Elimination Communication

On Saturday Nick, Oliver and I went to a class on Elimination Communication (EC). In EC, a caregiver simply offers the infant a potty whenever the baby exhibits signs that he or she needs to go to the bathroom, just as they feed the baby when he or she shows signs of hunger. Elimination signs may include squirming, fussing, passing gas, unexplained crying and a look of concentration. Once the potty is offered, communication with the caregiver is reinforced and the baby may start to purposely signal to the caregiver that they need to eliminate. As motor ability and independent behavior increases, the baby then takes over toileting. On average, EC babies are completely potty trained by 18 months. You can read more about EC at DiaperFreeBaby.org. And here are 75 benefits of EC.
Nick and I were intrigued with it and decided to give it a try. We began on Sunday and so far we've been successful in getting Oliver to eliminate in the potty at least 10 times a day. Right now we've mostly been using our bathroom sink, but I also ordered a tiny potty seat which should be arriving soon. We've already seen improvements, too. Oliver, who really isn't all that fussy, has been even less so, probably because his diaper is dry much more often. He also often smiles after using the "potty" and we've been using fewer diapers and wipes. We're learning to read his signs better and we also learned that babies don't like to eliminate while they're in carriers, so we've been using the moby for a good part of the day, and pottying him before and after he's in it.