Integrating Elimination Communication

Integrating Elimination Communication

Very few of us are going to end up being die-hard ECers even if we do start out that way because for the most part it isn't very practical considering our highly scheduled modern life. Even so, there are some very good reasons to practice EC on some level with your baby. I believe it's a skill every new parent should acquire and work on.
The first reason is that it facilitates getting a baby out of diapers for a portion of the day. At the very least, you will be occasionally holding your baby over a container for a few minutes, rather than taking off one diaper and immediately putting on another. Even a few minutes of airing out can do a lot of good for baby's skin and help prevent diaper rash that's caused by too much exposure to wet diapers. You'll also be trying to keep baby in a dry diaper as much as possible, which will also help with diaper rash. More likely, you'll be taking the diaper off your baby for longer periods at a time. If your baby does happen to develop a diaper rash, you'll find the best way to deal with it is often to just give the baby lots of bare-bottom time. If you're already practicing EC, you'll be more comfortable with that.

The second reason is that even though you won't be catching every pee or poop your baby makes, your baby will start holding pee longer and therefore when she does pee, it will be higher volume. This will also help baby stay dry in her diaper for longer, and you'll be able to gradually go longer and longer between changes. Overall you'll use fewer diapers, which can make getting around easier. Babies who are ECed will very often develop the ability to stay dry all night most of the time fairly early. You can take them potty in the morning or if you're too late, change their diaper with the knowledge that it got wet recently. Given that cloth diapers can sometimes leak, having a baby who can stay dry all night can be a real bonus.

The third reason is that when it's time for complete potty learning, all you do is ramp up what you've been doing from the beginning. Your child's potty training will become the final stage in the EC journey rather than being this brand new, possibly intimidating, milestone. This can make the potty learning time less formidable for both of you.

Finally, EC is fun. There's nothing like the triumphant feeling you get when baby is clean and dry, you take her to the potty, and she gleefully produces a double whammy. Baby enjoys not having to soak in that even for a second, and you can mentally count up the number of diapers you've saved that day or week. A diaper saved is a diaper earned, right?

Elimination communication is for everyone, not just the committed environmentalists or crunchy mamas. Even conventional parents along with their babies can have fun and benefit from a little EC.