He is now 18 months. We almost always have him cloth training pants... which are pretty much like underwear with an extra absorbent pad in the center. The pee still leaks out a little down the legs and since they are cloth, they wet the pants too (if he's wearing pants- we don't wear them all the time at home). So when we go out, I bring an extra pair of pants and underwear.
I have to say that he hardly has accidents. It seems more like the accidents are more when he is trying to tell me that he has to go, but I am not paying attention. Or when we drive along ways, he gets fussy and I realize when I take him out that he was mad because he had to pee.
Lately he has been wetting one diaper at night. He is teething and therefore nursing more hence the wet diaper. It usually happens when he wakes up and squirms a little bit and then nurses. I usually check his diaper if he's been a little restless and if it's wet we change it right away. I hate the thought of him sitting in a wet cloth diaper all night.
Before the teething, he would usually not wet all night. I think his bladder is getting bigger now, finally.
As far as poop goes, we either catch them while he's peeing or we can see that he has to go and we take him. I am so proud that he's now able to sit on the little potty until he's done pooping. He used to want us to hold him over the potty. And I can ask him, 'are you done?', and he'll either shake his head and say 'no' because he still has to go. Or he'll stand up and say 'done'. It's nice to not have to break my back holding him over the potty.
Moving forward, I still would like him to tell me that he has to go. He has done so on occasion, but I think it's when he really has to go. Usually we just ask him if he has to go and his answer is almost always 'no' even if he does. So I guess I should see if he could take the initiative more. I'd also like to see if he would be more excited if he could stand on a stool by the potty and pee, but that's more of a job for dad :)
Even if he doesn't graduate or 'potty train' for a while, I have to say that EC is definitely worth it. There's lots of misses in the beginning and there's different phases and potty strikes but I love it. I can't wait to do it with my next child. It has been such a great communication tool and a learning experience for both of us.
I'm going to be bold and say, babies are so smart and they don't deserve to be left in poopy or wet diapers. I truly believe that all babies signal potty signs to their parents, we just sometimes forget the way they communicate... at least I forget sometimes.
3 comments:
Hurray for bigger bladders! I was excited when Michael started to hold it all night long, somewhere around 18 months. And after we did "potty training" when he was almost two, he started holding it longer during the day.
I'm glad Michael never had problems sitting on the little potty by himself. As soon as he could sit up without falling over (about 7 months?) he's always sat there until he was finished. Anyway, sorry it took Luke so long for that. I guess some babies won't even sit on the potties and they have to be held over the toilet. Ouch.
I definitely believe EC is totally natural and so good for babies. It might be a short cut for potty training for a lucky few people, but I think for most, it just makes potty training easier (and less stressful for the child) because they already know what to do. They just need the maturity to do it consistently on their own (it does help to be able to hold it longer, too).
Anyway, I actually think that while all babies make signals they have to pee (some are more subtle than others), they are really only communicating if they believe someone will respond to it. If no one ever responds to it, then they stop communicating it. They often even stop being aware they have to go.
I think that no matter how parents choose to deal with their child's elimination, I think it's only fair to the child to keep them as dry and clean as possible. I think EC is worth it even if it just means that the baby doesn't get poop smeared all over their bottom. Poop can become quite uncomfortable if it isn't cleaned off right away. Some parents say their kids don't mind being wet or dirty, but I wonder if they've just learned to disassociate from that part of their body?
I've never actually met anyone who does EC and don't know anything about it. What kind of cues would the baby give? I've tried holding my 15 month old over the potty but he tenses up and never does anything. I try to change his diaper as soon as it's wet or poopy though (we can definitely tell when a poo is happening. Maybe I should try the toilet next time he does that. Lol )
Hmm maybe I should have re-phrased it a little... I remember when Luke made signs to go potty when he was a baby. It was more like I just knew he had to go. Now, being so busy he only gets a little upset or angry right before he pees his pants. Usually he does something that makes me think he has to pee. But then there are times when he pees and I just didn't think about it. The only way to tell I think is to let them go around diaperless and see if he does anything before he pees. Maybe he is playing and stops for a second? Though, you have to be willing to clean it up ;) which somedays I'm really not.
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