Guidance on Early Potty Training or EC

Hi E.,
my son was 11 mo when we started sitting him on the potty. Good choice - i found the baby bjorn to be the best one. when you're ready to graduate to a toilet training seat, stick with baby bjorn - i found it to be the most stable and my son never peed over the top.
the only book i read was "diaper free by age 3", and i still refer to it from time to time. when my son sat on the potty, we had our favorites (like goodnight moon - go figure!), and i felt like sometimes he just wanted for us to get that book out and couldn't go until we started reading. when you start this early, going to the potty is just something you do, not something you have to learn.
a few tips:
i would agree with the previous poster to try to catch pee/poop first-thing-after-sleeping AND after meals.
and try to have a word/sound/sign associated with the action. i never had luck (and still don't - my son is 22 mo) getting him to tell me when he has to go BEFORE he goes, so i know it's up to me to keep an eye on the clock and on him - if he's had a lot to drink he can pee every 30 minutes, if not then he can go for 2 or 3 hours. you may have better luck, so definitely try!
when YOU are ready, i'd recommend switching to underwear. my mom (my babysitter) was so paranoid of accidents in public that we kept switching him back and forth from underwear (at home) and diapers (outside). (btw, we use cloth diapers). after a full day in diapers, he would have more accidents at home for the next day or two. once we switched him full-time to underwear - understanding that accidents in public will happen (so we always travel with more changes of clothes than we could possibly need) - he has been much much much better! we made the switch to underwear all the time about a month ago and these days we can spend an entire day running errands, and no matter how tired he gets he almost never has an accident. honestly, tho, i feel like my son learns from his accidents; the first time in his stroller in underwear we had two accidents two days in a row, and never since then. the first night he was out-and-about in underwear he peed through 4 pairs of pants in the span of 6 hours, and almost never since then (once, but he was very distracted/involved by exiting new toys).
also, now that he's so young you need to sit with when he's on the potty to keep him entertained there long enough to go. however, there may come a time (it did with my son) when my being there became more of a distraction, and i felt he wouldn't go just so he could get undivided mommy-time. this happened when he was maybe 17 months, so keep an eye for those signs. you can then start encouraging him to do it on his own, or simply say that you need to do something and will be right back.
that was probably more than you asked about.
in short, i think it's great that you're starting now. my friends with older children are having the hardest time re-training their children NOT to poop in their diaper behind a sofa etc and have to bribe them (with stickers etc). just try to be consistent, know that accidents will happen, and be prepared for this to take a while (and the responsibility for knowing when he has to go is yours).
good luck!

Good for you! Sounds like you are doing all teh right things. We did EC with our daughter, started the potty when she was 4 months. I'd say I had to wash maybe 20 poopy diapers since then and she is now 22 months and is happily out of diapers. You can start by validating your son whenever you notice him pee or poop by making a sound "pssss" for example. Change him immediately if you can. For months we only tried once or twice a day, first thing in the morning and right after naps. She almost always went. Gradually you pick up a sixth sense of when they have to go and they also start communicating more too. My daughter used to sign when she had to go and some of her first words were pee pee and ca ca. Keep favorite books in the potty and make it fun! If it's not fun and easy then change it. I love love love EC and recommend it to all new parents. It's truly amazing how quickly babies get the concept and I know my daughter was proud to be so independent. Good luck!

Hi E.,

Sorry for the late response, but I just saw your post. My daughter is also 11 months and we have been potty training her for about 10 days now. I think you are doing everything right. The only thing I encourage you to do, is make sure you tell him before you put him on the potty- "do you want to go pee-pee now" or "do you want to go poo-poo"... anything as long as he knows why he is sitting on the potty. Also, pay very close attention to his signs.... I have been potty training my daughter for about 10 days now and she points to the potty everytime she needs to go.. or will make the "sssss" sound and touch her diaper... (i make this sound to help her pee)... we were out for about 2 hours today- and she didn't pee in her diaper.. once we were home she sat on the potty and peed immediately...thats when i realised that I should buy a travel potty... I would encourage you to do the same...

ALso, i think its important to be consistent in this approach... its difficult initially, but if you consistently put him on the potty, he will get hr hang of it and will not want to be in diapers at all... my little one is fights me when i put a diaper on her now...

Finally, i believe night & nap time potty training is the most difficult... last night was the first time when my daughter didn't pee in the night at all, she woke up an hour earlier than usual and peed in the potty- this jsut might be a co-incidence...

Good luck! :)

Hi!! First E. you rock for trying this! I started practicing EC with my baby when she was 2 months old and from 2 months to 9 months, we only had to change 5 poopy diapers! And that was because my husband wasn't really helping me so all 5 of those happened on his watch, lol.

I bought and read The Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross- Loh.

I think it's very helpful when starting to EC is to catch that waking pee (or poop). You know, we all have to pee when we awake from a nap or in the morning. That's almost a definite catch. Even if you believe the pee and poop catch you got to be a coincidence, you're right, it's a great start. Any catch is great because the child gets closer to learning to not eliminate on themselves- and they really don't want to.

I don't remember what happened but we stopped practicing EC for a while after my baby was 9 months but she still remembered the sign (we do some sign with our babies) and my husband- believe it or not- started back up with her. It's been very spradic though but I say all that to say that now she is insisting on sitting on the potty a lot and she is actually going too. It's great. If she keeps it up, I know she'll be potty trained before she's two.

Best wishes to you. Feel free to pm me if you have more questions. Oh, I almost forgot, there are yahoo groups on the subject. Go to diaperfreebaby.org and there's Natural Infant Hygiene http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalInfantHygiene/

Hope that Helps!

Hi E., I am an older mom of 5 ranging in ages from 42 down to 25. I am not familiar with EC but 2 of my sons were trained early. One by 18 months and another by 2. I just followed their lead. Your attitude is right by not pushing and keeping it fun. The fact that he pooped and peed on the potty is a good thing. If he does not like being wet or dirty is a good first sign and also if he is dry in the morning. Potty training is also a maturity thing. The brain has to develop to a point where the message is sent before the urination occurs (or the poop) I'm sure some of the other moms will recommend a book or two. Be patient and remember you cannot control this, just gently guide. My best, Grandma Mary

Hi E., You are very wise and a great Mom. I also believe in getting the child used to potty when they are small and see it as a fun time, instead of wait until they are over 2 years old to introduce the potty because that is where it gets stresful to them. I started my daugther as soon as she was able to walk around 12 months... Now she is 19 month and I still do it only part time so on weekends she does all in the potty, in the day care it only sometimes... My only worry is she constantly now wants to keep sitting on the potty with the books sometimes 10 times a day or more.
Keep up the good work.

Hi, I don't know anything about EC, but my daughter is almost 10 months old and she almost potty trained. We started when she was 4-5 months old, holding her over the sink with the water running, and then when she started being able to sit we put her on the potty. She now goes regularly, and has not pooped in her diaper in at least a month.
you have to put them on the potty right after they wake up, right after eating, and then generally about every 40 - 60 min. throughout the day. it's more of an exercise for the parent for the first few months. you should never force him on the potty if he doesn't want to sit. he will be able to let you know if he needs to go or not (basically he will resist sitting on the potty if he doesn't have to go).
turning on the water always helps.
my daughter likes to "read" magazines while she is on the potty, especially the ones with pictures of babies in them, she tears the pages and shreds them and it's all fun.
we've gotten to a point now that some days she can wear the same diaper all day long and never get it wet.
remember that at this age they cannot tell you whether they have to go or not, you have to "invite" them. so at first you do it often until you figure out your child's schedule.
you can have toys or books or other things to entertain them in the bathroom, or even bring the potty in the living room or whatever play space they are in. once he is done, give him a lot of encouragement and get really excited. it's important for him to have a positive association with the experience.
and most importantly, have patience. it will take months to get your son potty trained, but the earlier you start the earlier he'll be out of diapers.
Good luck!