The Schrader Project: Elimination Communication, aka Infant Potty Training, aka Infant Hygiene

Many of you know that we are using cloth diapers, which have been working really well for us, but you may not know that we are also practicing Elimination Communication (EC)...

(from an EC resource) - "EC is a way of responding to (and therefore fostering) a baby's instincts and natural signals for staying clean and dry. Just like other animals, baby humans are aware of their eliminations and don't like to "soil the nest". It is this instinct and awareness, along with elimination patterns, timing and intuition, which aids caregivers in meeting their baby's hygiene needs. It is truly a baby-led approach to infant hygiene with a focus on communication, enhancing the bond between baby and parent as the awareness grows for each person. Just as parents learn to read and respond to their baby's tired, hungry, and bored signals, EC is the name for learning baby's toileting signals. Even in our diaper-reliant society, many people are already aware of some of these toileting signals, such as the blank stare, frowning red face, and grunting that accompany a dirty diaper. EC is just a different way of responding to these signals. It is also called Natural Infant Hygiene, Infant Potty Training, Elimination Timing, and Diaper-Free. EC is NOT conventional potty training for babies. There is nothing coercive about EC; rewards and punishments have no place in this technique. EC is not training parents or infants to certain behaviors; rather it works with existing, natural ways infants have of making their needs known, and the natural responses caregivers have to meet those needs."

We've been practicing EC with Zoey since she was born, and it's always really exciting when we "catch" her pees and poops in the toilet. She definitely has a pattern going, and so it's almost a fun challenge to figure that pattern out. Every time I take off a dry, clean diaper to hold her over the toilet and she uses the potty...it just motivates me to keep trying. I don't want her to think it's okay to sit in a dirty diaper or to learn to ignore her needs to use the potty only to have to retrain her to become aware of those needs when she's walking and it's "more convenient" for me to potty train her. If I can stop the need for diapers sooner than most kids in America are potty trained, then I think it's definitely worth a shot! What have we got to lose, right?