Thinking of starting EC with my 4mo

[jeebee]

Out of all my kids, my 3rd one seems the most 'in tune' with her body at an early age. My others basically would poop like 6 times a day usually while they were feeding, whereas she grunts and gets uncomfortable and eventually poops, once every 2-3 days. She also has been a great sleeper from day 1, in tune with outside cues like darkness etc. From 6 weeks old she started sleeping 10-12 hours at night straight, and a few weeks after that I started noticing that most mornings she would be dry. We would put her down at 8pm, and at 11pm when we went to bed we would change her (she wouldn't wake up) and she would be dry. In the morning when she woke she'd be dry still (after 10 hours!) and I'd feed her and she would be completely saturated within 10 minutes of a feed. When I told my mom who is a midwife about this she was astonished that a small baby could go that long without peeing (without there being any problem!). Also I noticed a lot that as soon as I started to change her and she was exposed to air she would 'fountain'.

Anyhow, yesterday she had been dry for about an hour when it came to bath-time so I stuck her on the potty on a complete whim, and made a 'spspsps' noise (I do the same thing with my 2yo when she is taking a while to pee) and almost immediately she peed. I was pretty excited, and anyway in the morning when she got up, right away i took off her diaper to change her and stuck her on the potty again before feeding etc, and she did an enormous pee! I tried a few more times today when I changed her or had the time, and nothing else was caught.

But she seems happy when she sits on there and OMG is it ever cute to see those chubby rolls on the little potty!

I guess I was thinking that a lot of the things she was doing earlier like fountaining and holding her pee all night have diminished, and maybe this is because I haven't EC'd or really paid any attention to it. What do you think? Anybody else noticed these things in their babies? And is it worth trying to do EC now? Bear in mind I have also been pting a 2yo for the last 3 months . Maybe I am just a glutton for punishment.

[hypnicjerk]

I only have my one 8-month-old DD and so can't compare her to other babes/don't have a large sample size. She was ECed from birth as well, so I have no idea if she is particularly in tune with herself, but she behaved pretty much exactly how you described your DD. She used to stay dry through the night a lot more, and I think it was at around four months that I noticed she wasn't doing that nearly as much. I would guess it's probably that they're taking in a lot more milk? My DD from six months on (I think) would often potty once halfway through the night, and then need to nurse a lot in her last couple hours and often do a big pee or two right before waking (though I can sometimes dash her to potty right when she wakes and she'll still be dry).

All of this is to say that her not seeming to 'fountain' as much doesn't mean you shouldn't start to EC! And since you already tried it yesterday with success, why not continue? It's certainly not an all-or-nothing thing, either, so if you get stressed doing it while also PTing your 2-year-old, just take a break. Good luck!

[catsndognbaby]

I say keep going! I had to part-time EC my first because I was working part time... we did a little when she was newborn, and off and on after that. I started consistently working with her when she was about 10 mo (that's a little late to start ECing, but it worked out fine because we had been using the cues with her). There will be ups and downs, but just stick with it. Do what you can and don't stress out about it- they can sense your tension. Unfortunately I didn't stick with it with my 2nd one... and I wish I had- he's 2 now and with the 3rd on the way, I'm thinking I'll prob try to EC the new LO and potty train my DS around the same time.... we'll see how that goes.

[mamashhon]

I could have written this!! I thought EC was crazy talk, but im starting it with DS3 today because of all the reasons you stated. He never pees when he sleeps, he hates being wet, cues before he goes, cries if he has a diaper on and usually waits until it's off to pee. He's 4mo.

[chandni3]

Go for it and just remember, it's not all or nothing. It's not potty-training, it's communicating with your baby and giving them the option to go in the potty or toilet. It's also respecting them when they don''t want to sit on the potty. It's also ok when you're busy and can't take her (like making dinner, tending to another child). One day try naked time for a while and watch what signs she gives before she goes and when you see her going make the pssss noise. I find the hardest part is to remember the misses don't matter. I always feel frustrated with myself, especially if I should have known she needed to go. But, it doesn't matter. I"m already using way less diapers and most poops go in the potty. If I gave up I'd still be using diapers anyway.