Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!

* Who takes baby to the toilet?

Me usually, but Daddy does if he's home too...DS8 will often take him when he wakes in the middle of dinner preps, and DD4 has taken him too...but tends to just leave him on there, so when he crawls off- the potty tips up, and the piddle goes on the floor!

We've certainly had the odd time when T refused to go to the toilet- usually because he didn't need to go, but occasionally because he did- but wouldn't.

Nothing really prepared us though for a real "Potty Pause".

It started one Saturday morning when he absolutely would not be held "in position"...not on the big potty, or the infant one, or the toilet...he didn't want to know about cueing, and squirmed whenever I even thought about takign him to the toilet.

We had a full day when he only peed in pants or on the floor...the odd one ended up on lino, in the kitchen or the toilet/laundry...but most were puddles on the carpet.  It was all so very strange, but by far the worst thing was wondering if that was the end of EC for us.

I didn't mind the messes, though it did start to get a bit annoying...I wondered if we needed to go back to nappies, or at least training pants.  But pride got in the way- after all...this is the baby who hasn't worn a nappy at home since he was 7 weeks old!

That night was our worst ever...he refused the potty at *every* opportunity, but didn't hold the piddles in- the bed was soaked in the morning...through the night I just added blankets and nappies over the wet patches and tried to sleep.  I woke up hoping that was hte ned of it...

I was out-of-luck...Sunday proved to be exactly the same.  Every time I sensed Tommy needed to pee, I would offer the potty or toilet, or even the garden- but he would not.  We went through something like 12 pairs of pants, and that is not counting the times he peed another time while I was getting new pants for him!

I started to wonder if this was more than a potty pause, if perhaps he was sensitive to something we were eating.  That night was dry- I kept him on me all night. 

Then on Monday, after 2 days of absolutely no catches (3 overnight)...we went back to normal...or at least, our new normal- we did better at 2 motnhs than 7...but the refusals stopped- Hooray!

Since then he has been holding on longer between piddles, and seems to be goign to the potty himself quite often.  We went to a show at hte town hall yesterday, and I went prepared- with some training pants and a spare pair of pants in a little bag.

We stopped on the way for an errand, but had to wait a long time...he was screaming, so I took him for a pee in a bush.  He was still just in pants when we arrived.  I had him i nthe sling, while we got something to eat, then waited for the show.  I took him to the toilet once before it started, then went to put on his training pants (just in case)...but they were soaked...a water bottle had been put in the bag without being closed.

I was pretty nervous about being in a theatre with a nappy-free baby...but I took him to the toilet twice when he started to squirm, and get a bit noisy (he also stared intently at me).  Both times he went, and I was happy then to put him on the floor to crawl u pthe stairs for a little while.

We went out for more food after the show, and he remained dry in the highchair, then went for a pee in the potty (in the car)...so we were out for 7 hours without incident, and without back-up.  We have done this several times but this one was really good because I wondered how he would go after our Potty Pause.

 

 

* Age of EC tot: 8 months

 

* We started at...cueing at birth, first attempt at catching & catch at 15

days, really beginning at 5 weeks, nappy-free at home at 7 weeks, nappy free

at 12 weeks.

 

* Generally speaking we are doing...hmmm, frankly- terrible!  I should say, in some ways we are doing terrible!  He has only pooped on the potty twice in the last month or so.  Generally I know when he needs to go, and he seems to need me to not be around.  What I do is take him to the laundry when I think (know) he needs to go, then leave him standing up by the door…I leave the room, and come back a minute later to find he has pooped, so I clean it up and wipe his baby bottom.

 

If I stay with him he generally won’t go…and today he started going in the lounge, and I interrupted him- which did not impress him *at all*.

 

It seems bizarre to suppose he wants to do this in private, and yet it is exactly how it seems.  It is not really problematic…but I can just see him squatting to go at someone else’s place, or a shop or something…because it is so habitual now.

 

He is happy to try first thing in the morning, but rarely needs to go then…still, I hope one day soon he will become happy enough to poop in the usual way :0)

 

I have some days when all 12 (!) pairs of his pants are in the wash (probably not all from the same day…but you get the idea!)…the days when he absolutely will not go on the potty, but will pee right after he gets off.

 

* How do you know your baby has to go / when do you offer baby a wee?

timing: Within the first 20 minutes of him waking up...he lets me know if he

*doesn't* want to go.

signs: Sometimes he crawls over to the potty, or he will crawl to me.

 

signals: I get signs and signals muddled.  My best friend is doing baby signing with her bub, and I thought about it…then decided for the couple of things it would be really useful for, I am happy enough to wait for him to speak :0)

intuition: Only in the “oh, I was just thinking he might need to go” sense...ie: after the fact.

 

* Is there a difference for poos and pees? What cues do you use?

 

"Ssssss-pssss" for pee, imitating his grunts, and raspberry noises for poos. 

 

* Which positions/receptacles do you use?

 

Tommy seems to dislike the toilet now, so we mainly use the big potty…but I have to distract him to put him on it usually.  It’s good though, because it is generally in the same place, and he will crawl to it (though not nearly as often as I would like)…and he can sit on it for longer, with a book or toy- whereas the toilet means he is in my arms (around 9kg).  I still use the infant potty through the night.

 

* Nappies, training pants or other?

 

Still nothing, though I sometimes wonder about the logic of that!  Still, it seems the best option…I sold my cloth nappies when he was 4 months old (because obviously we didn’t need them anymore, lol)…and I have no money for biodegradable nappies…I could afford the cheaper ones, but he reacts to them ,and I don’t feel happy about using them…so, I carry on with lots of pairs of pants.  I figure I would only be changing nappies anyway- perhaps not as often, but I don’t like the idea of him sitting in his pee, so I am happy with the arrangement for now…though I daresay other people who know what we are doing probably think I am crazy!  I’ve seen EC working beautifully, and I think I will again :0)

 

If he is in the sling, I don't have him in anything but trousers- he has

*never* peed on me in the sling.

 

* What are you doing at night?

 

He sleeps with us, currently feeding every 1-2hrs.

I put him on the potty when he pulls off from a feed, or squirms, etc (just about always after he has fed for 4 minutes). We

are having great success at night- even on the days when he seems to refuse the potty at every offering.

 

* Who takes baby to the toilet?

 

Me and DH…occasionally the older kids, especially if Tommy wakes up while I am making dinner.

 

* Catches or Misses - how many and what times are especially

interesting?

 

 

* Other insights:

The first times I put him in his highchair he peed- in hindsight I could

always see that he was signalling , but didn't get it at the time. This

week he has not peed in there at all.

 

* What's your next EC goal? (& how did you go with your last goal?)

 

To be more intuitive…this has been my standard goal.  Mostly, we just get on with life with 3 kids, including one nappy-free baby…I just don’t think about it really.  If I notice he’s wet, I change his pants and usually apologise to him for not noticing he needed to go.

 

I think I would like to try to remember to do the toilet sign, so I could get him copying.  Tonight he said “pssss” in his highchair, and I got very excited, but when I put him on the potty he just crawled off.  That said, he has had the same pair of pants the last 6 or 7 hours…so it’s all good really :0)

 

 

Around 8 months, we started doign a potty "sign" when we mentioned it...the sign was shaking our right fist (whole arm) three times.  DS seemed to get it right away, and begun signing to us that he needed to go to the toilet- especially when he was in his highcahir.  Occasionally he will use his Left hand (as in the photo above), but he usually uses his right one, the same as we had done.

Sometimes, however, he makes the sign, we question if he'd like to go- he makes the sign again ,and we put him on the potty- where he instantly stands up to get off...lol.

It is cool all the same. 

He also sometimes picks the potty up and looks at me if he needs to go...but more often than not, he wil lrefuse to go, and do a puddle on the floor (or in his pants...he plainly knows he needs to go, signals the fact, but that doesn't mean he wnts help in going.

 

DST9mo got grommets this morning...he wasn't allowed milk after 2am, so that was hard going. He
woke up for the day at 4:45am, peed in the potty...I dressed him in training pants, and offered the potty several times, but he didn't want
to go.

His operation went well, he woke up dry, and he finally got his long breastfeed at 10am. He still didn't want to pee, and didn't go until we
stopped at McDonald's for some water and chippies (and a little play) at 11am.

When the nurse asked all the questions- one was, "Has he peed recently?"...I was surprised, but thought since she was an Asian nurse, perhaps it
was just interesting to her. I said no, he hasn't peed since he woke up, he doesn't wear nappies and his pants are dry. But I noticed later
she had written he was wearing nappies :0(

I didn't really get to tell anyone that he wasn't wet all, and really wished I could have...when I did mention he hadn't peed yet, and
realised he was squirming, I said I needed to take him to the toilet, but could tell the nurse didn't get my meaning at all...darn.

Anyway, he is asleep and happy now, and we are looking forward to having a much happier boy!

* Age of EC tot: 10 months today!

* We started at...birth (cueing and observing), first catch on first attempt (15 days), nappy-free at home from 7 weeks, and full-time from 12 weeks.

* Generally speaking we are doing...wonderful, and not so wonderful. For instance, we went out for 7 hours with our completely dry nappy-free baby yesterday, and he had a dry night (as usual), including going 6 hours without a pee- bed at 11:30pm (peed before a BF), 2am BF, 4am BF, 6am BF and pee, 7am BF.

At home it is a real muddle...it is cause for great excitement if he will actually sit on the potty. If we go in to the toilet, he wants to try to flush it, or pull the flannels off the top, or unroll the toilet paper (lol)...he hasn’t peed in the toilet (at home) for weeks.

All of it doesn’t matter though- it's easily enough managed, and I figure it is still easier to change a pair of pants than a nappy...and I know very quickly when he is wet, so he isn’t sitting in it. Btw, he doesn't seem at all bothered that he *is* wet. DD (no ec'ed) was very fussy about a droplet of pee on her skin, but neither of my boys have cared.

* How do you know your baby has to go / when do you offer baby a wee?

(optional:)

timing: I forget! Usually if I notice he is dry, I *should* take him, but generally I don't...and the next time I look he's wet.

signs: He occasionally does the potty sign we invented (shaking his R fist three times)...but he will very rarely actually stay seated even after doing the sign. He stands straight up and walks away, then pees within a minute. I know he is telling us, and telling us accurately, but actually sitting still is another thing altogether.

signals: He has brought us the potty 2 or 3 times, but again, he won’t sit on it more than a second, and then pees somewhere else.

intuition: I think my intuition went out the window a long time ago.

* Is there a difference for poos and pees? What cues do you use?

"ssss-psssss" for pee, "ennnn" for poo...he usually still waist for me to say it, because I will (rather too often) say ,"Oh, hang on a minute Bubba, I haven't got you on right" (lol)...I think he is getting slightly too big for the infant potty, but not entirely sure what to do next, since it is so easy at night.

We had months of all poos in the potty, but that was a long time ago now. The best I can hope for (at this stage) with a poo, is that he will do it when we are in the laundry.

* Which positions/receptacles do you use?

At home, an ordinary potty, or the garden now it’s warmer. At night the infant potty. When out, either an infant potty we keep in the car, or a public toilet (or friends' toilet).

* Nappies, training pants or other?

Training pants if I am going to put him down to play, nothing if he is the sling (still never been peed on *ever* in the sling). I have noticed that since he started walking he is better if I put him down in training pants...whereas when crawling, he was likely to be wet if I checked him- he is now never wet!

* What are you doing at night?

At night, he sleeps in ordinary PJ's between us...my current set-up is mattress protector (thin fabric, not very protective at all!), shower curtain (nylon), doubled over thick towel, then sheets. I usually put a nappy under him, but if he were to wet, he wouldn't do it where he was...it is always near me- so I have stopped waterproofing dh's side of the bed.

Nights are wonderfully successful- the only time they are not, is if we have had a slip-up on our diet. Tommy is very sensitive to dairy, wheat and soy...I think it's wheat that makes him pee the bed.

* Who takes baby to the toilet?

Me or DH...I can’t wait until he takes himself, but right now that day looks a looooong way off!

* Catches or Misses - how many and what times are especially interesting?

Piles of misses at home...this morning, for instance, after a lovely dry night, he has already gone through 3 pairs of pants. 2 while I was still not wanting to get out of bed, and 1 while I was on the computer. He's fallen asleep feeding now, which means he will probably have another sleep after lunch some time.

* Other insights:

I still love EC, even though we are rather unsuccessful at home. We catch most of the wake-up pees, nights are wonderful, but I think I probably miss most everything else. Not because I am not aware he needs to go, more because he just won't sit down. He also is unlikely to pee if I cue and he is not sitting down. We can have days when the potty isn’t used at all :0( but still I figure we are on a journey, and there is no reason to suppose he will never do it again.

* What's your next EC goal? (& how did you go with your last goal?)

I don't have one... I think I would like to have DST10mo sit on the potty, but it is out of my hands really since I have no intention of using force.

I could aim for 1 poo a week in the toilet! I have worked out that he won't poo in his pants, so as soon as they are off (say, because I am getting new ones after a pee accident) he will poo then...and goodness knows how many times I have been aware of that fact, but still left him nakey-butt in the lounge while I go to get new pants from our room....I seem to be a slow-learned (lol).

* A tip for this age/stage?

Same as always...snuggle them as much as they will allow, precious little people. I thought all the way along that EC will be easier when he begins to walk, then realised when he was standing well that there was probably no reason for that idea...and I think now, it has made no difference at all (except that he doesn't pee as much).

Every day, I clean up the same mess at least 3 times (he likes to pull out all the plastics from the cupboard, all the stainless steel bowls from a shelf in the kitchen, all the hair ties, flannels and soaps from the bathroom, as many containers of small toys as he can reach, all the PS2 games off another shelf, all the books of our bedroom shelf, and all the stuff of my bedside cabinet). I don’t know why I even clean it up, when I know very well I will have to do it at least 1 more time! I have stopped washing all the bowls, etc, now, and figure when I use them I will wash them first!

I *could* put gates up, as everyone keeps telling me, but I like that he is free to go where he pleases, and I did the same with my first 2- it doesn't last forever, and with them, they could also open all our drawers- DST10mo can't (hurrah!), so at least my tea-towels aren’t getting strewn through the house. He has stopped pulling out all the encyclopaedias, which used to be his daily (or more) task.

He is so much fun, and I love having a toddler-baby in the house again...you can forgive them anything because they are just so cute! He loves being outside, and I can’t wait for the warmer weather so he can be without pants more.

 

Not wishing to tempt fate or anything, but since I wrote that update around 9am- DST10months is in the same pair of pants!

7 hours, at home mostly, and he has been happy to go on the potty- only 3 times, but that's all he's needed in all that time, despite lots of breastfeeding, and water to drink as well.

I took him outside with his pants off when I knew he needed to poop, which has been our way for a long time now...I think tomorrow I might just offer the potty instead!

I also let him hop in the shopping trolley with the big kids today, where I normally put him in the sling (because I know we won't have any accidents there)...I put him in training pants when we got in the shop, and he was dry after is breastfeed when we got home...hurrah!

 

Here are some good websites to find out more...

This is the one that really made the EC lightbulb turn on for me...

http://www.bornpottytrained.com/

Thsi is written by Chandra from Oznappyfree, who has done many magazine articles/radio talkshows, and has written *very* comprehensively about her journey with her nappy-free baby...

http://www.tribalbaby.org/

These are links to Yahoo Groups where people discuss EC...

This one is for parents in Australia and New Zealand...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OzNappyfree/

This one is an International (big) list- go on Digest to start with :0)...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eliminationcommunication/

These are excellent books to read in preparation for having a baby, or beginning EC:

The Continuum Concept

http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Health_Wellbeing/Mind,_Body_Spirit/New_Thought/product_info/117637/

Diaper-Free Baby

http://www.junglemama.co.nz/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/41?osCsid=6c2460cc005d9986e5f8b83182b06d5b

 

I just posted this on Oznappyfree...

 

Hello everyone

I won't have long while the tiny is asleep, but wanted to let people know
about the great links in the big EC list (sorry I haven't checked if there
are some already here ).

I've just accepted that DST 10 months will go on the potty if he feels
like it and that is that. It has bugged dh immensely, as he feels we should
take him when we needs to go regardless, and that we have in effect- trained
him to pee in his pants. I scoffed at the idea initially and have just been
plodding (happily) along. But I read this...



*** If all is going as it should, baby gets diaper-untrained. I thought this
was fascinating, considering how western children get diaper-trained.
Basically, she was saying that after 9 months or so, her children couldn't
go in their pants, even if they wanted to. For illustration, she asked if I
could pee, right then, in my clothes. Of course not. Same with the kids. The
controls against wetting oneself are strong, and should be present by then.
***

and thought, yes- I have been rather lazy about it all really. I got so
used to refusals, that I stopped offering- just changed pants when they were
wet. So, I tried a new thing the other day.

After I put new pants on DST10 months, I set the oven timer for 20 minutes. See,
if he's happy- I get jobs done, and then when I check him he is nearly
always wet. So, after the 20 minutes were up- I tried him on the potty, he
didn't want to go, so I popped his pants back on and let him go. I set the
timer for another 20 minutes, and when he refused the next time- I took him
in t o the garden, where he watered it a little...put the pants back on, and
let him go again- setting the timer for 30 minutes this time. I couldn't
keep it up, since...hmm, since? Well, I am so used to not worrying too much
about it all. But for 3-4 hours he was dry at home, which happens very
rarely these days.

In hindsight, it was a lot easier than just changing pants, and I was really
listening to him...but then I forgot and carried on as before. Yesterday I
only washed 4 pairs of pants though...as opposed to today when I ahve just
hung out 11 pairs!!

Anyway, I thought it might encourage someone else.

***

 

And one other thing I found, which makes all the sense in the world to me...

I've heard very often, that ec works great for the first 1/2 year or
so (if you are starting early), and then there are various stages were
children stop signalling, refuse the potty, go right after they have
been pottied etc.

Could it be, that avoiding to pee on mama and to keep the "nest" clean
is hardwired into babies so as long as we are only working with that,
ec is easy. Trouble starts when concious control by the baby begins -
only now it can become distracted, can decide to try to hold it longer
etc...
***

So, basically, he isn't peeing on his Mama, so what does it matter (to him) where the pee goes?  He doesn't need to tell anyone about it- He knows what to do- he just goes.

A not so good day at EC!

Sixteen!  Pairs of pants on the line!

 

Seriously, wheat is *not* our friend...we usually miss some signals through the day, but nights are normally magic- unless I eat wheat...then I can expect DST10 months to pee the bed once, though it is usually more like 3 times.  It also may make it harder for me to rouse, it certainly makes me more sleepy in the afternoons.  It also gives Tommy green poos, though I can probably have a small amount (say, 1 piece of toast a day) for 3 days before that happens now that he is older...*not* that that is a good idea!

* Age of EC tot: 11 months today!

 

* We started at...cueing at birth, first catch (on first attempt) at 15

days, really beginning at 5 weeks, nappy-free at home at 7 weeks, nappy free

at 12 weeks.

 

* Generally speaking we are doing...hmmm, great in a sense, but as far as "catches and misses" go...shocking.

 

Tommy will occasionally go in the potty at home, but only if he's just woken up normally.  For ordinary pee's, he will not sit still.  He hasn't pooped on the potty regularly in months (maybe 4 months?).

 

When we are out, he has taken to not wanting to pee over the toilet as well...at home I don't because he just wants to play with the flusher, or unravel the loo-paper.  He'll happily go outdoors in the classic position.

 

I realised recently the issue with poop, is that he simply cannot stay still long enough to wait for it...he will sit on the potty, and push, but since it doesn't come *right then*, he is off and away.

 

If he won't sit on the potty, I tend to take him outside or to the kitchen (the lino is easy to mop up).  If I take him outside, I can just cue him and he'll go right away.

 

 

* How do you know your baby has to go / when do you offer baby a wee?

timing: I have had a few days of using timing ,and it works really well...he still doesn't want to actually pee on the potty, but at least I can keep him dry...not sure why I don't do it more often actually.

signs: He does the potty sign we made up, shakes his right fist 3 times.  It means he needs to go, but again- it does not mean he will go on the potty.  So we're still communicating, and one day I'm sure it will all come together again.  Sometimes he says "Po (tty)" as well, and it's the same deal- he says it because he needs to use it...but it is still his decision about whether or not he will, and he only does so *very rarely*. 

signals: He will go and get the potty, and bring it to me- but that doesn't mean he would like to sit on it (lol).  I started putting the potty in the kitchen (rather than the lounge), because I felt that he was sometimes going to pee near the potty, and I would rather he did so on the lino than the carpet.

intuition: Not any more.

 

* Is there a difference for poos and pees? What cues do you use?

 

"Ssssss-pssss" for pee, imitating his grunts for poos. 

 

Tommy will not poop in his pants...he poops as soon as his pants are off and noone is looking.  I know this, but amazingly, I am still caught out often!  Best case scenario- I take him outside with his pants off,  while I do the washing.  He'll poop within a minute and if I'm lucky, it will be easily picked up and flushed, bottom wiped, pants back on, and all is well.

  

* Nappies, training pants or other?

 

Ordinary pants...I've noticed this week that he is unlikely to pee when wearing undies and pants- so am busy looking for stock-undies that he will fit.  He fits size 1-2 fairly well (I bought him some when he was 3 months old).  I went to several shops yesterday and couldn;t find anything smaller than 2-3...I bought a packet of them, but they just fall off.

 

This morning, I put him in training pants while I was busy...he was in them for half an hour, before  I took him in the sling for walk to the Dr's, and to get a few groceries.  He played around at the Dr's, and in the trolley (that's a new thing- I never used to have him out of the sling).  I didn't offer the potty at all, and when we got home, he breastfed and fell asleep.  He woke half an hour later, and I took him to the toilet- where I was utterly amazed to find him still dry (after 3 hours).  He wouldn't go of course, but when I took him outside, he peed as soon as I cued him :0)

 

* What are you doing at night?

 

He sleeps with us, feeding 2 hrly usually, and 1-1,5hrly after 4:30am.

He tends to get back in to his sleeping spot after a feed, and I don't put him on the potty so much.  We had an awful few nights in a row where he refused the potty and peed the bed (more than once).  Last night he wouldn't go on the potty, but didn't actually pee until 4:30am (last pee at 9pm)...so I know (if I don't any eat wheat),he will probably be OK for 3 beastfeeds without needing to pee.  The amount he pees now is a lot more, so I am imagining he must be able to hold on longer.

 

* Who takes baby to the toilet?

 

Only DH and I...the older kids have done it too, but no one has ever taken him outside our immediate family. 

 

* What's your next EC goal? (& how did you go with your last goal?)

 

I haven't had any for ages...I probably should!   I think I have just accepted that "it is what it is", but that isn't exactly helping us move forward.  I should say that I would like to have a day at home,  with no puddles on the carpet (he is peeing a lot more in the kitchen since I put the potty there, so there is usually only 1-2 puddles on the carpet).  I would also really like to work out a different plan for poops! 

 

I can't believe we only have a month before Tommy's first birthday...the kids are trying to work out what would be a good cake to make for him.  He is so much fun, a complete tornado, but we are all enjoying him so much.  Today he has started grabbing my hand to pull me to things he wants to show me- which is very endearing today, though I know I will probably tire of it quite quickly :0)

* Age of EC tot: 12 months today!!  I can’t believe our lovely little boy is already a year old :0)

* We started at...birth (just cueing), first catch 15 days, nappy-free day & night at home from 7 weeks, full-time from 12 weeks.

* Generally speaking we are doing...great!  We have had so many potty pauses, which I se now were just part of a journey, and will probably carry on for whatever reason.  Things seemed to click 2 weeks ago, for no apparent reason, and all the refusals stopped.  We had dry days again, after only the very odd one, since before 5 months when he got really mobile.

* How do you know your baby has to go / when do you offer baby a wee?
timing: This is best for me right now, because there is no real sign (that I pick up)…he pees when he wakes, and if I offer when I notice he is still dry.
signs: Actually there is a sign, not a particularly good one in my mind, but it is reliable…he bites!
signals: Tommy hasn’t used the potty sign for a couple of months.  He tends to seek me out when he needs to go, and if he has no pants on- he will pee in the kitchen.
intuition: Not really anymore.  He can go a long time without a pee now, but then at another time will go 3 times in an hour.  I haven’t measured recently, but at 6 months he would pee @ 40-50ml, at 10 months @ 90-100ml.  I felt silly measuring, but it helped me see just how much his bladder had changed in a little space of time.

* Is there a difference for poos and pees? What cues do you use?
Same cue really…we try to do the “ennnn” cue for poos, but poos on the toilet/potty have been utterly elusive since around 6 months.  He will only poo in his pants as a last resort, and never away from home.  He seems to be able to wait until his pants are off, and will go right away ;0) though he stops if I’m looking at him, does a funny look and runs away (to finish off somewhere else within the next half hour).

* Which positions/receptacles do you use?
Possibly the big difference in suddenly accepting pottytunities, was that I tried him over the bathroom sink…he is very happy to pee there, just as he always has been (from 2 weeks), but I didn’t lie kit.  Now, I will try the toilet first, but if he shakes his head, or arches his back, I know he might still go in the bathroom.  He hasn’t done anything in the potty for a very long time, so I have relegated it to the bathroom…and put away the infant potty since he is far too big to easily get anything in there (even if he would sit on it).

* Nappies, training pants or other?
Training pants if we are out and he will be running around…I find them a bit annoying- I have one pair that are superb, one pair that are nice but leak down one leg, 2 that are probably really good but are so bulky only very few of his pants actually fit with them on.  I also have the first 2 pairs that I bought when he was 3 months old which don’t hold a wee anymore, but will stop a puddle…really though, if he is wearing them he is very unlikely to pee in them (I think because they are so close fitting).  He has 3 pairs of undies.

* What are you doing at night?
Tommy sleeps between us in pyjamas (or whatever e was wearing in the evening).  He is very reliable at night, though we do still have a wet bed around once a week (usually the night I put the clean sheets on the bed!).  He doesn’t like to pee at every feed, and I find I can be nervous that he will go before I wake for the next feed- though it all seems to be working fine.  I got him back in to night-time ec by taking him to the bathroom sink, now I have a bucket by the bed.  If he won’t go hen I think he needs to, I have him sleep on me, and I know the bed is safe.

We have both been sick this week, but still only had one miss.

* Who takes baby to the toilet?
Me usually, but also dh if he’s home…he has even worked out a way to take Tommy to the toilet without hurting his back (he’s 6”3’, and has always found the toilet too awkward).

* Catches or Misses - how many and what times are especially
interesting?
We can have a dry bed at night, then a puddle in it in the morning if we don’t let him down early enough :0)  He will pee so frequently first-thing, and I should be used to that by now, but it still amazes me.

The misses are only when I am too busy really.  I have so much flexibility now with him being able to hold on so long- I wouldn’t call him a “grad” obviously, but a month ago I thought that possibility was terribly slim…now, it looks like it won’t be that far off


* Other insights: 
I think the flexibility to take a baby to the toilet where *they* like is important.  I don’t know why Tommy seems to prefer the bathroom sink, but it has been the case since he was 15 days old.   I wonder if we needed to have as many puddles as we have, simply because I thought peeing in the sink as a bit gross.

* What's your next EC goal? (& how did you go with your last goal?)
I haven’t had one for ages…I just take each day as it comes.  I would like to try to remember to put undies on Tommy- funny that I am still not used to doing that, but I do think it makes a difference in how long he stays dry.

Yesterday he was in the same pair of pants from morning until night, most of the day in undies, but in training pants when I remembered I probably should have some back-up.  This was through 5 car journeys, lunch at a sushi bar, at a stranger’s home, at his Great Nana’s, and at two shops as well.  It’s not unusual for him to be that good, but I was very distracted for much of that time, and fully expected to change wet training pants- but didn’t need to :0)

• A tip for this age/stage?Haha…well, I have a million…but mostly…laugh!  The whole world is new to little toddlers, and so exciting.  Anything can be interesting, from bumblebees, to sandpaper, to tape measures.  He is a complete whirlwind, and my house is in a constant mess- but I love it all the same. 

I wish I had held him more when I had the chance (instead of lying him down as soon as he was crashed, so I could get stuff done).  I promised myself I would hold him when he slept today, and I did…we walked to the beach (him in the sling), while all the extended family took cars.  I loved just holding him, and drinking in his sweetness.  He also woke up happily (which he usually does regardless), and it was great to find a little hole for him to pee in, then chase round after him, a he explored the new setting.

Today he was in the same pair of pants all day.  He pooped in the garage when he was pants-less having a little splash in a paddling pool, but apart from that- he was perfect, which is an achievement for a 12 month old I think.

 

First thing this morning DST12 months was watching me put the rubbish out, and peed
on the step.

A bit later, we were having a little cuddle, and breastfeed near the door
when he leaned over to look at my belly-button, blew a raspberry on my
stomach, then bit me (playfully, not in a hurting way).

I asked, "Do you want to go for a pee-pee?"

Big smile.

"Shall Mummy take you to the toilet?"

Shakes his head, and points to the door (leading outside).

I asked, "Do you want to pee outside?"

Big smile, nods his head...so I opened the door...out he went, pointed at
the first wet patch, and proceeded to do another one next to it :0)

* Age of EC tot: 18 months

* We started at...birth (cueing, observing), first attempt & catch at 15 days, nappy-free day & night at home at 7 weeks, and full-time at 12 weeks

* Generally speaking we are doing...great!  Well, it changes all the time, so I better not jinx it- but yesterday was a dry-all-day day.  Today, not so much, but largely because of having 4 extra kids over for the day.

* How do you know your baby has to go / when do you offer baby a wee?
(optional:)
timing: Pretty much all timing now- if I notice he's not wet, I offer the potty.  If he is wet, I change his pants.
signs: Sometimes he will say "popo" (potty)- it's rare though; often he will clutch himself and look shocked, but that can often mean it's on it's way in a second :0)  He will say "outside", and pull me to the door (if it's closed), which is very reliable- only sometimes I don't want to go outside for ages, so will try to put him off :0(
intuition: Not really now, more something I'm used to doing.

* Is there a difference for poos and pees? What cues do you use?  I still say "sss-psss" for pee, for some reason...it's good in a sense, because he will wait until I do, and that can help if I'm still struggling to get his pants down.  If I have him in position, I will sometimes stroke his tummy, and say "Go wee-wees Bubba", and that seems like a bit of a cue too.  Poos are a whole 'nother story :0) I will try to have him poop, by grunting how he used to when he was little.  He will try for me now, but if it doesn't happen in that instant (and it never does), that's it, he's off again. 

That said, it is not as disastrous as it sounds- he won't poop in his pants, for instance, but is fairly indiscriminate about where he will go :0)  I usually know when he might be about to go, so I will ask him if he'd like to go outside to poop...if I turn away, he will go basically right way.  He hasn't liked anyone to watch since he started taking steps (7 months).  Then, it was disastrous, because he would promptly stand in it, and walk it in to the carpet...now, he moves away from it, and it is nearly always outside.  He will stand and point, and say "Oh no! Poop", or if he's done it when I'm not there, will bring me to it and wait for me to remove it :0)

* Which positions/receptacles do you use?  I still hold him over the toilet- he does *not* like to sit on it, or ask him to sit on the potty- if I put him on the potty, he will rarely stay there- but is happy to if he got there himself, even if it was at my suggestion.  And the great outdoors :0)

* Nappies, training pants or other?  He's in ordinary pants, or nakey-butt sometimes (with long socks).  If we are going somewhere where a miss will not be cool, I have him in training pants- however, I only have one pair that are really any use.  I had some made-to-measure that were perfect, but after 3 days of vomiting, they don;t fit any more, and the pee runs down his leg :0(

* What are you doing away from home? Mostly, the same as home- except as I said above.  If he's going to be in the sling, he has ordinary pants...if we are going, say, to the movies- I will have him in ordinary pants initially, then put training pants on him the first time we go to the loo.

* What are you doing at night? He hasn't wanted to be pottied at night for ages...we bought a new (giant, expensive) bed, and didn't want any accidents- so I had him in pea-pods (modern reusable nappy) for a while...but I realised he was soaking them, where he had used to be dry usually.  So, now, I have the mattress well waterproofed, and he is nakey-butt or in PJ's...I find if he's nakey-butt he rarely wets, but will wet pants...go figure.  If he doesn't pee around 11pm when we go to bed, I will sometimes put on a peapod- just depends really.  He is usually dry 11pm-7am at least 6 out of 7 nights.


* Who takes baby to the toilet? Only dh and I...our older children have done so once, but they usually tell me he needs to go.

* Catches or Misses - how many and what times are especially
interesting? We usually have 1-4 misses a day.  The worst time is probably early morning, when I like to get on the computer :0) and he watches Dora- he's busy, and happy, and I forget to ask him.  Also, sometimes after hours and hours of holding on, he will not go in the toilet, and will run away to do something else, then pee on the floor :0(

* Other insights: I've been doing something a little different the last couple of days, and am not really sure about the  why's and wherefores...each time he goes, I take him to the kitchen where I have a picture of a snake with segregations, and we put a sticker on there, then do high fives.  He knows it is coming, and points to the stickers...but they are also freely available for him to use, and there is no reward attached to the whole thing.  He just finished the last one yesterday, and seemed to like it- so  I will make a different one today.  I guess it's more an acknowledgment that he kept his pants dry, though it does seem strange to get a sticker for going on the potty when he has done so since he was 2 weeks old!

* What's your next EC goal? (& how did you go with your last goal?) Um...I haven't really had any...I think I'd like to get him communicating his need more.  He says around 80 words.  Also, learning to dress himself- which is probably key at this stage.  dd used to dress herself completely at this age, buttons and all, but would come unstuck on her socks :0)  DST1 has shown little interest in it, but I think it will help with independence.
 

* A tip for this age/stage? Hmmm...just enjoy it...they're so adorable.  He says hello to geese, and hedges, and trees and the tv...and says "Help, Mama" which melts me every time...and does so many cute things each day.  He makes us all laugh, and we are enjoying him so much :0)