EC (elimination communication) aka "Infant Potty Training" aka "Natural Infant Hygiene" aka a zillion other things has been in the news non-stop lately, and people are blasting it as the latest crazy parenting trend of psychotic overachiever mothers.

Never mind that it's been around since the dawn of humankind (what do you think humans did before diapers, people?)

Never mind that it's gentle and communicative and a long-term process, rather than a short-term goal-oriented achievathon.

Never mind that it's typically something that the baby *asks* to do through signals or signs, and most parents just don't recognize those signs, because we no longer have any knowledge of how to recognize and respond to those signals as a culture. We just assume that there is no alternative to diapers, right?

People also tend to think that the only people capable of pottying their babies are rich, white, stay-at-home moms who have nothing better to do than stare at their baby's butt all day long.

OR they think that EC means that the baby just pees and craps anywhere and everywhere.

Here's one of the milder critics:
"Now, I am just gonna say without making judgement that obviously this works for you and that's good. That being said, I personally think it's crazy-talk. Absurd, ridiculous and soooooo not for me.

And obviously EC doesn't play into a 2-parent working household. And obviously I am a bit jealous that I can't stay at home to see if I could try EC, so basically that's why I think you're talking crazy."

Well, I'm a working mom and I've taken my son to the potty since he was 8 weeks old. He hated peeing/pooping in his diapers since he was born, and had absolutely horrible rashes, no matter how often I tried to change him, or how much cream I used.

At 8 weeks old, I woke up one morning and after taking his diaper off, I held him over the toilet. He peed AND pooped, and then gave me a look like "FINALLY! Thank you!"

After that we never looked back. I changed a poopy diaper maybe 2-3 times a month, the rest of the time my son would go in the toilet in the morning before going to daycare. He never peed on the changing table again, because when I took his diaper off I would hold him over the toilet or put him on a little potty before putting his diaper back on.

Why is that considered crazy or too much work? You have the diaper off anyways, and most non-ECed babies wait until they are clean and diaper-free on the changing table to let loose, so it's certainly not less work to clean it up off the changing table, right?

Wiping a baby's butt after they poop in the toilet is waaaay easier than scraping plastered poos off their butts and out of their cracks. Most of the time they barely even need wiping.

Most of the moms that I know who do EC are on the lower end of the income scale. They enjoy the benefits of saving money on diapers, which are quite expensive. Personally, our trash can was FULL of diapers every week before we started pottying, after that, our usage was HALF. And since my son was totally out of diapers by 15 months, we saved a huge amount of expense and waste and effort compared to the average American toddler who is still crapping in Pull-ups at 3, 4 and 5 years old.

Is pottying your baby too hard? Welll, I have some friends who think so, but I shake my head in disbelief at that. I watch them struggle with fighting toddlers at every diaper change. I see them wiping adult-sized poos out of their kid's butts, dealing with nasty rashes, and buying bigger and bigger diapers that still leak and stink.

Here's the work involved for me: Pull down son's pants. Aim him into toilet, or grass if playing outside. Babies can pee anywhere a dog can. Pull pants back up, resume playing.

My son poops once a day in the morning. Diaper-trained babies tend to poop a little, then hold the rest because they now have poo nestling against their butt and it's not exactly comfortable. So you take the diaper off, put a new one on, and then more poop happens. Been there done that, have you?

If they can do it on the potty in a relaxed fashion, they tend to get it all over with at once.

What boggles me is parents who KNOW their kid is pooping, or about to poo, then they just sit there and watch him/her do it in the diaper. THAT'S weird, people. Take the diaper off, and help the baby do it in a comfortable and sanitary manner.

If your grandmother was incapacitated and told you that she had to go, would you just say, "Grandma, let loose in your pants." Or would you gently help her to the restroom to do her business? It's the same thing with your baby. It's about dignity and respect. And those of you who say it doesn't matter to the baby...you obviously aren't paying attention.

EC is NOT more work. Maybe at the beginning yes, but by 1 year old diapers are much more difficult, expensive, messy and hey...those parents STILL have to deal with potty training!

Below is a little primer that I wrote for working parents on how to start potty-training part-time. It's not an all-or-nothing proposition. Even if you do it once a day, that makes a huge difference. Enjoy!
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"PART-TIME POTTY-TRAINING" or "EC for WORKING PARENTS"

It is definitely possible to do EC part-time as a working mom, that's what I did with my DS.

What I would recommend is that you put your son on the potty, or hold him in arms over the sink/bathtub/toilet (see http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/PottyingPositions.htm
for photos of various positions) right when he wakes up in the morning, using the cueing sound "pssss-pssss".

Waking up from sleep is an almost-certain pee catch time. There may be resistance at first if your baby is not used to this (most likely for older babies who are used to using a diaper to pee in), if so, you can nurse on the potty, or sing a song, run water, touch the feet together...whatever helps to relax your baby enough to release and let them know that this new thing is OK.

Sometimes there can be a lot of fussing, since the baby has an uncomfortably full bladder after waking up, but doesn't know yet that it's OK to release outside of diapers. That's where the relaxing, reassuring, and communication comes in. "It's OK, peepee goes in the potty." If your baby does pee/poop in the potty, give some verbal affirmation..."Yay! You went peepee/poopoo in the potty!" But there's no need to go overboard with this.

The younger you start, the easier it is, because the baby is not so trained to release only into diapers.

You should be able to put your baby on the potty at least once in the morning before going to work, if nothing else try potty time when you take off the soggy overnight diaper. Babies pee the most in the morning, with little babies under 6 months it can be every 15-20 minutes after waking for an hour or so, then it slows down to once an hour or so by afternoon. No need to catch every pee, just do what you are up to.

Observe your baby with some diaper-free time on a weekend and see what his individual pattern is.
Don't be afraid of diaper-free time...believe me, it's *much* easier to clean up a little puddle from the floor with a cloth than it is to change a diaper! I keep cloth diapers for accidents (they are very absorbent), then just do a quick rinse and throw in the laundry hamper.

I was surprised to find that a poop on the floor is quickly picked up with toilet paper and disposed of in the toilet, but poop smeared on a baby's butt is a real pain!

Diaper-free time is not as big a deal as it sounds. Baby pee is not sulfuric acid, it's pretty harmless stuff, and the poop of a little baby is not bad either. If you can corral your baby in a carpet-free area for your diaper-free observation time (or outside, on a warm day) then the clean-up is easier than the average diaper change.

Back to working mom strategies...during the day, what I did was take my son to the toilet one last time AT the daycare before leaving. I would also potty him very first thing at the daycare upon arriving to pick him up.

My son never got confused by this. He seemed to accept and understand that Mama would take him potty, but the caregivers at daycare would not. They commented to me about his excellent bladder control, and how he would never pee on the changing table.

Apart from wake-up pees, I would offer "pottytunities" (the opportunity to use the potty or toilet) at *every diaper change*. This is a GREAT habit to get into for part-timers using diaper back-up.

1) It is a great reminder to offer the potty frequently and on a regular basis.

2) It avoids the common problem of changing the diaper, only to have the baby immediately pee or poop in the clean one. Don't say that hasn't happened to you! ;-)

While the baby is bottomless and the diaper is off, you might as well offer a pottytunity before putting on a clean diaper, right? It just makes sense. And this avoids the other problem of getting peed/pooped on on the changing table during the diaper change. Once I started doing EC at 8 weeks, my son never peed on the changing table again. EVER.

So OK, let's recap....

HOW DOES A WORKING PARENT START TO EC?
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1) Use weekend diaper-free time to observe patterns and timing.

2) Potty upon first waking in the morning at home, and thereafter as frequently as you think your baby might have to potty until you have to go to work.

3) Optional: Potty at daycare before leaving (bring a little potty, or use the toilet).

4) Optional: Potty at daycare upon arrival for pick-up. Might save you a wet diaper on the way home!

5) The rest of the time, potty at every diaper change.

6) It's also a good idea to have baby in a cloth diaper without a cover (or training pants, or underwear) at home. That way you can tell very quickly when your baby has peed, and change the diaper. The baby will also get physical feedback from a pee..."I'm wet! Yuck!" instead of having it mysteriously disappear into a dry-feeling disposable with no real effect. This tends to deaden the baby's connection with his/her bodily functions after a while.

I did use disposables as a backup, but I finally stopped at around 1 year old. I tended to ignore my son's potty signals when he was diapered in a disposable. However, whatever makes you most comfortable and relaxed in the process, use it!

If you are feeling tense or stressed about EC, then feel free to use a diaper backup. Just keep taking the diaper off to offer the potty on a regular basis.

One last thing...I highly recommend having your baby in loose sweatpants or something easy on/off for ease of pottying. No one-piece outfits with a zillion snaps. Onesies are bad in general. They make it such a pain to get the clothes off that you tend to just leave your baby in the diaper until it's full. Ick. But hey, I've done that before too.

That's it! It's easy and anyone can do it. Why not give it a try tomorrow morning at diaper change time and see what happens? I guarantee it's easier than cleaning off your changing table.