I want to tell you about these pictures. But first I need to give you some background information.

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I took these pictures last Wednesday when Siena and I were on our way to a meeting with other parents and babies who practice Elimination Communication (EC), or Infant Potty Training.

EC is something I read about while pregnant and my first reaction was to dismiss it as “out there” and too “hippie granola girl” for me, but the more I read the more it made sense to me.

The idea is that humans are born with the same instincts about elimination as animals – namely, we’d prefer not to sit in our own waste. When I was little, our beloved Regal The Beagle had two litters of puppies, and I remember that pretty much as soon as those puppies were mobile they would walk away from their sleeping area when they had to relieve themselves. It made sense to think that babies are smarter than puppies, and they might want to do the same thing – only it takes much longer before they are mobile.

The philosophy behind Elimination Communication is that our babies give us cues when they need to eliminate, just like they give us cues when they’re hungry, sleepy, or ready to play. If we ignore those cues, they’ll quit trying to communicate and just use their diaper like any other baby. But if they know we pay attention to those cues, they’ll keep communicating so we can respond by keeping them clean and comfortable. That might mean changing a diaper right after it’s wet or dirty, or it might mean taking baby to the potty just before they need to go.

At about this point in my reading I was intrigued, but still skeptical. Can a baby really control the muscles involved in elimination? I worked with preschoolers for five years, many of whom were working on potty training. I believed they weren’t “ready” to start potty training until they developed control of those muscles, and that potty training efforts would be fruitless until a child was “ready.”

Then I read about some Indian, African and Asian cultures that practice what we’d call Elimination Communication as a basic part of child-rearing, and have practiced it for centuries. I read about people who had traveled to other countries and witnessed women working outdoors carrying babies in slings, taking them out and holding them in a squatting position while they went to the bathroom.

I spent some time on websites like The EC Store and DiaperFreeBaby.org, watched some videos on YouTube, and read some books. I figured there was no harm in trying, and after seeing so many of my students and their parents struggling with potty training, I was drawn to the idea that many ECing babies are out of diapers earlier than their peers. (Gung-ho ECers will be quick to point out that early potty training is usually a *bonus* rather than the *goal*;  the goal is increased communication with and comfort for your child. We practice what you’d call “part time EC, meaning she doesn’t spend as much time bare bottomed or in cloth diapers as full time EC’d babies but she still goes to the bathroom outside her diaper about 6-8 times a day at this point)

Even if Siena is out of diapers at the same time or later than her peers, I will still be thankful that we practiced EC. It is SO much easier to hold her over the potty when I’m pretty sure she needs to go, than it is to change a messy diaper, especially now that she’s constantly wanting to crawl/sit/kneel/stand/MOVE.

I haven’t been very vocal about it, and my sisters find it embarrassing, but these pictures are just so cute that I couldn’t simply leave them on my camera! So, back to the pictures.

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We met my mom for lunch at a shopping mall on our way into town for the EC support group meeting. The mall had “family bathrooms” which I’ve found usually means a room with a toilet, sink, changing table, and often a chair. This particular family bathroom also had a toddler-sized sink and toilet!  So of course I had to take pictures, and then decided I may as well see what Siena thought of the toilet. I usually hold her in a squatting position over a toilet, but this one was small enough for her to sit on with just a little support.  She generally doesn’t use public restrooms, but this time she had been waiting the whole 1.5 hour drive into town and must have decided a public restroom was at least preferable to her diaper. I was one proud Momma. Her favorite part? The flusher, right at her level! (Or maybe that was my favorite part…)

So, now that I’ve come out of the EC closet, here are some photos from her earlier days:

Sitting on a Potty Bowl, perfect for infants.

Enjoying some bathroom reading