Educate me please!

[tristens1mom]

I went to the Fire Dept. this morning to have my car seats installed for the new baby coming in ONLY 6 days!! (Woo-Hoo) but the lady who installed the seats for me asked about cding, (cause of my bumper sticker) and then she said how she wanted to cd, and how she had a homebirth & then how she does EC with her 4 month old & has had wonderful success. I just looked up what EC was about a month ago, and was like "no way" but now that I've met a person in real life who does it & loves it, I would like to know more. Can somebody tell me how to go about doing it, or a good book that will teach me, or if you have one that could possibly get to me before I go to the hospital, that would be great too! I'm super excited about this now! I just ordered Diaper Free on amazon.

I've read some on this board. What is a cue sound? And BBLP (I think)?

[MeCo7707]

Diaper Free - is a great book and the diaperfree.org is a great resource.

The cue sound is the sound you make when you put your child on the potty - it can be a word or a sound - whatever the parent prefers.

BBLP Baby Bourne Little Potty - they are flipping AMAZING (in my opinion anyway)

The best way to start is just try I suppose - I started when DD was 2 weeks old and I just put her on a starter potty which I got from theecstore.com while she nursed and when she would potty I would cue her - eventually I would do it before she nursed and then soon after whenever she seemed like she needed to go.

[Sakari]

I don't know much yet, but I just finished reading Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh and really liked it. My 4 mo and I are having lots of fun with EC! sometimes it goes better than others, but the times when we're really in tune with each other its amazing. I love it! and I feel SO good about being able to help her so that she doesn't have to use a diaper all the time.

[dumaine]

I got hooked just by putting my 5 week old over an old wipes box after a nap. Those are pretty easy catches and will get you really into it!

Another really comprehensive, awesome resource is Tribal Baby.

What is a cue sound?

As MeCo7707 said, it is the sound you make while your baby is pottying to get him/her accustomed to a sound to release to. For example, as young as a few months old, my son would wait until he was disrobed, positioned and I made the cue sound before he went potty. A very common sound is 'pssssssss' or 'sssss'.

Have a great EC journey! One of the coolest things is that something that is usually dreaded (diapering) becomes something very bonding and exciting! It is also a great tool to keeping a baby content. Sometimes babies are squirmy and uncomfortable right before and after they go in their pants. If you position them to go potty as soon as they squirm or give whatever sign they may give-it keeps them content and happier (in our case anyway!). The benefits are so numerous! Have fun!

[atomicfrock]

Congrats on the new FT birth, mama!!!! Start EC asap... it's easier the EARLIER you start. Baby will take to it, and your instincts will take over shortly thereafter! Just BF over a little soft sided plastic bowl (you won't need a BBLP for months, yet) and make the pssss sound when she goes. Easy as that! Email me with any specific questions if you like.

Carrie