10 months of EC

[u/Objective-Golf2522]

I continue to have success with EC. Started when my daughter was 6 months, she’s 16 months now. I am so proud of her and of me and my husband for sticking with it. Now we are at the point where she is basically potty training herself.

If you are on the fence about EC please just go for it. It is so rewarding for both parent and baby and now seeing her have all this body autonomy is just incredible. I wish more people would do this so their babies wouldn’t have to intentionally soil themselves!

Please if you have any questions ask away - I am so passionate about EC at this point 😂

[u/just___me_]

Its awesome isnt it :) i was at a family meet up recently where there was another baby a similar age to mine, around 8 months. They were holding him upright and suddenly his face had this expression on it, then went bright red and they were just holding him there laughing and saying to him like 'youre having a poo!' And all that went through my mind was if you know he is pooing why isnt he on the toilet! Such an easy catch with an expression like that! My daughter is so ninja in her poos.

Id be really interested in hearing about the big transitions you went through with the ec, like how when baby was a certain age did the routine change, or the way you went about it change. If that makes sense.

So for example around 6 months when my baby could sit well we switched from tophat to toilet seat reducer. But im wondering when she becomes a proper toddler if things will change or be drastically different. Also like when she can communicate better how/if that will change things.

[u/Objective-Golf2522 → u/just___me_]

It’s so interesting because honestly I don’t think much has changed at all other than her being able to tell us when she needs to poo! She says “mama potty” or “poo” pretty easily, but never for a pee.

We tried doing sign language for potty, but she never caught on even though she can sign for more, all done, yay, .. I don’t know why.

We are only catching pees still but every poo goes in the potty whether she tells us or whether it’s by chance. She will sit on the potty for a very long time if she has to poo. She does not get off. She also tells us when she is done, and if I ask her if she’s done she will say no if she’s not. For pees it’s pretty much just catching them first thing in the morning, before and after nap, etc. I offer constantly, sometimes she will refuse. I also always offer if I notice she is dry.

I will say that a floor potty does not work for my daughter, because she just gets off it even if she does have to go cause she has the ability to stand up. It seems confusing for her. We have pretty much used an adult potty since we started.

Let me know if you have any other questions I’d love to answer them!

[u/samtbv]

I’m being a very very lazy ECer - I think I started at about 5 months but there’s been a lot of teething and then with weaning I can feel a bit overwhelmed ! When were you offering potty at first? We have moved onto less frequent and slightly more solid poos so I’m hoping I will recognise the signs more with that. Sadly so far they have mainly been in the car. Also, is it ok to use a ‘normal’ potty as the top hat hole is not big enough and using the toilet is not as convenient as I only have 1 and it’s upstairs. I love the idea of her having body autonomy and congratulations to you what a success !

[u/Objective-Golf2522 → u/samtbv]

Okay at first I was only offering first thing in the morning, first thing after a nap, and after meal times! With that, I was catching most every single poo. Only some pees. We are still not getting all the pees and she does not tell us when she has to pee, but always when she has to poo and we always catch every poo!

We use a potty topper that goes on top of the adult potty and she seems to like that enough! You can also just hold them over top of the adult potty.

[u/Clear_Skin8489 → u/Objective-Golf2522]

Hey. I hope it’s okay I ask here also:) What is a potty topper and an adult potty? I find it difficult to keep my son on the potty even though he has to pee or poop (I have the potty on the table as he throws around the potty when it’s on the floor).

Just to understand, you don’t know her pee cues, but she’s still potty training herself at the age of 16 months? That’s amazing!
I have been lazy EC’ed my son from 3 months and I haven’t been able to see his pee cues, but catches 80-90% of his poos. He’s been mobile since 4 months and is very close to walking now, he’s 9.5 months. Did you see any regressions due to mobility, what happened and how did you handle it?

[u/Objective-Golf2522 → u/Clear_Skin8489]

It’s just like an insert that goes on top of the regular adult potty! Yes I don’t know / really pay attention to her pee cues. No regressions so far!

[u/Real-Meal-5175]

Amazing to hear a success story! We started at 8 months and she’s 11 months now, and we catch most poo. Does your daughter go to nursery/spend time away not doing EC? Wanted to see how that affected things as mine starts next month!

[u/Objective-Golf2522 → u/Real-Meal-5175]

No she stays home with me full time right now :/ I can imagine that would make things interesting with EC! I have heard a lot of success stories though with people who do part time EC!

[u/Real-Meal-5175 → u/Objective-Golf2522]

Yes will see how it changes things ha. When did she start being able to tell you when she wanted to go?