Moving Forward with EC

A few months ago I wrote a post about my frustrations with how to transition into the next phase of EC (elimination communication). I am happy to report that we seem to be moving on!

Ikaika is still far from "diaper free", "potty trained" or anything of that nature. But, there have been noticeable changes in the last two months. He has been keeping diapers dry for hours at a time (using the potty instead), diaper laundry is down to about once a week, and last week he used a public toilet! He's even been trying to wipe himself (yikes!) We are also at the point where I can ask "do you need to go shi shi?" and he will either shake his head no (which unfortunately doesn't always mean no) or he will run into the bathroom, put his reducer seat on the toilet, and wait for me. This is our first step towards cooperative toileting and I am stoked!

He still wears a small cloth diaper with a cover because, honestly, 90% of the time I'm just too nervous and/or lazy to deal with training pants. But, if the current momentum continues, I think we could realistically move on to those within the next 6 months.

All the pieces of EC seem to finally be coming together organically. It's nice that this part of his development is being learned in an intuitive way without lots of pressure or decisions - kind of like learning to talk or learning to walk. There's no bargaining or reasoning, it just is what it is: Natural Infant Hygiene.