The satisfaction at every "catch"
Before A was born I knew I wished to start EC from the beginning. Then, he came all of a sudden and being one of the between 0,14 and 0,62 % of umbilical cord prolapse cases. While I was recovering both physically and emotionally from an emergency C-section (from a birth that had nicely started at home) that had rendered me terribly weak and anemic I couldn't start EC, not actively at least. But after he turned 1 month I had already observed his rhythm and was ready to start.What is elimination communication?, some of you may ask. Without any shyness, let me quote our friend Wikipedia: EC is a practive in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant's need to eliminate waste. Caregivers try to recognize and respond to babies' bodily needs and enable them to urinate and defecate in an appropriate place (e.g. a toilet). (...) EC emphasizes communicaton between the caregiver and child, helping them both become more attuned to the child's innate rhythms and control of urination and defecation.
A is turning 3 months today and this week we have been able to catch every poop and many of his pees. The satisfaction at every "catch" is something very close to the excitement we, parents, feel when we witness a new skill in our children. What amazes me the most is how easy it is to EC a very young baby. I generally place him over a potty when he wakes up, after feeds, and whenever I have the intuition he has to go. More than 90 % of the times he does something and if we forget he is very efficient in letting us know that he is pretty uncomfortable. Something else that amazes me is the fact that he seems to wait for the moment you place him over the potty, at least to poop.
Many of you might think I am a freak but I have already gotten used to going to public bathrooms after a feed to help A urinate or defecate... and the feeling of success is quite exciting. Fortunately nobody has seen me yet... EC is not very popular in Spain.
I would really like to hear about other EC experiences so feel free to share!!
Dafna said:
ResponderEliminarWe started EC from the first moment with A. His first poop was a few minutes after his birth and as we were naked his first pees also were on his mom and we dried them up with a towel. The first year was pretty easy when he was born it was a perfect climate to be naked at home and start learning his patterns and than it was, as you comment a good mixture of intuition, timing and with 9 months he started signing so it was even easier!!! But... With 11 months he started walking, and afterwards the winter came back and it was even worst; because he doesn't like at all to get dressed... And he started to get nervous every time he wanted to pee or poop, so we decided to put a diaper, so now when he pees or poops if he expresses we ask him if he wants to do it in the diaper or in the WC or in the urinal (at home he prefers the urinal 50% and wherever else he prefers the diaper and after he poops he doesn't want to get changed... but I suppose it's a fase; he wants to concentrate in so many other things... We're waiting for the spring to retry the eastern method (clothes with strategic openings)... So thats more or less our EC story till now... Hope my english is not as rusty as I feel it... Hugs
Many thanks for your comment, Dafna. Changes in the life of a baby make things challenging, at least for us. No sooner you get into the groove, things move on and you have to readapt... My baby turned 3 months and his elimination patterns slightly changed. We are getting in tune again. Well, wish me the best. I also wish you the best. I guess (your) A is close to being totally diaper free.
ResponderEliminar