Thoughts on EC Clothing and Nighttimes
I started writing this as a comment for Jan, but it became so long I changed it to a post instead!
EC doesn’t have to be all or nothing, it’s more about communicating about toileting and building up a trust, so while I expect it helps to be consistent to get the communication going, loads of people start out doing it part time or just at home.
At nightime so far I’ve worked out L really hates to be held over the potty, and I can’t work out how to take off his nappy and hold a bowl to catch the wee without making a big mess and winding him up. I’m not brave enough to lie him down with no nappy on, though some people do this. Boys can shoot a long way, can’t they?! LOL
We cosleep, so when he’s been fidgeting a little and I’ve woken up enough I pick him up and breastfeed him (we don’t feed lying down cos he doesn’t latch on well and we end up taking forever to have a part feed with me in an odd position). At the moment he is feeding when I go to bed about 11pm and then waking about 3-4am (long may it continue, but I’m not counting on it LOL!). He sometimes hasn’t had a wee by then, so I think he may be starting to hold it at night. I’ve heard on the EC lists about babies holding it at night from 6 or 7 weeks. But he cries if I try to potty him when he wakes, he is much more interested in having milk. Then he tends to wee towards the end of the feed (I may start trying the potty then, haven’t decided yet) and goes back to sleep, then wakes off and on for milk til he wakes for the morning. When he wakes more fully then he has a short feed and he’s a bit more accepting of being sat on the potty, and does a huge wee, then does another couple within the next half hour or so. I keep the potty at the side of the bed. I’m still working it out really. In bed we use disposables so that hopefully he doesn’t feel wet even if I don’t change it - not sure if this helps or hinders the ECing though.
At nighttime L wears a nappy and sometimes he wears a T shirt, depends on how warm it is really. During the day he is wearing a T shirt, socks and a nappy in the house, and shorts or dungarees with poppers if we’re going out and I feel he should be more “respectable”, i.e. dressed. Poppered bottoms are OK and trousers come off quickly. Nappy wise I use a nappi nippa-ed muslin with no cover if we’re in the house and don’t put bottoms on him (but he’s getting a bit big to fit muslins much longer and I don’t know what we’ll use then). If I need him to be waterproof we use a pocket nappy with popper fastenings, or for longer times out of the house we sometimes use disposables.
I am only figuring it out as we go along, so don’t take all this as the best way to do things, I’m just experimenting. I’d say L is able to hold wees and poos for a couple of minutes, some of the time at least. I think he fusses before the “point of no return”. And I offer him a wee when I think its been a while or after a nap. I suppose he’ll wait to go elsewhere if he can, to avoid going in his nappy. Perhaps J would learn to fuss for a poo and signal sooner, or try to hold it a bit, if he thought he shouldn’t go in his nappy? I don’t know. L sometimes does a bit of a poo or grunts a certain way and I rush him to the sink and strip him off and then he goes/does the rest once he is in position. It’s surprising what a force poo can shoot out with!
Some people start EC by just trying to get the wake up wees. Have you tried watching J when he wakes up to see how long there is between waking and weeing? If there’s a bit of time you could try taking his nappy off then and holding him over a potty or the toliet. If you make a cueing sound (we use a shw sound) whenever you know he is weeing or pooing he would learn to associate that with having a wee and then you could use it when you are offering him a place to go so he knows to do it there.
