I fought the Baby Legs craze hard when I first had my son.  I saw many pictures of how adorable they were on little girls, and even a few boys, but in my mind I couldn’t see a boy in them.  I wanted to love them because they would make diaper changes so much easier.  It wasn’t until a friend told me about a fabulous sale that I gave in.  “Oh, they will just be for around the house.” I assured myself, and my husband.

Since then things have changed drastically!  My Baby Legs are more than for knocking around the house, though they are good for that too.  I like to use them when we go out just because they are cute.  When we fly, I pair Baby Legs and a onesie or t shirt for quick diaper changes on the plane.  We especially love Baby Legs for EC’ing!  It makes access to his diaper or training pants, like his ECA Wear trainers, easy.  They keep his legs warm too!

One thing I wished of Baby Legs was that they have tights (more for girls but if my son wouldn’t look girly in them we would use them in a heartbeat) or matching socks for their legs.

Luckily, now they have both!  Baby Legs has introduced a new line of coordinating socks (2 pair in a pack) that match their Baby Legs.  They have fun patterns that you can mix and match, like argyle, stripes, and polka dots in coordinating color schemes.  Fletcher is modeling argyle socks with striped Baby Legs.  His little legs would get cold while he potties without them!  The socks are aize 12 months, but my son is 10.5 and fits them perfectly.  He also has “chunky” feet.

Another thing I love about Baby Legs is that the back of their package actually says “Makes diaper changing, potty training, and EC’n a breeze.” Plus. there is a Dad using what I assume is an Ergo on the back too.  Granted, he looks a little strange wearing rainbow Baby Legs on his arms but I forgive him because he is wearing his baby girl.

If you are excited to pick up a pair of Baby Legs you should take advantage of this deal.  Use code “Punkin” when you buy one pair of seasonal Baby Legs, and get another pair free!  This is good Oct 8-21.  What a great way to stock up for your little one, or to buy a few gifts!  We just bought 2 pair for a friend’s daughter who just turned one and they love them!

Giveaway Closed.

I was sent a pair of teeny tiny training pants by ECA Wear from EC Wear, a website where you can find products for ECing and resources to help you get started.

The ECA Pants I was sent are first off, the cutest tiniest things you have ever seen.  It is so strange to see a baby without a huge fluffy butt.  ECA Pants are thin enough that they don’t look like diapers, but they have enough absorbency to hold in one pee, just in case we have a miss!  You can get them in snaps or velcro, and waterproof or not.  Waterproof ECA Pants would be great for the baby who is excellent at ECing and who can use a public toilet.  For us, the non waterproof were perfect.  They allowed me to keep checking to make sure we hadn’t missed a pee, and in the one case where we did miss (I had the bath running but hadn’t put him on the potty yet in case he had to go, which he did.  Water works!) the ECA Pants held in the pee without leaking down the legs.  I could tell immediately that he was peeing and started making our cue “pssst.”  Even though we missed, I still want him to associate the “psst” sound with going, in a diaper or on the potty.

What I have to convey to you is how easy these make ECing.  Because they have an elastic band in the front, when you undo the front of the pants, just like you would a side snapping diaper, the pants stay on.  Essentially, you just remove the front so that they can go, and push it to the back.  When your child is done, just flip the front back up and resnap.  I can even resnap him as he crawl away!  Something that does not work with a diaper since it isn’t attached to him.

If you are an ECing parent, these aren’t a must have, but they do make your life so much easier!  Sometimes I find myself being lazy about EC (especially for a few weeks where we took a “break” with life being so hectic) and when I think about having to take off pants, undo diaper, potty, then chase the baby while I try to put a diaper and pants back on, I get exhausted by the thought.  Having an easy way to EC can certainly keep me focused on my son and his needs, even when the day is jam packed.

About EC Wear:

EC Wear LLC, based in New York City, is owned and operated by Marija, a work-at-home-mom (WAHM).  Marija and her husband Chuck have been practicing Elimiination Communication with their son since his birth.  Initially, their interest came out of concern for the environment and dislike of disposable diapers.  Eventually, they realized the best benefit of EC was for their son’s health. At EC Wear you will find clothes in sizes newborn to 24 months that are made in USA, Canada, Europe, or Australia, fair trade, or made by women in their homes or in workers’ cooperatives. It is our priority to disclose the origins of every item we sell. Of course, nearly all of the clothing is suitable for any parents who are looking for convenience in clothing and diaper changes, whether practicing EC or not.

Christine Gross-Loh has agreed to answer some questions about her book, The Diaper Free Baby.  She has her own blog, Origami Mommy, and has a blog about Elimination Communication in the works.  I hope you all enjoy reading her answers as much as I did.  If you are interested in purchasing her book, you can click the link.

About the Author: Christine Gross-Loh is a freelance writer with a PhD from Harvard University. Her writing has appeared in Mothering, Shape, and Parenting. She is very involved in DiaperFreeBabyTM, a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 to promote awareness of EC. She has appeared on The Early Show and Paula Zahn Now, among others. Gross-Loh lives in Tokyo, Japan, with her husband and children.

Many times parents who are interested in being in tune with their child are also committed to living a life that is gentle on the earth, so many of these groups of people overlap. A lot of times you’ll find parents who are initially interested in cloth diapering and then discover that it is perfectly compatible with EC.

Read my review of The Diaper Free Baby here or find my other posts about EC here.

This is part one of a two part post.  Tomorrow stay tuned for a Q&A with Christine Gross-Loh about her book.

My journey to Elimination Communication has only just begun, and since I came to it knowing little, to nothing about how EC works,  I decided internet research alone could only go so far.  The internet did lead me to an excellent book to read which has helped my journey tremendously.  The Diaper-Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative, authored by Christine Gross-Loh, is an invaluable tool to anyone hoping to practice EC.  The most important thing that the book hopes to get across is this: EC is not an all or nothing endeavor.  When my friends find out about my son using a potty at 6 months old, I can only imagine what images run through their minds.  Do they picture me holding him captive on a potty while he screams and squirms to be released from my icy grasp?  Or, do they imagine my son naked, spraying his urine wildly in the air like a fire house, with no control over his bodily functions?  Maybe they think I am constantly scrubbing my carpet?  I honestly don’t know what they think, nor do I care.  I only wish they would all read this book!  Christine breaks EC into categories, or tracks, based upon the time and effort you wish to put into it.  You can practice EC on a full time basis.  A full time ECer would aim to catch (a term ECers use when referring to their child peeing on a potty, or into a diaper) virtually all of their child’s eliminations.  A part-time ECer wants to practice when they can, but probably won’t let their child be completely diaper free.  They would also probably not practice EC out of the home.  They may also only catch bowel movements, which for most children are the easiest to predict.  An occasional ECer may only catch 1 pee or poop a day, if that.  They may be working parents who have only evenings and weekends to attempt.  Or, they might just offer a potty break during prime times like in the morning or at a diaper change.  Between the three tracks there is tons of wiggle room.  That is what I love about EC!  My first day I caught 7 pees!  I was extremely intent on my new hobby.  But, life gets hectic.  If I am running errands I fall back to diapers and only attempt potty time 1-3 times that day.

My son practicing being diaper free. You may be able to see the pee in the potty.

The book is laid out based on these tracks, and also the time at which you have decided to start trying EC with your child.  I found it extremely helpful that the book was organized as a reference tool.  If you didn’t start until your child was in middle infancy, you could turn to that section.  She went over the basics all over again, briefly, and then offered suggestions on the best ways to begin EC with a baby at that age.  And, if you started from birth, you could skip to how to practice at that moment, without reading the introductions.  I had no idea there were so many ways to practice EC.  If you began from birth, she discussed the different holds you could use to position a newborn over a toilet or sink.  As the baby ages and potties can be used, there are tricks on how to make potty time fun.  All of these things will help in my journey.

When I had just barely read the introduction, I started my first “half” day of EC.  I had just gone to Babies R Us and purchased my little potty, and was ecstatic to begin using it.  I knew that day my son needed to have a BM.  I had him sitting on his potty, but he wanted to stand.  He kept his legs straight, and his knees locked.  This is not conducive to being a boy, and peeing.  When he did pee, he peed on me.  This, my friends, is what you call a “miss”.  Except, instead of not knowing he had to go, and letting it happen in a diaper or on the floor, it happened on me.  While I focused on the fact that he must have some more pee coming… he was focused on something else.  He secretly, and very quietly, with no facial expressions or grunts, crapped on the front of the potty, and on the floor.  I had no clue until I felt the crap- with my foot.

A few nights later I finally got the time to read more of my book.  I was feeling pretty bad about my only experience with EC.  My hopes were high that The Diaper Free Baby could give me some miracle answer to save my EC attempts in the future.  I wouldn’t call it a magic answer, but I did learn things that saved our EC journey, and put it back on track.  First, it suggested to try offering the potty at certain times of the day, when babies are most likely to pee.  Of course!  I offered the potty to my son the morning after I read this.  He peed!  Oh how exciting, I cannot even express how cool that was!  I continued offering him the potty after he awoke from naps, and after nursing.  By just offering at those times I caught 7 pees.  I missed about 4 in diapers which were placed on him, or under him.  The next tip: use “cues” to help baby understand when to potty.  Basically, every time your baby pees, even if it is in a diaper, you should make a “psst” noise, or say pee.  And for poops, a grunting noise, or say poop, or whatever you want.  Eventually, your baby will associate the noise to the action, and can then be “cued” to do it by the noise!  If you think that is crazy, it isn’t.  My son has a pavlovian response to the click of my nursing bra.  His mouth opens, and he gets into position!  Maybe I am imagining things, but after a few pees with the “psst” noise, I noticed he began contracting his stomach muscles and forced himself to pee when I cued him on the potty.  It wasn’t always like that, but it happens sometimes.

The book also lays out some essential tools you will need for practicing EC, and some not so essential, but helpful, items.  I remember my uncle telling me how odd it was to see babies and toddlers walking around China wearing crotchless pants.  Of course now I realize these babies were ECing, and the parents decided to make life easier by letting them be diaper free, but decided to keep their legs warm!  I already owned Baby Legs, which make diaper changing easy; they also make diaper free time easy as well!  Potties are mentioned as well.  I purchased the Baby Bjorn Little Potty.  She even gives a mini introduction to cloth diapers, and outlines the types and functions of the diapers available.

7-08-09 My son finally sat on the potty to pee!!!

To anyone even slightly curious about Elimination Communication, go to your library and check out The Diaper Free Baby.  Or, purchase your own copy.  It is an invaluable resource for someone starting EC, and a good read for anyone just curious!  By reading the book, you aren’t guaranteed success, and it won’t impart to you the perfect way to EC.  Every child is different, and so far I have been very lucky.  We may hit a potty pause, which is also addressed in the book.  For now, I am enjoying keeping my son comfortable and dry, and saving myself some diaper laundry.  The book also notes that just because you EC, if doesn’t guarantee that your child will be potty TRAINED at an earlier age than other children.  Your chances of that are very high, but not guaranteed.  So, if you are intrigued, please give EC a chance in your home.  Just try putting your child over your own toilet once, just once, first thing in the morning.  You may catch a pee, and be hooked!

*** I really debated about whether or not I should show this video I took of my son peeing on the potty.  I may take it down quickly, but I wanted to show what EC looks like.  A word or warning, there is full frontal baby nudity.  Obviously this is not a sexual thing, but if you are offended by a baby penis then don’t click on the video.  Also, I want to add that since taking this video he has learned to sit on the potty to pee.***

If you want to purchase a copy you can find it on amazon.com

hanging out by the potty

Mom, I just peed in the potty!

Bonus WW.

My son with his future wife. Awwww…

More Wordless Wednesday fun here

Yes, my husband wasted 4.5 ounces of my milk.  *cries*

BONUS WW.

Practicing being Diaper Free.  Notice… he has scooted mostly off of his “diaper.”

After taking a little break from EC over the weekend, this morning I was determined to get my son to his baby bjorn little potty first thing in the morning.  I knew this would be my best chance to catch a pee, since he normally pees as soon as he wakes up.  

He woke up at 8:30.  I heard the rustling, so I ran into his room and promptly undressed him.  He was airlifted to the little potty, which I had set up this morning.  A Sham Wow had been placed underneath, just in case.

I sat him on his potty.  He was more willing to “sit” but still tried to squirm, letting me know he was not 100% about the cold potty he was on, or his sitting.  But, within seconds he started to tinkle!  He was very close to the edge so some hit the pee guard was went over.  Still, he peed on, and *mostly* in the potty!  And a few minutes later he nursed, and right after I put him on the potty again.  This time, he made some gas so I was expecting a poo.  But instead he peed.  Which again, mostly when in the potty since he was in a semi standing position.

I am not worried about it not going all in!  I am just excited that I have been able to time our potty time correctly, twice.  One thing about EC is that it can get very discouraging after missing many times.  For now, I plan in leaving him diaperless for times right after he pees in the potty.  When he is at home, I will keep him in coverless diapers the other times.  This way if I miss one, I am able to tell right away and still mentally log what he was doing when it happened.  And what time it was.  Did he just eat?  How long since he was breastfed?  Etc.

I have saved 2 diapers already today!  What is better than cloth diapers for my baby and the environment………. NO DIAPERS!!!!