EC Training

We just started EC training a few days ago. For those of you that haven't heard of EC training, you are going to think this is crazy. EC training is Elimination Communication or infant potty training. Dude, I know. I thought the same thing. But hear me out.

There's a lot of fear and frustration that goes into potty training. Some kids are afraid or confused and that makes the parents frustrated. It makes sense that a baby should be familiarized with the potty and flushing at a very young age to make it a normal activity. Then it eliminates fear. And that's only one benefit.

You can imagine the other benefits. Fewer diaper changes means fewere diapers and money saved, less poop exposure :), and earlier and easier potty training. So what do I do?

I'm starting off slowly. Hunter goes on the potty after eating and sleeping. He stays on for a maximum of 5 minutes so as not to get bored or frustrated. I try to make it enjoyable by singing silly potty songs and he gets one special toilet toy to play with only on the potty. If he pees he gets congratulations with a "good pee pee" and then I follow up with the sign for urination. Hopefully he may eventually be able to tell me that he needs to use the toilet.

Also I'm hoping to learn his bathroom cues. I pretty much have the poop one down, but that only happens once, maybe twice a day. His pee one is a bit harder, but he seems to go right when he wakes up, so I just need to pay attention.

He's peed three times on the potty so far and it surprised the hell out of me. He enjoys being up there with me on the floor because we're at eye level. It's actually nice because it has afforded us some extra bonding time free of a lot of distractions. We'll see how it goes. If he starts getting annoyed or crying I will try again in a few months. I've heard good things about this method and because I have the time at home to do it, I figured I should give it a try.

My friend suggested getting a small potty so when Hunter walks he can use it himself and I think I may procure that item this weekend. I was just a bit ambivalent because cleaning out the poop seems icky to me. Funny because I deal with baby poop and dog poop on a daily basis. And I use cloth diapers so hopefully it won't be any worse than that.

I'll keep you updated.

xoxo,

Lauren