Original: It's been two months since I have written, but not because of lack of desire. Wow, two kids is a lot of work. I could never imagine having more kids. My youngest son is now 7.5 months old. He has been on solid food for a few months now. He is sitting up and almost crawling. Most important to me, he is pooping on the potty. I hate changing and smelling dirty diapers, so here is how I avoid dirty diapers as much as possible.
Update: My baby is now 16.5 months old. It is not perfect "potty training" like most parents picture, but I am not changing 3 poopy diapers per day. Yuck! I feel like a winner if we get at least one poop in the potty each day. This baby has been very different than Son 1. I figured out that giving him potty treats to eat and keep him on the potty works. Son 1 was just happy with books or toys. Plus Son 1 didn't like poop in his diaper. But Son 2 is too busy to sit. Food works though. He keeps getting a treat if he sits there. Yay!
What am I talking about?I am not advocating potty training infants. If that is your thing, great. If not, great. I hate dirty diapers, and I would rather teach my kids to poop in the potty than in their diaper, so this is what I do.
What is it?
What I do is known in some circles as part-time "elimination communication." Call it what you want; I don't have to change dirty diapers. I save money on diapers, and my first son was happily potty trained going "number two" at 15 months old and fully potty trained at 2 years. Some of my friends would say, "Wow, he was trained fast." No, we worked at it for a while - like for a year. There is ot quick, perfect solution for potty training.
How I started?
I am a working mom, so my kids were in pull-ups and diapers most of the time, but when we could tell they needed to go, we took them to the potty. This created, no potty revolts at 2-3 years old. No fears of the potty. The hardest thing my son had to learn was to hold his pee long enough to make it to the potty. This came in time as his bladder grew and he gained more control of it.
This is something I mostly discovered on my own. When my first son was 8 months old, I noticed his interest in the potty, and being a teacher, I decided to direct his learning experience to go in the potty instead of in his diaper. Now with my second son, I am again doing the same thing. With my first son, after I discovered he actually understood what was happening, I began to research this concept and learned that I am not the only one who did this. That is when I learned about the trend of "Infant Potty Training" or "Elimination Communication." But this isn't what I called it or why I started.
You can do this several different ways. My favorite tip I heard was, " Do what works for you and your family." Full-time, part-time, not at all, #2 only, #1 only, or both.
What I recommend
I have noticed with my second son some patterns that make baby pottying more reasonable.
- I waited to try having him poop on the potty until he was eating solids and his bowel movements were more predictable. See him grunt, up to the potty we go.
- It was also helpful to have him sitting up first and even standing
- We use a potty seat that fits on our regular potty so that I don't have to dump anything (yuck).
- We use Huggies Little Movers Slip-On diapers or cloth pull-ups to make potty time easier
- Onzies and footsie pj's make this tough, so we use them less than most people
- We moved the changing table into the bathroom to make this easier
- I don't ask other family members to do this. They can if the want though.
More questions? Please ask.
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This post includes a few affiliate links. I get a few cents if you click on the link and purchase something from the provider. This helps reimburse me for my time of writing this blog and helps support my family. Also, the ads on the right of this page also help support my family when clicked on. We are not getting rich from this blog. I have made $3.00 so far in one year. I write for mostly personal pleasure and because I love to teach and share what I learn, but as a work from home mom, it would be nice to help make my time worthwhile. Much appreciated.
