Shameless EC Plug
I really do love EC.
For those of you who may not be acquainted with the term EC, it stands for Elimination Communication, a very gentle way of realizing and responding to an infants very earliest efforts at communicating his need to relieve himself. Unlike the conventional method which revolves around diapering a child–and thus teaching that baby that the diaper is the place to defecate and urinate–until late toddlerhood or early childhood, Elimination Communication focuses on being attentive to a baby’s need to go potty from very early on by paying attention to signals, timing and intuition.
EC is remarkably gentle, effective and respectful of that very early communication. We love it, and so does our little guy who has been crawling to the potty and banging on it when he needs to go!
Anyway, as Kevin, Solas and I were lunching this afternoon at a local eaterie, we heard another momma at a nearby table waxing poetic about EC. She was explaining to an aghast friend that babies really are aware of the need to relieve themselves, and by attending to their signals you can take them potty.
It’s true, babies are as aware of the need to relieve themselves as they are of the need to eat. It’s all about response.
It’s so nice to live in a community where breastfeeding, cloth diapering and elimination communication though maybe not the norm are at least welcomed with open arms.
October 4th, 2006 at 2:47 am
I wasn’t aware they gave that idea a name. My partner and I are expecting in late Dec. and are going to use cloth diapers, but when the little one is older I’ll do more research on EC.
October 4th, 2006 at 5:21 am
I am definitely doing EC with #2. I researched it when DD was about 8 months…and wish I would have started then.
October 4th, 2006 at 8:10 pm
It’s not up everyone’s alley, but it works really well for us. Ingrid Bauer’s book “Diaper Free!” is a really great start. Ohhhh I love been a mommy. What a gift!