Infant Potty Training

When Chloe was about 6 months old, I was introduced to the concept of Infant Potty Training, or Elimination Communication. I ordered a book, tried it sporadically for a few months, and ended up not really going with it - though it did convince me to change to cloth diapers so I would know as soon as Chloe was wet and could change her.

Now that we've got a bit of a routine, and everyone is used to having Kara around, I've decided to give it a really good try with Kara. Starting when she's only one month old, I've already noticed the cues she gives before she empties her bladder or has a bowel movement. Based on these, I can take her to the bathroom and hold her over the sink or the toilet and let her eliminate there instead of in a diaper. I still put Kara in cloth diapers because I know there are bound to be misses (times when I misread a cue, or am just too busy to take her to potty). We started on Friday, and since then (while at home), we have caught most of her pees and all of her poos. It is SO nice to not have to change a poopy diaper! I'm loving it, though taking it easy, and not worrying about it too much when we're out, or at night.

I highly recommend all parents of infants look into IPT/EC. It might not be right for you, but it sure makes sense to me. My baby is more comfortable, I'm putting much less waste into the environment, and in theory, Kara will be potty trained by 18 months or so.