Potty Master
Okay, 'Master' is probably a little strong, but I'm her mom, alright. It's my job to applaud all the minutia of her accomplishments.
I started pottying Tweetie, and using what certain experts call EC (elimination communication) awhile back. Nothing real earth shattering there, it's just giving a consistent cue whenever you know she's going, and watching for her various cues, to help her be aware of what she's doing naturally. It's basically what a lot of our parents or grandparents did before we were told we should wait a couple of years - and hundreds of dollars more in diapers - for signs of readiness.
I got started with the help of a very useful book, The Diaper-Free Baby, at about six months. I'd looked at another book right at the start, at the bear's prompting, but it was a little over the top for me. This book was far more approachable, recognizing that we've all got a different capacity at different times for taking on these kinds of projects. Anyway, the first time I put her on her potty, she peed right away and gave me a big smile as she went, presumably for discovering that she could pee without feeling wet until the diaper soaked it up. 'This ain't so bad,' I thought, and we carried on from there.
Saturday was a bit of a red-letter day on this journey, as we made an IKEA run to the mainland, which meant we on the road and in public places pretty much the entire day. We pottied in about five different public toilets, and even had her first poop in a public potty!
I don't imagine we'll be out of diapers anytime soon. It's still far too easy for me to get caught up in something else and miss her cues. And that's just fine. EC'ing is mostly about keeping them aware of their elimination, not necessarily being free of diapers, though that will generally happen too much sooner. I am, however, looking at investing in a few cloth diapers as we get more consistent at certain times of day. Maybe when she can talk a bit and has a word to actually get my attention and ask to be pottied, we'll think about working towards graduation. In the meantime, it's not much different once you get into a routine, and the diaper pail is much lighter when you empty it, because very few diapers are really soaked. And all that aside, every poop that gets direct deposited without first needing to be scraped off her backside and that can be fully flushed away rather than ripening in the pail makes it TOTALLY WORTH IT!
I think Tweetie agrees, 'cause she's generally happier when we're in sync and has a pretty dry day.
Oh, and for those looking for the latest other minutia:
I started pottying Tweetie, and using what certain experts call EC (elimination communication) awhile back. Nothing real earth shattering there, it's just giving a consistent cue whenever you know she's going, and watching for her various cues, to help her be aware of what she's doing naturally. It's basically what a lot of our parents or grandparents did before we were told we should wait a couple of years - and hundreds of dollars more in diapers - for signs of readiness.
I got started with the help of a very useful book, The Diaper-Free Baby, at about six months. I'd looked at another book right at the start, at the bear's prompting, but it was a little over the top for me. This book was far more approachable, recognizing that we've all got a different capacity at different times for taking on these kinds of projects. Anyway, the first time I put her on her potty, she peed right away and gave me a big smile as she went, presumably for discovering that she could pee without feeling wet until the diaper soaked it up. 'This ain't so bad,' I thought, and we carried on from there.
Saturday was a bit of a red-letter day on this journey, as we made an IKEA run to the mainland, which meant we on the road and in public places pretty much the entire day. We pottied in about five different public toilets, and even had her first poop in a public potty!
I don't imagine we'll be out of diapers anytime soon. It's still far too easy for me to get caught up in something else and miss her cues. And that's just fine. EC'ing is mostly about keeping them aware of their elimination, not necessarily being free of diapers, though that will generally happen too much sooner. I am, however, looking at investing in a few cloth diapers as we get more consistent at certain times of day. Maybe when she can talk a bit and has a word to actually get my attention and ask to be pottied, we'll think about working towards graduation. In the meantime, it's not much different once you get into a routine, and the diaper pail is much lighter when you empty it, because very few diapers are really soaked. And all that aside, every poop that gets direct deposited without first needing to be scraped off her backside and that can be fully flushed away rather than ripening in the pail makes it TOTALLY WORTH IT!
I think Tweetie agrees, 'cause she's generally happier when we're in sync and has a pretty dry day.
Oh, and for those looking for the latest other minutia:
- She's over 22lbs or 20 kg now
- She's not really crawling, yet, but she does get more and more creative at navigating herself around the floor with a combination of rolling, spinning, and pushing on either tummy or belly. She has had a couple of moments where she's figured out how to keep her belly up, but hasn't quite coordinated the moving of knees and hands. She also did a hands and feet pose a couple of times.
- She stands really well, and can hang on to the rail in her crib or playpen to support herself for quite awhile. Yesterday she actually migrated a little ways down the length of the crib, shifting hand over hand, and eventually letting her feet catch up. She's a little afraid to sit down without my help, though.
- She's eating mushy solids twice a day, but that's another post entirely!
- She put out her third tooth last Monday, and the fourth on the weekend. I think we're done now for a little while, as she invited my finger into her mouth again for a massage, which has been strictly verboten for weeks. With all this, of course, has come the introduction of her first toothbrush - with a picture of Tweetie Bird - which she's eager to help me use.
- She does plenty of babbling, and the addition of those top teeth has added a few new sounds to her repertoire. Did you know it's hard to say 'teeth' without them? She does show signs of recognition of a few frequent words.
- She's getting more and more control over her hands. On Friday at Costmo, she decided to wave at several nice looking strangers who gave her attention - not with her fingers, but with her whole arm. Very cute.
Labels: Baby Girl
posted by Coastal at
6:52 a.m.
2 Comments:
Gotta admit that I haven't thought about this topic for a very long time. Anything you can do to reduce the diaper load is a good thing in my book! While reading this post, I caught myself thinking, "oh..too cute". My first was in the cloth diapers but the second couldn't tolerate them on her skin. The reduction in the laundry load was a welcome help to my electric/gas bill and especially my nose! :)
By
Anonymous, at 5:33 p.m.
That's the coolest thing ever. I have never heard of putting them so young on the toilet. I SOOOO wish we had done that with the Muppet. She's 2 1/2 and just now reaching the end of the potty training so to speak. But her "Big Girl Party" will mark the actual end of the training - or at least that is what she tells me EVERYDAY!
By
Tex, at 2:23 p.m.
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