Elimination Communication... anyone trying this?

[Mel32]

My little boy is 7 weeks tomorrow and I put him on the potty this morning and we got our first pee in it! I'm so impressed

It's based on the fact that babies pee when you take their nappies off anyway so if you allow them to go to the toilet and give them a sound and or sign to associate with it like 'sss' they will learn to go when you make that sound. Also (and an important point) it doesn't have to be done full time and can be done with or without nappies. A combination of temperature change and holding them in a squat position can make them go but obviously no pressure if they don't.

It's also referred to as baby lead potty training.

Please don't misunderstand me, there is no pressure on him and I'm not trying to make him grow up too quickly as I believe this is a practice that is carried out succesfully in many places all over the world. Plus if I can give him the opportunity to sit in clean dry underwear sooner, I think it's a good thing!

Anyone have any experience with it?

 

[BunnyN]

We did something like that with DD starting from 4 months. She loved sitting on the potty and loved being praised for doing pees. I put her on 1st thing every morning because she always did a pee then. From a little over a year old she started doing all her poos on the potty. She always hated having a wet or dirty nappy which helped. It took her longer to be fully potty trained but it really cut down on the nappies we got through. And not having to clean dirty nappies was great. She is 3 now and still uses a nappy at night but not in the day.

 

[northerngirl]

This sounds really interesting! I might start something like that with Felix as recently every time I've taken his nappy off to change it he's crawled off and done a poo on the carpet haha.
Also he did a wee in his bumbo chair the other day when he had his nappy off so maybe this is a sign that a similar approach might work?
Will be reading more into it xo

 

[Selina13]

Wow this sounds really interesting, my little boy is 15mt so might give it a try with him! X

 

[Mel32]

it is amazing check youtube , I have read that its more difficult to start after 6months but if your baby is doing that when you take off the nappy anyway then maybe you would have some success?

as a side point my baby looked really happy when I held him the potty which kinda spurred me on, it would be hard if he hated it. I'm taking a very no pressure approach because he's only tiny. I hope I stick to it.

 

[kitten2014]

Hi guys interesting thread, we've just bought a potty and sat Phoebe on it once to familairise herself with it, the main reason we think she's getting ready is she had a really bad nappy rash two weeks ago and nomatter how long she had nappy free time she didnt wee or poo but the second it was back on she did so this shows awareness of lack of clothing so perhaps she is getting ready. She hasnt quite mastered the signs for wee and poo (baby sign language) but tries to copy me when I say it to confirm thats what she's doing...Im also going to take the no pressure approach and with summer almost upon us and her almost walking (took first steps last week) it seems the perfect time to try with no nappy for a while...

 

[Mel32]

hi kitten, sounds like a good idea!! I can't say how successful it is on older babies, I've heard its harder to implement but it seems like your little one def has an awareness of going to toilet if she is waiting like that. Not sure how you get her to do the opposite and pee without a nappy though

re the nappy rash I'm not experienced as I'm a ftm, but have you tried water wipes instead of others? They are pricey so I buy in bulk from amazon but supposedly 99.9% water and 0.01% of some kind of extract I think. I wish id invented them, they must make a mint since its mostly water haha!

xx

 

[russellmuscle]

I seen one of the celebs posting about this the other day - her wee boy is a few month now and he has his little potty fitted to the pan and every day they put him on and he pees.

I dunno if Id like anything like that, although there is no pressure - I think the point is to try make the transition to toilet training easier - which then can sometimes the child have a relapse.

I read this article a while back - and not to be judgey merely to inform as I dont really have a huge stand on it - we didnt do it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-hodges-md/potty-training_b_1424826.html

I think if its for you and your child great but we just waited until he was ready and giving us signs before commencing.

xxxx

 

[Mel32]

That's an interesting point, I guess it's just one of those choices each family need to make. I suppose there's potential for all kinds of issues and relapses on a child by child basis.

My intention is only some gentle encouragement and then I guess another slow and gentle transition to proper potty training (i.e taking himself to the potty).I appreciate the issues raised in the article it's something to consider I guess. I'm only using a potty and not lifting him over the toilet so I thought that would be a natural progression later on that would have happened anyway with toilet training.

Till now I've read positive views and heard of lots of happy babies so it's one of those decisions that's maybe difficult, to make.

I hope I've not raised a controversial thread!!

 

[russellmuscle]

This forum wouldn't be a forum without differing of opinions or choices. We are all human and entitled to our own ways.

xxxx

 

[Phoenix85]

I'm going to be trying it too.

My aim has nothing to do with early toilet training, only that babies don't really like to be in a wet or dirty nappy. In other cultures it's normal to not have nappies at all and the baby is always held someplace acceptable when they need to pee or poo.

 

[BunnyN]

I seen one of the celebs posting about this the other day - her wee boy is a few month now and he has his little potty fitted to the pan and every day they put him on and he pees.

I dunno if Id like anything like that, although there is no pressure - I think the point is to try make the transition to toilet training easier - which then can sometimes the child have a relapse.

I read this article a while back - and not to be judgey merely to inform as I dont really have a huge stand on it - we didnt do it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-hodges-md/potty-training_b_1424826.html

I think if its for you and your child great but we just waited until he was ready and giving us signs before commencing.

xxxx

There are some interesting points in the article but a lot of it doesnt really make sense to me. It seems to be based more on his personal feelings and prehaps misconceptions about how it works rather than science or research.

The way I understand it the point of Elimination Communication is that you learn the cues of when your baby needs the toilet and respond to them so its not like you are making them hold. With DD we didnt do it "propperly" but I just started by choosing times when I thought she would pee and sitting he on the potty. She could ask verbally for the potty at just over a year old and we left the potty accessible to her so she could sit on it by herself when she wanted. We gave her a lot of nappy off time which did lead to accidents (so maybe not so great if you have carpets in the house) but gave her the chance to use the potty as she wanted.

The only young children I've known personally with bladder infections or constipation from holding problems were still in nappies but I suppose it could happen to either. It is a good point to be aware of situations like nursery that could be an issue. Obviously holding too long wouldnt be a good thing but babies do hold naturally whether they use nappies or not. Its not like they dribble urine constantly. A lot of babies dont pee all night and only wet their nappy when they wake in the morning. If you provide a potty they will pee on it instead. And I'm sure lots of mothers notice that their LOs wait until the nappy comes off to pee, lol.

I havent done it with DS because with a small age gap I had my hands too full. It does take a bit of extra time and attention.

 

[russellmuscle]

I seen one of the celebs posting about this the other day - her wee boy is a few month now and he has his little potty fitted to the pan and every day they put him on and he pees.

I dunno if Id like anything like that, although there is no pressure - I think the point is to try make the transition to toilet training easier - which then can sometimes the child have a relapse.

I read this article a while back - and not to be judgey merely to inform as I dont really have a huge stand on it - we didnt do it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-hodges-md/potty-training_b_1424826.html

I think if its for you and your child great but we just waited until he was ready and giving us signs before commencing.

xxxx

There are some interesting points in the article but a lot of it doesnt really make sense to me. It seems to be based more on his personal feelings and prehaps misconceptions about how it works rather than science or research.

The way I understand it the point of Elimination Communication is that you learn the cues of when your baby needs the toilet and respond to them so its not like you are making them hold. With DD we didnt do it "propperly" but I just started by choosing times when I thought she would pee and sitting he on the potty. She could ask verbally for the potty at just over a year old and we left the potty accessible to her so she could sit on it by herself when she wanted. We gave her a lot of nappy off time which did lead to accidents (so maybe not so great if you have carpets in the house) but gave her the chance to use the potty as she wanted.

The only young children I've known personally with bladder infections or constipation from holding problems were still in nappies but I suppose it could happen to either. It is a good point to be aware of situations like nursery that could be an issue. Obviously holding too long wouldnt be a good thing but babies do hold naturally whether they use nappies or not. Its not like they dribble urine constantly. A lot of babies dont pee all night and only wet their nappy when they wake in the morning. If you provide a potty they will pee on it instead. And I'm sure lots of mothers notice that their LOs wait until the nappy comes off to pee, lol.

I havent done it with DS because with a small age gap I had my hands too full. It does take a bit of extra time and attention.

Yeah I have seen it being done the celeb on twitter mentioned her boy doesn't pee at night at a few months old.. I still get a wet nappy and Jackson is dry completely at daytime and he's 3 so no experience of that.

I didn't mean to post any science or research because I haven't took a huge stand on it as I says. Just that I read that article and actually it made me question it. As previously I hadn't heard any negative side which there usually is to a lot we do so I personally found it a good read and wanted to share that. I'm sure if you were actually trying or going to be trying this meathod then you'd probably go right into the research and weigh up if it's the right choice for you.

We didn't do it, if you wanna do it great. Each mummy has their own way.

xxxx

 

[BunnyN]

I did actually think it was interesting. Certainly something to be aware of. Thanks for posting it. Its always good to hear both sides.

 

[Mel32]

Popped him on this morning and got another pee and some big beaming smiles straight after ; I don't know if it's a coincidence because he is still learning the smiling process.

I think I'll continue on a part time basis for now so he knows he can pee in a nappy too.
Thanks for posting the article russell

 

[Lucyboo]

My LG got given a potty set for Christmas. Anyway. We always sit her on it before bathtimes. No pressure. 9 times out of 10 she will do a wee. Couple of poops on it too. She loves sitting on it while i run her bath. She is now 11 months. I think doing this way helps make them less scared when potty training fully as i know so many ppl whos little ones just refuse to potty train/have difficulty. Im not planning on fully potty training any time soon. Just knowing she associates with it is amazing so young.