T HE BA S I CS O F EC
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It’s simple to give EC a try. You can start
by following three basic steps: observing, cueing, and
catching.
To begin, consider choosing one time of day: after waking, or at bath time, or when the diaper would be off anyway, such as at a diaper change.
Observing and diaper-free time
While each child is unique and you should tune in to your own individual child, generalizations can be made for each developmental stage: • Newborns communicate the need to eliminate differently from older infants or toddlers. Just before a pee, a newborn may squirm, grimace, fuss, or cry—or, before a bowel movement, grunt or breathe heavily. Newborns also tend to eliminate more frequently than older children, so parents have plenty of opportunities to practice assisting their ba- bies on the potty and getting in sync with them. Babywear- ing is a fantastic and highly recommended way to keep your baby close and get in tune with her body language.
• Infants in middle infancy may have more regular and predictable elimination patterns than when younger, and their ability to sit up makes it an ideal time to introduce a low potty. They may signal the need to eliminate by tugging at their diapers or playing with a potty; becoming fussy or, conversely, going completely still and gazing off into the distance; grunting; or squirming.
• Older infants and toddlers, who love to imitate older children and adults, often enjoy using a real toilet and independently assuming more and more of their own elimination process. You can teach your child to make the American Sign Language sign for toilet (see
www.signing
savvy.com/sign/toilet/4765/1); also, be alert to many other signs that your newly mobile child will probably show, such as looking down at his legs or actually running to the bathroom. Some children will be able to verbally express the need to go. Even if your child is preverbal, you may find that he is consistently making the same sound to refer to elimination. Remain open to the variety of ways your child may communicate with you.
If possible, try to have a little diaper-free time on a regular
basis so you can observe your child’s body language when
about to eliminate. If you have a young infant, you might
try laying her down on an open prefold cloth diaper while she is in your arms. Using an unfastened diaper allows you to immediately know when your baby is eliminating and what signs she shows at those times. After naps or nursing sessions are good times to begin diaper-free time.
If you have an older, mobile baby or toddler, being
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diaper-free can mean that he wears cloth training pants, a coverless cloth diaper, pint-size underwear, or nothing at all. This makes it easy for you and him to notice when elimination is occurring. It’s particularly beneficial to use cloth if you have an older child who has always been diapered in disposables and may have lost his awareness of the sensation of elimina- tion. Cloth will help him regain his awareness and experience the pleasant sensation of being clean and dry.
Cueing and forming associations
While your baby is enjoying diaper-free time, be prepared to notice if she’s eliminating. When you notice her peeing or having a bowel movement, make a cue sound, such as psssss, so that she can form an association in her mind between the sound you make and the sensation of elimination. You will probably be amazed by how quickly your baby catches on to the connection between the cue sound and her elimination.
Catching in a bowl, potty, or toilet:
Once you have a sense of your child’s signals and patterns, you can catch his pee or bowel movement by using a container or potty under him, or holding him gently in your arms over the toilet while cueing him at a time when you sense he needs to go. Gradually, experience will help you hone your instincts. Just as, over time, you learn to tell when your child is hungry or tired or overstimulated, you will develop instinctive knowl- edge about your child’s elimination. You and your baby will be happy when you meet his needs in this way.
—Christine Gross-Loh
May–June 2010 |
mothering.com 73
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