I would begin with catching the night wees - easiest ones to catch because they're not up and around and giving confused signals At night they'll be asleep, then after a while they'll start to wriggle and maybe wake - you want to get them over a receptacle before the crying about being awake, though they may cry once you're asking them to wee in a potty. Just that this is the time they'll definitely have a wee to do.
We have achieved night continence! Wee before bed, then nothing (unless there's something else going on like teething or a cold) until morning, when I say "shishi" to her and she goes over to the potty. Shishi is what a few Asian countries use to cue for the potty, before making a 'pssss' sound - I had read that and then made a friend at Kinder who is Japanese and this is what she says to her DD My DD knows now, and if she doesn't need to she'll say "nononono", which is very cute!
So, 19 months and night continent. Day continent, too - we're in undies!
Milly - I see where you are coming from, but I have no advice sorry! It's all new to me.
Thanks Mayaness, how do you tell when they are about to wee when they are asleep? DS always has a very wet nappy after he wakes, and so far I haven't noticed any signs that he is weeing. Except he sometimes has a look on his face when he is actually weeing, there doesn't seem to be any signs beforehand. I sleep with him, and he has two or three feeds during the night which obviously generates more wees. He doesn't really wake properly for the feeds, and we always fall asleep feeding so I am a bit reluctant to turn those feed times into 'awake' times by getting him up and undressed in the cold.
Or is it just about timing? This morning after his first feed for the day I held him over the toilet (I must buy a potty) but there was nothing. I like the shishi word, I think I will use that
I bed share, too, and that makes it easier to do - I was reading Ingrid Bauer's book on night-continence and realised all the windows of opportunity I had lost with DS and that's when I hopped back into his bed (he'd moved onto his own bed by this stage, after more than 2 years) and waited for all those 'hindsight' cues! It worked - he would stir a little and then I offered the potty. Yes, it started off by waking him, and even when he got upset he wasn't 'fully' awake - I'd put his nappy back on (before I took it off for bed times) and we'd curl up together again for a feed and he'd drop off.
I remember that at the time my SiL kept on about how her DD was dry at night (she's a month older than DS and had been claiming this for months). After reading about ECing I knew that she wasn't truly night continent because what they were doing was withholding liquids after a certain time - she was dehydrated overnight, not night continent. They couldn't really understand why DS had become night continent, using the potty and quickly the loo while I was still feeding overnight and giving him drinks till bedtime.
So, just little body movements when they rouse from deep sleep into a lighter sleep - it's in lighter sleep that they wet the nappy. So, yes, it's about timing and the body movements that help identify the time they rouse from deep sleep. In deep sleep the hormone is released to inhibit urine production. The Bauer book is really the best reference for this information - Natural Infant Hygiene it's called.
Thanks Mayaness, I am going to try to get my hands on Ingrid Bauer's book.
I still haven't been able to catch a wee. No signs that I can see, maybe the book will help. DS hasn't had a pooey nappy in ages now, except last night. I don't know how I missed it, and I just felt so awful that I had let him sit in his own poo without knowing. Going to do a search for that book right now
Mayaness - do you know where I can get the Bauer book from? I still haven't been able to locate one. All the links I find to what is supposed to be her web page take me somewhere else.
I EC'd yesterday while a friend and her baby were visiting. A first for me! It was funny, the babies were playing on the floor together and I could see Isaac was about to poo and I was just going to let him do it in his nappy because I felt a bit embarrassed for some reason. Then I just thought, no, I'll do it, who cares who is here so I just said 'umm Isaac needs to poo, back in a sec' and I whipped his nappy off and took him to the toilet to do his business (still haven't bought a potty). My friend actually thought it was great, and asked all about it! I'm glad I did it while she was here, who knows, I may have converted someone lol!
ISBN for the book is ISBN1440649596 - if you need to order it from a bookshop. Check with your local library network (and in the search field see if you can search through an extended library system - I didn't realise till late in the piece that I could order books from libraries all over the state, with my previous service, and I think with my new one!) as well.
I know that embarrassed feeling! Then thinking "well, I can't explain embarrassment to my child who just needs to do a poo in a dignified manner, now that she knows how to do it and it's all she knows". Sometimes I think that it 'might be easier' to put DD in a nappy, then slap myself and realise that's silly - she hasn't been in one on over 6 months, so why would I put her back in one? Plus, she can hold on for ages till we find a loo, so an 'accident' is really my own oversight - and rarely happens now, anyway.
She's only really having accidents at FDC, and she's only been twice, the second time she used the potty later in the day, so it's a matter of her comfort levels in care. She's taken to care very well, and the carer is happy to just change her into fresh clothes and offer her the potty
Good one on catching the poo and enlightening someone!!
My DD is 6 weeks old and I have always planned on ECing. I caught a couple of poos early on but was surpised that I wasn't picking up on any cues from my baby. I had some essays and exams to get done for uni so I sort of didn't bother. Anyway, today was my first day at home since my exams were over and we spent it with heater on and nappy off reading EC forums and advice online. Ended up catching 2 poos (based on timing, not picking up on cues). Still, I feel pretty chuffed about it.
I feel like my EC journey has started now and I know noone else who has tried EC, so I thought I would touch base here so I have some friends to turn to for advice (or to share my excitement and milestones).
At night they'll be asleep, then after a while they'll start to wriggle and maybe wake - you want to get them over a receptacle before the crying about being awake, though they may cry once you're asking them to wee in a potty. Just that this is the time they'll definitely have a wee to do.
My DD knows now, and if she doesn't need to she'll say "nononono", which is very cute!
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