Advice EC/early potty training

[Snufflepop]

Hi ladies,

I just wanted opinions/advice from anybody who has done EC or early potty training as I seem to have inadvertently started something!

Since about 6.5 months I have been sitting dd on her potty at every nappy change. To be honest I wasn't actually expecting her to do anything but I just wanted her to be familiar with it as an object so that when the time came to train her it wasn't all new.

Anyway, about 4 weeks ago she started doing the occasional wee on the potty and then also bowel movements. It has got to the point now where the moment I put her on the potty she will 'go', either wee or poop. In the last two weeks all bowel movements have been on the potty and we have caught multiple wee's per day. Her nappies are a lot drier when I change her.

I just wanted to check that by carrying on with this it isn't harmful in any way as it seems soooo early. My nephew is still in nappies at almost 3!! She seems happy on the potty and it must be more comfortable for her than wet nappies surely?

I don't push it in any way as I want to keep it a positive experience and if she does a wee/poo great, if not that's fine and her nappy goes back on with no fuss.

Should I just carry on? Anybody else had similar experiences?

Thanks in advance!

 

[lovelylaura]

Just carry on, sounds like it's going well! X

 

[HopefulEm]

Carry on. As long as your not punishing her for not going on the potty there should be no harm done! Personally I think it's better for them to show them where to go from the start rather than training them one way and then having to backtrack. Seems confusing to them!

In China EC used to be the norm, and most babies were fully potty trained by age one. It was only when the disposable diaper companies fought for that market that they started to move away from it.

 

[SarahBear]

I started with Violet a few days after birth, so my experience is different, but it seems you've gotten into a good groove with it. Maybe try to look for signs of her needing to go so that you can also respond to those. Without responding to or looking for cues, it isn't really "EC," even if it is an early form of potty learning. Violet had a good phase with the potty around that age, but not long after, she had a phase that lasted about 5 or 6 months where EC felt useless. We kept it up though, and she was out of daytime diapers at 18 months. She went back into them at about 19 months because potty difficulties often coincide with developmental leaps and she was going through one. We also went on vacation right as she was getting back into the swing of potty use. As a result, she was back in diapers until 23 months, although she never completely stopped using the potty. She's going on 26 months now and only uses diapers for sleep time. Although some conventionally trained kids are out by 23 months, like she was, I don't think she would have been done with diapers as soon as she was, if we had waited for conventional signs of readiness.

I think it's great what you're doing, but be sure you know what to expect, because there are LOTS of ups and downs with it.

Edit: Oh and FYI, we switched from cloth to disposables somewhere not long after she learned to walk. I can't remember exactly when. Disposables do seem to slow the process, but it's not impossible to use them and have your kid out of diapers at a reasonable age.

 

[Sarah1508]

Damn I wish I had thought of this when Kian was younger! Seems to me like a fab way of getting lo used to the potty and associating it with well peeing and pooping haha , I really REALLY need to get Kian potty trained before the next little one arrives but to be honnest I am lost! I don't even know where to begin will definetly be trying out what you have done with the next one!

 

[Snufflepop]

Thanks for all the input ladies! It is still going great so we will just carry on.

SarahBear, thanks for sharing your experience. We are getting used to her cues now and looking for/responding to them. Bowel movements are easy/more obvious. It's the wees that are not so easy to see coming!

We are fully expecting ups and downs with the whole thing and are not expecting her to be out of nappies anytime soon, it is more to get her comfy with the potty and if it results in her being out of nappies slightly earlier than the average then its a bonus!

What did you do when you were out and about? We are thinking of getting a portable potty to keep in the car to keep it going when we are not at home, but not sure if we need to?

 

[SarahBear]

We've always had a potty in the car and still do. If we're in a public place though, I've always just taken her to the public bathroom if one is available.

 

[misspriss]

We've always had a potty in the car and still do. If we're in a public place though, I've always just taken her to the public bathroom if one is available.

That's what we do. We didn't do EC, just "early" potty training (18 months). DS is still not 100%, we have accidents every day still, but I would rather clean up an accident or two than have to do diapers at every change. He knows to use the potty and will do it without help, and other times I swear he doesn't notice he is going, even when his pants are wet...

 

[SarahBear]

Oh, and as far as public toilets being a little large for little ones, I just have always held her over it in the classic EC pottying hold. I still do.

 

[HopefulEm]

I walk everywhere with my daughter and I carry her Baby Bjorn Smart Potty in my backpack. They say you can do EC part time, but after we got into a routine at home, I found when we were out it was upsetting to be able to tell when she wanted the potty but not being able to give it to her.

I've found EC is great for out and about though, because it's sustainable so we can be out infinitely most days without packing a million nappies.

 

[Snufflepop]

Thanks everyone. We are going to get a portable potty for out and about. Yesterday at MILs for Christmas made me realise we needed one because we knew she needed a poo but didn't have a potty so she ended up going in her nappy (which is fine) but we could have caught it if we had got organised with a potty which is much nicer/cleaner for her.

I have to say this whole thing is a revelation and I am so glad we started doing it - even if people looked at me like I had three heads at first!!!

 

[misspriss]

I'd recommend the potette plus, the bjorn smart potty seems huge to carry around! That is our home potty. We use the potette plus in the car, don't have to buy those baggies that come for it, just a grocery bag with a paper towel folded in the bottom. Works like a charm. It also does as a potty seat if needed.

 

[d_b]

We sat both our boys on the potty since around 4 months. We do it in the morning, before and after nap, and before bed, and whenever else we had time and thought they needed to go. They did most of their poops on the potty since we started. DS1 was out of (daytime) diapers a bit after age 2. So not super early but he took to it easily, he had been in daycare from 12months-20 months and she didn't do it there. We also didn't do it outside the house except occasionally at friend's/relatives houses. DS1 was terrified of public washrooms until pretty recently (self-flushing toilets and loud hand dryers).