, and can ask for the potty. I can tell you what I do with my kids, but please if you decide to try it, do it your own way, don't think EC is all my way or nothing!

Step one: Communicate tell your baby from the start (or from right now) anytime they are peeing, or pooping. Not in a bad way, just matter of fact yep thats pee, pee on me, pee on the floor, you are peeing. (if you must have emotion giggling is better than anger!) Treat each and every event as a learning experience (though no need to leave your kid to pee any more than you are comfortable with, most newborns pee on you often enough with diapers!)

step 2: Figure out the hold After they can hold their head up(you can do this earlier, even from birth, but I don't), hold them comfortably over a potty asking them to pee, or poop. This is the step that feels the hardest, cause you as the parent have to figure out what is most comfortable for you both, a postition you can hold for a minute that they will not get angry for (never force your kid to be anywhere near a potty!). If at first you don't succeed wait a day, week or more, then try again, if nothing else you only wasted a minute, not gonna hurt, (at some point your baby will gain the balance and eventually not need you for sitting)

During step two your kid will prolly pee on the floor in the bathroom, or the wall or even in the potty! (or the tub/sink/whatever..) name and praise (you peed, good job, yeah pee in the bathroom/potty!)

step 3: Pee on demand up the number of times you ask to whatever you are comfortable with, I have no desire to spend all day in the bathroom, but I find a couple times a day my kid happens to be dry I figure a potty is prolly going to work. and if I fail, he is only 5 months no big deal! So far you have not even asked your kid to 'hold it' so don't be annoyed if they don't!

step 4:Yeah dry! Praise dry diapers, now that your kid can pee o demand there will likely be some dry diapers. But don't be mad if there aren't

step 5:More communication Wait for communication from your child about their desire to use a potty. This might be when they crawl/toddle to the door (and might be a boredom buster of theirs) or might be when they learn the word pee. Or might be when they follow you in. Or when they see their friends doing it. Whatever. just continue with step 3 and 4 till they do, always use words (shall we pee now?) always stop before you get frustrated.

Step 6: Ask your kid to 'hold it' Just ask, Ask for dry diapers, praise when you get them. One simple way to avoid a mess is to have your kid stand in the tub and wait their turn(mommy has to pee too!), if they pee, no big, little spray little water, tubs is clean.

Step 7: Fully train Wait a bit then finish up, maybe you now have a day trained kid who still pees at night, or one who pees once a day on the floor but the rest in the potty, or one who pees on demand but only asks when bored. Kids ar all different, the first steps (pee on demand, then hold it) are the same, but what makes a kid decide to never (or practically never) pee anywhere but a potty varies. Some like underware, some like 'big beds' some like freedom (soap they can do on their own) some need stickers. By this time you prolly have a 1.5 or 2 year old and you can modify traditional rewards. (but you will have saved many diapers over the last year, and have an easier time, no fear of potty to overcome.)

If you are curious how this has worked with my five....

My first kid, Dude, was potty trained early for modern standards.  At about age one he had a nice long consistent bedtime routine - bath book, all that (no other child has received such luxury).  For a week he peed in his towel right after the bath, so I started sitting him on the potty as part of the routine.  Saved me from cleaning the towel and floor but certainly didn't mean he was night time trained or anything.  We also let him sit on the potty whenever he asked, but did nothing serious till he was closer to two, at which time we did some traditional stickers for rewards.  At 25 months he was night and day trained.

Around that time my second, Princess, decided she wanted in on this whole fun.  She was around 6 or 7 months old and she insisted on peeing when he did.  By about 15 months she was nearly fully daytime trained, and just about two she was night and day trained.  She is my best advertisement for ECing!

Then there was my third, Little Man.  Shall we just not talk about him?  I still wonder sometimes if he is trained.  He can read, and write on a first grade level, is quite insightful about animals and bible stories, and yet,  for all my efforts he still pees the bed at least once a week.  Well you win some you lose some.

Baby Girl was two in June.  She has been essentially potty trained for quite some time.  As a baby she would happily pee on demand, she loved visiting the potty, then one day,  no real idea why, she decided it wasn't fun anymore and reverted to using the diaper whenever she felt like it.  We switched her to underwear, I got pregnant and lazy.  She finally is now trained for daytime, though still not at night. 

Then now we have my Little One.  Beautiful girl who thinks peeing in the potty is the worlds greatest fun!  And manages to stay dry for hours on end when she is in the mood.  Manages to pee every half hour other times.  I have no idea what the next year will bring, but I do know that just like the other kids, she will use less diapers if I willingly take her potty whenever we feel like it.

Like now.