Asher is Five Months!

It can't be! How can it have happened? My newborn is already five months old! He loves to grab and chew on toys, fingers, sleeves, blankets, and anything else he can reach. He loves to stand up and hold up his own weight. He is rolling from tummy to back reliably, and even with clothes on! He blows bubbles and coos and laughs. He gets mad when you have to take a toy away from him. He pees on the potty!

That's right, he pees on the potty. Its called Elimination Communication (EC) and its really not as strange as it sounds! Basically, whenever you have the inclination, you just set your baby on a potty of some sort, or hold him over a sink or toilet (we mostly use a soft silicone kitchen bowl). Occasionally the baby will actually go pee or poo, and you can associate a sound with it (we use "psssss"). Pretty soon your baby kinda gets the idea to go when you sit them on the potty, and therefore, you end up with fewer soiled diapers. Think of it as just another way to take care of a baby's pee and poop needs, like a diaper alternative.

Its certainly not an all or nothing kind of thing - we sit Asher on the potty a couple of times a day, sometimes more, sometimes not at all. It just depends on whether I think about it. But he seems to really like it and lately I have been surprised to find he will stay dry for 3 or 4 hours in a diaper, as if he is holding it for the next chance to go on the potty. I am frankly amazed, considering how little we really do it. I am serious, we did it a little bit pretty early on, then really not at all for many weeks, then here and there maybe once every few days, and lately I've been trying to do it a bit more, but still often miss a day or two here or there. The most would be maybe 5 or 6 times in a day if we are at home and not doing much else and I am thinking about it. Then I just offer a "potty-tunity" at diaper changes. Its truly not stressful at all, and is actually pretty fun!

The point is not really to potty train them early, although that is a common result. My friend's daughter was recently out of diapers during the day at the age of 14 months, and another friend's son I believe was 17 months - these are people I know in real life! Anyway, the actual goals are a) to maybe use fewer diapers, which is good for the wallet and the environment, but more importantly, b) to increase the connection and communication between you and your baby, and c) to help your baby learn about and be aware of his body functions, which does set him up for easier potty training later on.

Let me go back to b) for a moment. At first, catching pees and poos is sort of just luck. But babies are way smarter than we give them credit for and they usually associate the action of using the potty and the cueing sound with their bodily functions pretty quickly. Contrary to popular belief, they actually can and do develop control over their functions. So then you are communicating with them and they are responding to you, and you having a real back and forth interaction. And pretty soon, you get in tune with your baby's expressions and you might even just start thinking, "I bet you need to go pee" and you find out you were right. You are in tune with the baby on a whole 'nother level! Its a little like knowing your baby's different cries for hungry, tired, bored, etc. You just know them better and you can just tell. I think this might be the most fun part - its rewarding for the baby because you are responding appropriately to his attempts to communicate with you, and its rewarding for you to know that you know your baby and his needs so very well. Its just a fun, no-stress, casual thing to do, and I hope you try it with your baby sometime!

Anyway, enjoy a few sweet pics of Asher at 5 months old! (I keep trying to get videos but they are not turning out...)


And one of him on the potty way back when he was only about 6 weeks old!

From 2010 07 31potty