Elimination Communication General Discussion

HI ladies,

just wanted to give an update...
DD is relatively "back on track". Most days when we are home, she remains dry for most of the day (maybe one miss or two), and even some of our "out days". Having said that, if we have an off day it's off all day (like today), but yesterday she woke dry, and remained dry for the entire day, so I think we're getting there - even at day care she's staying fairly dry :)

No 2 is due in a couple of weeks, so it will be interesting to see what happens there, and not sure when to start - I started DD after 3 months (as she was in a pavlick harness, so not really an option till she was out of that). I just can't imagine ec'ing a newborn, but then I probably couldn't imagine ec'ing a 3 month old before I did either. But they are so floppy, how do you physically hold and ec a newborn?

Pretty easy to sit the newborn up - hold the receptacle between your legs and sit them either side on, or bub's back to your belly. You don't have to start straight away, either. DD was 2 weeks old when I bit the bullet and has been fully continent for over 18 months, she's now just over 2.5yo :)
See if you can find a vintage enamel chamber pot, or even a ceramic/china one if you have soft floors. They are much easier to handle than potties for a newborn, and I never had a spill with ours.
Your newborn will amaze you! If you felt clever with your DD at an older age starting EC, a newborn will humble you and you will feel that the new baby is far cleverer than you are ;)

Thanks Mayaness!
you always seem to have some good advice here!

Well, we had no2 - a DD2, now 11 days old. I haven't tried to hold her on a pot yet, still getting used to the "floppy newborn" (I forgot how little and fragile they are!!!), but I have been cuing with her when I do nappy changes, and she always pees and poops as soon as the nappy is off.

I have another question about DD1 though. Not long after my last post, she had an episode of constipation (she had roseola fever and I think it was due to having the paracetamol for a few days). Anyway, her first poop was very hard and like a small orange (sorry if TMI) and she cried when she did it. Now she seems quite scared of pooping, and she seems to avoid it at all costs, holding on till the very last minute, and then going either in her nappy or on the floor on the way to the potty. She used to like to just sit on the pot and go while reading, but now poos are a bit of an ordeal. I think she has a bad memory and is scared it will hurt again, but not sure how to move past this, any suggestions?
otherwise, going OK, and now wearing "big girl undies" and going most days without accidents. :)

Can you find a way to explain constipation to your DD? You could explain that it doesn't happen very often and that there are lots of foods, combined with drinking lots of water that soften the poo inside so that she can poo easier. Also explain that holding onto poo is bad for her body because all that left over that her body doesn't want needs to leave her body, or it can poison it (simple language that you can develop as she gets older to build on the concept).
Clever baby! And congratulations :) Enjoy all that ECing can teach you about your babies xx

Hi Ladies,

so the EC journey continues.....

I am happy to say that DD1 is doing really well. We did have a little step back when DD2 was born, but DD1 has been consistently dry during the day for several months now, and now also at night time more often than not too. We have also tackled the "scared of poo" hurdle that we had too. I am really proud of her. She is really a little miss independence. She had previously liked using the toilet, but now has gone back to wees on the potty, because she can get the potty, pull her pants down and empty the potty on her own, where as she needed help with the toilet. She does poos on the toilet though, as she likes to hear the "plop" sound! LOL!

But DD2's journey....
well, in the beginning I thought we were going to do really well as she always went the second she was exposed to air, so it was a great opportunty for cueing.
I struggled with trying to hold her over a pot, so made the decision to leave it till she had a bit of head control (I started with DD1 at about 3- 3&1/2 months).
We then sort of took a bit of a break, or realisitically more of a step back (for reasons on my part - DD1 started to get a bit jealous and I was struggling just being a mum to 2 / a new baby & a toddler; DD2 had reflux and colic and her poos were so explosive and constant, we couldn't go pants free (one poo flew out a distance of over 2metres I kid you not!) and also, it was really cold - we live in a shed - and it was just too cold for pants-free, even with leg warmers) so I decided to wait until it got a bit warmer, and she had head control, and thankfuly the colic and reflux settled down.

So, we begin again at around 3 months (she is now 5 months).
and so far, I am really struggling. This experience is so different than with DD1. I know they are different and I shouldn't compare but -
DD1 gave clear signs - would cry before a wee (I thought she had a UTI, and then realised THIS was EC - that is what actually started me on this journey), where as DD2 NEVER cries or shows any distress regarding elimination (only cries if she is sick or tired, or when she had reflux/colic).
I find it really hard, almost impossible to even catch the easy ones like upon waking, as she is quite content to just wake up and lay in her bed for a while, so I often don't know she is awake until well after she has woken - and wee'ed. She doesn't even get distressed if she has a pooey nappy (DD1 would let me know in no uncertain terms).
I have tried keepiing her pants free now that its warmer and have been able to watch and cue her for a few wees, but I don't think I am getting enough of them for it to be consistent enough. Also, some days DD1 (in true toddler fashion) can make it impossible to be that diligent! And I am still struggling to see her signs. I know she flaps her arm if she needs a wee, but she also flaps her arm if she needs a burp, or a sleep, or some attention.
I am not sure where I am going with this, I guess I am just wondering if anyone else had trouble with getting bubs signs or getting cueing?

thanks

ok, so Spock has a bit of nappy free tim after her bath. and always does a wee, so ive bought her a potty and thought we might start trying to catch that wee and go fron there. but we have trouble getting her to stay on. she obviously doesn't know what it is for, and we sit and keep her distracted while she sits, if we leave her to just do her own thing she jumps off. is it just a matter of perseverance?

No-one's EC'd since last year?
How are the ECers going?
I'm back in the crew :) I started later on the same day she was born - just felt natural and made instant sense after doing it with DD1. So far today I've caught every poo (she's 6 days old now) and just missed the wees while she's been sleeping in the HAB and I had visitors. In fact, one visitor was the maternal nurse and she'd never seen ECing being done before so she asked some questions and we talked about how it was normal for kids to be TT'd by 12 months in Australia. Big contrast to another maternal nurse we know (DP's cousin!!) who told me ECing was rubbish and couldn't work because of 'readiness'...well, we haven't seen her in a long time and I can't be bothered with being vindicated about it with her ... she's having her 5th baby later this year and she'll have been dealing with nappies continuously for nearly 5 years, so she can rubbish my vastly-less nappy-filled life all she likes!

I'm not doing it yet. But I'm very interested in doing it in a few months. So really interested to hear about what you're doing and how it's going.

I've got a vintage enamel chamber pot and I put her on it when she starts to get grumpy (usually means a wee is on the way) and hope that she does a poo if I wait patiently enough! Today, all poos on the chamber pot and none in the flannel flats that I use as back up (I'm a bit hazy still from the birth and not enough catch up sleep to trust my reaction time).
I'll post more as time goes on :)

Hi,

yep we continued with our ec'ing. all good.
DD2 still didn't show many signs (not that I witnessed being a busy mum of 2 anyway LOL) but has consistently pooed in a pot since about 7 months - was never as good with wees as DD1 - far more interested in the world than paying attention to that other stuff - would do it and later go "wee" rather than before, so we kept nappies on and did regular potty offerings. She is now 20 months and we are moving into big girl undies - some days no accidents, but the other day we had a couple (pre-occupied tired mum, and teething toddler).
But I love it (admittedly, I found it stressful in the beginning with DD1 - but I think that was me just being a new mum and trying to do everything new mumish just right! I was far more relaxed about it with DD2), and we will be doing it again with my twins on the way, but realistically I do struggle with newborn hold, so will probably just stick with cuing until I can comfortably hold them up over a pot/vessel.

You'll probably find yourself much more confident when the twins come and experimenting more with that newborn hold :)
16 days old and I'm still catching most poos in the chamber pot, laundry sink and a couple of times over the loo when out and about. I remember DD1 getting agitated before a wee would come and this one gets frantic just before her wee comes out! Pretty unmistakeable when she needs to 'let go'. The poo doesn't have as much in the way of signs, but generally comes with every few wees.
I've bought a few MCN's for outings and I can whisper the cues in her ear if I can't get away to hold her over a loo or garden bed.
I was out in the garden with DD1 and 2 the other day and I hadn't brought any extra nappies with me when I realised DD2's nappy was a teeny bit damp. I held her out over the grass for her poo and wee and was able to put her back in the mostly dry nappy and keep doing that until we went back inside to my nappy stash - no panic, just a 'oh, yeah, we don't NEED those' and then used leaves to scrape off any traces of poo!
It's a fun journey.