My Successful Experience with Elimination Communication
Did I mention I do not enjoy cleaning poop? I doubt you enjoy it very much too. Here’s my story of how I was able to avoid dirty diaper changes.
My firstborn was potty trained two days after we named her. Yes, she was potty trained by day 6 of her life. How did I do it? Elimination Communication.
Starting Elimination Communication
Before most babies go potty, they communicate their intention in one way or another. It took my husband and I a couple days to realize that before our daughter went pee, she cycled her legs for a few seconds, as if she was at the gym. Different children can show different signs, and as soon as you figure out what your child does before going potty, you’ve successfully started Elimination Communication!
DAY 1
After realizing our daughter’s cycling pattern, we started making the “pssss” sound, and she would pee like usual into the diaper. The first and part of the second day we made the “pssss” sound every time she cycled, which seemed to be every 20-30 minutes, and that was enough for her to associate the “pssss” sound with going pee. Some babies may catch on earlier, or may take a day or two longer, but babies are very smart, and they’ll get it once you’re consistent.
DAY 2
The next day, when she cycled, we told her “wait wait wait” and we brought her to the restroom, and she peed into the baby potty right as we said “pssss.”
Even the smallest potty we could find was huge for her little bootie, and we would hold her up over it. It became a little messy to hold her and aim for the baby potty, so we just had her pee right into the sink and washed it down; after all, pee is sterile, and the drain from the sink goes into the same place as the toilet water.
DAY 3+
We did this for a couple more days, and got to the point of not needing diapers!
When our daughter wanted to poop, it was pretty obvious, as she would make sounds. It was much easier for me to take her to the baby potty and then use toilet paper and rinse her bootie, rather than deal with wiping poop on a changing table and dealing with blowouts.
Sleepless Nights, but well worth it!
The first few nights of Elimination Communication were sleepless, but they would’ve been sleepless anyways because my daughter wanted to constantly stay latched on, which was difficult for me because I was exhausted after a 24-hour labor that started just as I was getting to bed. There were times when she would pee without me realizing she had been trying to communicate her elimination need to me, but I had a good system to prevent our bed from getting soiled.
Products Needed for Elimination Communication
I purchased a waterproof mattress protector for our bed, that was made with organic materials, had good reviews, and didn’t make a sound every time we moved (If you're interested in a waterproof mattress protector for a baby bed, Naturepedic makes good ones). Our mattress protecter ended up with only one or two stains on it, despite my daughter sleeping on it in these Hannah Andersson training underwear. Here’s how I kept our bed dry:
I took 3 cotton bath towels, and placed them one on top of another.
Then I took the right and left sides and rolled them up almost to the middle, leaving a "nest" in the middle; baby was supported by the rolled towels on both sides.
I placed a sheet of pure wool over the towels, for a water-repellent effect. I purchased a 2 or 3-yard piece of 100% wool at Joanns fabrics, then washed it in hot water a couple times to shrink it. It became like a large piece of felt - thick and water resistant. I tested it by spilling water over it, and the water stayed on the surface - I could simply soak up the water with a cloth without it going through! I placed this wool protector over the towels as a water resistant barrier, and placed a swaddling cloth over the wool, so that it is extra soft on baby's skin.
So from the bottom to the top, the baby sleeping set up was 3 towels with the edges rolled under, a shrunken wool barrier, and a swaddling cloth or pillowcase or any cotton cloth I had on hand.
Time to Breastfeed:
When it was time to breastfeed, I would simply unroll the towel on the side I wanted to lay on, roll the other side a tiny bit more to support the baby’s back, and when done, I would simply roll it back to the way it had been. If I missed an elimination communication, I would simply use the dry part of the swaddling cloth to ensure that the wool was dry, and place a fresh cloth over the wool. To my surprise, the wool did not absorb the smell of pee, but I washed it every few days anyways. There were one or two times that the towel under the wool felt damp, and when that happened, I would simply change it out, but the wool almost always protected the towels, which protected the mattress pad, and provided a comfortable space for baby to sleep without turning.
Co-Sleeping Pros/Cons
I cannot recommend co-sleeping, or speak against it. It is a personal choice. It has been done for thousands of years, and even now there are countries where the whole family sleeps in one room, or on a family bed. However, there are risks, such as accidentally rolling over the infant, or the infant rolling off the bed. Every family should do their research and determine what works for them. Co-sleeping worked for my husband and I as we had a king sized bed, and I found it convenient to nurse my baby to sleep while dozing off myself, and without the need to get up and relocate my baby. However, the drawback has been that my daughter got used to the closeness at night, and we did not have the strength to hear her cries when we tried to have her sleep in her own room.
I have recently found out about the concept of sleep training, such as that which is provided by The Sleep Nest. It takes persistence, but promises a better sleep for both parents and baby. My daughter is now seven, and cannot imagine sleeping on her own, so she shares my bed. My husband’s room is right across the hallway. I put my daughter to bed, then go to my husband’s room to spend some quality time alone, then get back into the bed I share with my daughter. This setup wouldn’t work for most people, but it works for us for a number of reasons:
1 - I wake up if someone touches me or moves by me, and my husband tends to scoot towards me at night while he sleeps, thus waking me up.
2 - I move a lot when initially falling asleep, and the shuffling wakes up my husband, who then has a hard time falling asleep.
3 - My husband occasionally snores, and that wakes me up. A few days ago we saw a solution for snoring that we are planning on trying out. If you’re interested in it, its called smartnora.
With our current setup, we ALL get a good night’s sleep. Yet, there are families for whom our setup would absolutely not work. My advice is to find what works for you and for your family, and do not allow others to judge you for your diapering, feeding, or sleeping decisions.