Elimination Communication - Take 2

Well, in the very early days of Logan's life I was all for Elimination Communication - where we communicate through body language and I read when he has to potty. I'd read a number of books on the idea and it really made sense to me. That was all well and good until school came in September with the big kids. Turns out we were in the van and napping more than awake so keeping him diaper free just had him waking up and making big messes!

I remember one time when I was nursing him at a photo shoot with Photos by Cheryl and he was naked. He kept squirming and was not happy. I realized he didn't want to make a mess and put a diaper on him which he immediately soiled! Such understanding at 1 month old!

Logan's been diapered for almost 8 months now and I really want to have him mostly out of diapers by the age of 1. Most think I'm out of my mind but a friend of a friend from Russia said that we diaper our babies way too long in North America and she stopped using diapers around 5 months. She toileted the baby before they would go out, and always brought along extra clothing in case of an accident - which happen from time to time. It makes sense. I myself was trained by 15 months and my sister by 18 months. So why do we wait so long to train our kids these days?

My thought is time and convenience: Most of us are working and who has the time to sit around all day waiting for a baby to go? It is time consuming to clean up any missed potty opportunities. It's time consuming to be changing a baby out of soiled clothing. Support is also important. Although my husband doesn't support early training (although it means less money going out in the long run as we save on ecological diaper inserts) I don't mind as I'm the one with the babe most of the day/night as well. It's so convenient not to have to constantly think about toileting a baby...but having them out of diapers early is equally convenient. Little or no struggle to have them go on the potty, no rewarding/punishing (as some may choose to do with older kids), and no need to wash or purchase diapers.

Personally time has really played into our lack of EC'ing. We spend so much time driving to and from school, running errands etc. that Logan is asleep or in the van or asleep in the van and on errands! We spend so little time at home, and when we are at home he's often sleeping too!

Fast forward to this week. Second week of Spring Break - we spent most of the first week in Seattle. When we were there, he suffered a very bad diaper rash. He is still recovering from it. We've no idea what caused it either...but we've been bathing him in epsom salts, and giving him lots and lots of bare bum time! So, because of this I've been able to catch some of his 1's and 2's! He was so squirmy about having a poo, but when I nursed him he relaxed and we caught it in the little Bjorn potty I have. Presto! Also caught a pee - on a towel, not quite the toilet but it was in the bathroom. The more we do this the easier it will get and he seems happy about it (once he went!). I'm excited to finally be on this journey and hope to keep it up as we enter back into school days once again!

What were some of your challenges and successes when pottying your babies or kids?