On Paul and poop

Have you heard of elimination communication?  No, it’s not about losing your job; it has something to do with infant potty training (IPT), also referred to as natural infant hygiene.  When I heard about IPT, I went digging on the internet for more information.  I never would have guessed that what I found is something I already knew!!

Being the oldest grandchild in my extended family, I was asked on many many many (and many more) occassions to babysit my cousins.  The practice has been that as soon as the baby can hold his head up, we “teach” them elimination by giving them the chance to pee or poop right before or after a nap and/or as soon as we see cues, such as a grunt, that they are about to p/p.  It’s sort of a two-step-forward-one-step-back process all the time.  The kids couldn’t talk yet so the parents/caregivers had to really learn their cues and schedule.

See, back in the 80’s and early 90’s, all we had were flour sacks for diapers and it is rather icky to be pooped and/or peed on all the time, besides being burdened with the job of handwashing the diapers, which are limited in number, over and over again.  Ack!  I hate washing those diapers!  First, they had to be soaked to loosen the power of the sticky poop then soaped and rinsed!  And the smell of even just one poopy diaper?  Oh mercy!  Well, you get the picture!

How about a reminder that life is beautiful when you have two beautiful boys like these?

My two boys

Back to the subject at hand.  (Sorry but I have to finish my line of thought here.)  So when I heard about IPT, I got all excited!  I’ve observed that Paul has a rather predictable rhythm to his pooping so I thought I’d give IPT a try.  A couple days ago, I put him on the toilet to try this thing but he was more interested in smiling at me and reaching for the next thing that’s within his reach.  Needless to say, he didn’t even pee!  So this morning, I was hopeful!  And he delivered, not once, but twice!  It felt good flushing the toilet, knowing my baby saved us from one dirty diaper.  Never mind that water costs money too.  But at least that’s one less diaper in the landfill!  Ha!

Anyways…Tonight, Stephen reminded me not to get my hopes up too high.  I know!  I’ve read some mommy chronicles where the mom was about ready to sleep in the toilet with her child all day.  I told my sweet husband not to worry.  All I desire is for Paul to learn the use of a toilet and if it goes really well this early, great!  But if not, I won’t be disappointed.  He’s got many years of learning ahead of him…including pottying in the right place!

I hope I didn’t eek you out too much!  Here’s a good lovely smile from my adorable and beautiful son to spur your mind on to other beautiful and lovely things.

Paul making faces!

Please do come back for more reading.  I promise not to talk too much about my baby’s pottying.  Sorry again!  Would you just look at that!  Awww…

Paul in his carrier during our hike at Cades Cove in the Smokies. (He was 4 months old in this picture)

Do you have stories about your baby’s potty training?  How did it go for you?  I would love to hear from you in the comments section.