Hi! Is there anyone out there who is doing elimination communication with their little ones? My twins are 5-months old, and I have started sitting them on a baby potty seat 2x per day, but it is hard to catch them going potty. I think they mostly go when I am nursing them! any hints? I love the idea, and I want to make it work! I nurse them simultaneously, so I can't hold the potty under them when I nurse. C.
Well, here's another update! my twins are 9 months old now, and go on the potty instead of in their diaper about 60% of the time. I put them on the travel bjorn potty about 2x a day from 5-8 months, and then one day one twin used it, and about two days later, the other twin did! I made a big deal out of it, cheering them on. Now they sit on the potty before each diaper change (5-6 times per day) at approximately the same time every day, and they go almost every time, #1 and #2 :) While they are on the potty, we sing a special potty song with the baby sign for potty, read books, and play. they have NEVER cried during potty time, and I never would think to punish them in any way for not going. I just make a big deal when they go, and let them look in their potty, which they love -ha, ha! anyhow, I have had amazing success with this no pressure potty training, and now it is just part of their routine, and it is not stressful at all for anyone involved. I love it! C.
no offense C., but the only person being potty trained is you! When you grow tired of THAT routine, put them in diapers and relax. Enjoy motherhood - it's not always easy, but it's very rewarding! The best thing you can do right now is love them! Love is the best lesson they can learn now.
Good Luck!
Sounds more like you are being trained then the child. Why add the stress? Why not just enjoy what little time you have with them while they are still babies. There is plenty of time to worry about potty training.
I think that this is a great idea! My husbands cousin has been to Russia where they do this and the children there go on whistle command. This is basic instincts that babies have and they can be trained just like Pavlov's dog was trained. I wish I would have tried this sooner with my son. He is 18mo now and I think we could have done it, however I did not hear about this until I feel like he lost the instinct. For the next one I am definately going to try it. I hope your friends and family will help support you in this decision and other moms should be commending you for helping save all of the trash going into the environment. You are making the world a better place for their kids too! If this doesn't end up working I would also recommend cloth. That is what we are using and we love them. It is definately a step in the right direction. If you have any questions just send me a message I would love to help you get started with cloth...and no, I am not a dealer;)
A.
Hi C.,
I am sorry I don't know much about this but I have heard about it. I would suggest getting a book on it, they may even have resources at the back of it to help you out. If this is really something you want to try go for it. Just because its not the normal approach or something others have done doesn't mean its not worth a try. It never hurts to try something new and you can decide down the road how worth it it was for you. Good luck and best wishes.
I have never heard of this. In all honesty, it sounds like a lot of stress on you and your babies to me. I have always waited til my kids were telling me when they had went potty and started showing interest in using the potty. My two boys were both potty trained before they were 2 years old, but my daughter was a little later. All kids are different, and I don't think you can push them to do things that they are not ready for. Just my opinion. I am curious to see if anyone else has different ideas though.
You are kidding? Right.
D.
5 months old is way to young to try to potty train... especially boys. boys don't even begin until around 2 and are harder than little girls...
I have to say that I agree with the majority here. I'm a sahm of four, all of whom were cloth diapered and breastfed, and my youngest son is uncut and unvaxed, but even I think that the concept of EC is ridiculous. I know it's the norm in less advanced countries, but honestly, in our society is it really practical? I too would be concerned about future emotional or other problems. Do yourself, and your twins, a favor and stick with the diapers for now!
I read about this when my son was a tiny baby. Sounds good in theory, but the application is much tougher. I'm not sure why you are feeling that you need to do this--your babies don't need the stress of being put on the potty several times a day. I hope this doesn't backfire on you and cause major bathroom issues or phobias when they are really ready (and more age appropriate)to begin.
We EC part time with our 8month old. The biggest thing is just get to know their cues. DD will whine about 5minutes before she poops. She also does a "warning pee" before she lets loose.
You can squat them over the sink with the water running that sometimes induces a potty, as does wiping them with a cool or warm washcloth (experiment, if dd is holding it when I know she has to go I will wipe her bottom with a cool cloth and she goes within minutes)
You sound like a very busy mom and I would think this would be one thing you could wait on. I have three children and all of them were potty trained in less than a month and before their 3rd birthday. I feel any book written claiming that your child can be potty-trained in a day or as early as 5 months is a farce and you should spend time just letting them be babies and enjoying that for awhile.
C.....I wish you luck with this...I read a lot about this and even went into a discussion group in reagards to it....I found that it is way more involving than it should be. Also, from what I have read you have to do it more than twice a day. It needs to be on a strict schedule at the same times and after every time they eat and in between. However, your babies are probably going when they eat because that is when they are relaxed.
I know that this may sound odd...but I use diaper time as a bonding for my 5 month old. I take those 5 min to talk to her and allow it to be a stress free time. I am wondering if it would be very diffucult to train both babies and chase a 3 year old and love 3 boys as well as a husband.....I think the majority of your time would be spent holding up infants on a potty who dont even know how to talk let alone control any urge. I wish you luck in whatever you decide. I know that if you go to google and type that in you can get to discussion boards with other moms who are doing it.
Hi, C.. That' so cool that you're trying this! I know a mother whose three kids were all going on the toilet by themselves by the time they were one year old. She said she started this when they were infants by setting a timer every 15 minutes and putting them on a little potty, and if they went she praised them, and if they didn't she just put their pants back on and reset the timer. That's a bit of work for a while, but it saved her about 1.5 years of diaper time for each child.
My son was out of diapers by about 2, and I'm was pretty happy with that. I would set him on the potty whenever I thought about it, and especially before we went out somewhere. I'd also hit the bathroom whenever we were out somewhere, and I'd have a little potty in the van with us (later) in case of emergencies.
There are lots of yahoo groups for EC if you do a search there, if you're interested in getting more information or support. There might even be one local to you. There is also a great website for more info on this here:
http://www.diaperfreebaby.com/
I hope you're diaper-free sooner than later! ;)
I've heard of this..
my thoughts are if you have one child and you want to try to get it to work,, go for it. if it works great. because i think it takes A LOT! of time, patience and energy. because basically YOU are the one creating this potty routine for them. since they don't have the skills yet to figure it out.
i also would agree, with twins, you may be biting off more than you can chew (so to speak..lol) my two are 9 1/2 months apart and even at that closeness i think it would have been difficult to accomplish this technique, let alone with twins.
i was hoping to potty train my two at the same time,, but even that was too much on the daily plate. even with being a stay at home mom, i still had the daily house stuff that needed to be done. with you working,, how are you planning on doing this? is your caregiver agreeing to this technique?
something to think about.. if you haven't already.
i know that in different culturs in different countries, potty training is a lot earlier than in the US. so maybe someone on here is from a different cultur than can give you better tips from their point of view.
good luck
I had never heard of this but did find some information online. I wonder how much stress this can be on both you and the baby. A five month old seems way to young and maybe should just enjoy being a baby. If the reason for trying this method is because of the expense of diapers or environmental reasons, maybe you should consider cloth. Here's a great site with some neat cloth diapers for them cute bunz! http://www.softclothbunz.com/
Sorry C.,
Never heard of this. Just because someone wrote about it does not mean it is Ok or makes any sence at all. What does it supposed to do? At 5 months a child is just starting to sit by themselves, they are usually feed mostly liquids, they have no muscles ready to hold or release urine. Toilet training usually starts when there are only a few wet diapers a day because of more food volume and less liquid, and the diapers begin to be dry most of the day. The child should be able to pull up and pull down their own clothes so they are able to be potty trained and not you just putting them on the potty every 1/2 hour. They need to "feel" the potty come out, usually that means them able to tell when they go and the ability to use their muscles to keep the potty in their body till an approiate time for release. That is usually between the age 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. Why the hurry? Sounds like a stressfull time to do this. Sorry if I sound negative, but having twins is enough stress, just sit back and enjoy them. M.
Five months is entirely too early to even think about potty training - Until they can walk independently, and say enough words to communicate verbally the need to eliminate, there is no point in trying. Experts say that attempting to potty train too early often results in them actually learning later. These are babies, and you should not put the stress of such high expecatations upon them. Enjoy their babyhood, and understand they will both be potty trained before they start school :-)
