Potty Training Update @ 16 months

Well, a lot of time has passed since we first started elimination communication (part-time), so I thought that I would update how it has been going. We've been mainly giving "potty-tunities" after waking up, which is about 3x a day.

Because our bathroom is not baby friendly, I keep the door shut all day. This limited his view and accessibility to the potty. So, I decided to put a picture of the potty, with the word written below on the door. Then, every time I took him to the bathroom, I taped the picture, then signed, and also said "potty". This worked surprisingly well, except that he also began using it to just get into the bathroom, not go potty. So, I had to make sure that we stayed on task. Each time, I allowed him to wash his hands, which he loves doing.

That was going pretty well. And then sometime when he was 15 months old, he started saying and signing "potty". This was really cool. Sometimes he actually peed. He also started saying "bye pee-pee" when I flushed the toilet.

This past Christmas, we traveled for 10 days. I was worried about losing our routine, so I bought a Potette Plus. I love how small it is. He was able to use it several times on the trip, but started to fight me on it. Since we've come home, he's been on a pretty major potty pause. It's likely due to all of the verbal progression he's been making lately. Luckily I don't have an agenda or need to force anything on him. So, I'm back to just trying first thing in the morning.

I hope that now we are back home and getting into a routine, he will rediscover the joy of diaper free elimination. 

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Elimination Communication

[Wikipedia] Elimination Communication is a toilet training practice in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant's need to eliminate waste. Typically the goal is to partially or completely avoid the use of diapers. EC emphasizes communication between the caregiver and child, helping them both become more attuned to the child's innate rhythms and control of urination and defecation. Some practitioners of EC begin soon after birth, although it can be started with babies of any age.

Some people might have just freaked out at the thought of this. Everyone in my family has thought me crazy for considering it. I like the concept because, much like breastfeeding, you are responding to the needs of your infant or toddler.  I plan to try a Part-Time EC, or maybe even Occasional EC, method by focusing on EC-ing primarily when at home. I feel that when I am the primary caregiver of my child, I will become aware of and able to respond to my child's elimination needs. I will use cloth diapers at home as a backup.

My best resource has become diaperfreebaby.org. To prepare, I want to read The Diaper-Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative by Christine Gross-loh. Although you can position your child over the toilet, It will also be nice to have a child's potty. 

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