All Life Is An Experiment

Karter has been my guinea pig in many ways as I've done quite a few things differently with him. Had a I known about them sooner, I would have started out with Keilana.

Elimination Communication (according to Wikipedia): "Elimination communication (EC) is a toilet training practice in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant's need to eliminate waste. Typically the goal is to partially or completely avoid the use of diapers."

Diaper Free Baby to learn more or Wikipedia.

I started Karter around 4 months and was quite surprised at how quickly he caught on! About 6 weeks ago, he stopped doing it all together. I had more misses than hits, frustration set in, and I gave up for a bit. The last 2 weeks, I decided to take the plunge and start back up and we are back on track! Maybe it's like riding a bicycle for him because even after the EC hiatus, he seems to have picked it up again quickly. It's quite amazing, really, and I was a skeptic myself but all life is an experiment and I decided what would it hurt to try? Nine times out of ten, when I KNOW it's about that time, he'll go #2 on command. For some reason, the pee seems a bit harder to catch.  I'm excited that I hadn't had to change a poopy diaper in almost a week now! If he doesn't have to go, and I give the signal, he will still give me a courtesy grunt that lets me know he tried. It's entertaining and cute.

Yesterday, Jon and I stopped at Ikea on our way home from picking him up at work (he conveniently works a couple blocks down from there!) and purchased this sweet little deal of a potty that fits his behind just right! Dependant upon my dedication, consistency, and determination in working with him, I'm excited that I might have a potty learned little boy before the age of one and no more diapers! What a concept!