Well I've decided it's time to share my biggest kept secret. We have been using Elimination Communication with Kacie since she was just a few weeks old
I haven't shared even on CNT as I think even among my AP friends people will think I'm slightly odd
not to mention my non-AP friends who would have just thought I was completely insane to suggest my very young baby was aware of her need to wee or poop
However I do believe that even as a newborn baby Kacie was aware when she needed to go and would cry prior to doing anything in her nappy. I also believed she could hold it in somewhat even at that young age.
With this in mind I started searching for info and came across an Oz based website on part-time EC. DH and I came to the decision to give it a go. We bought her a toilet seat at about 3 or 4 months old and would at least once a day hold her on it if we thought she might want to wee or poop. By about 6 months I always put her on the toilet when I took her night nappy off and she would often do a big wee. We've always had nappy off time 2 or 3 times a day and I began to notice she would do certain little things just before she wees, like stomp her foot or sit looking down at herself. Poos were a bit different she would often just stand and do it while playing
Over the last 3 or 4 months we have increased the amount of times she is put on the toilet and about 8 times out of 10 she would do something. Throughout May I found more and more dry nappies when I went to change her, popped her on the toilet and she has used it brilliantly
We would have many a dry night nappy too between 4 and 8 months, but then she did get heavier overnight to the point where I actually thought she was saving it up until she'd gone to sleep and just 3 months ago I was thinking I'd have to rethink my NN's because she was starting to outpee what we used.
Last month at my parents she actually started to go to the door to get out to either of their toilets and would knock on it. She is very good at comunicating yes and no if you ask her a question, so asking if she needed wee-wee or poo-poo would get a nod and off she'd go. I had about 7 wet nappies and 2 dirty ones, including night nappies, in the week we were up there. This included the 4 hour train journey back from Cumbria and times while we've been out, I've gone to change her and she's dry. I've held her over the toilet and she'll wee. We had just 2 accidental poos and no wees on the floor too and she is very aware she's doing it, stops it and waits until you get her to the toilet.
In mid-June we had a couple of wet nights, which I realised was due to her having a 9oz bottle of milk in bed both times, so I decided that wasn't the best idea. Then I started putting her in a fitted to go out with no cover on. We went into town, after almost 4 hours from setting off while wandering around she was getting shouty so I headed to a toilet and the minute we walked in the door, it was a double cubicle, she pointed at the loo. So I too sat her on and she did a massive wee We then went in again about an hour and a half later (
lady = weak bladder
) and she did the exact same thing. When I put her on she did another wee. This is now a regular occurrence and she has been dry on trips out since then with the exception of one nappy a fortnight ago, which was of course a poo
So for the last 2 weeks she has been wearing knickers at home and on short trips out. I'm still putting her in nappies for longer trips out. TBH I think I could safely put her in knickers full time, but I'm just a bit worried of her flooding the pushchair or peeing down my back in the sling. She has also been dry at night, with just 2 exceptions in the last 2 weeks or more and I think that might have been when she was having extra milk through the night for her cold. The cutest thing she does is wee in her sleep if she falls asleep and she's not been to the loo for a while. I sit her on the loo and whisper 'Kacie have a wee' and she does. She's done this at home before bed and out shopping perched on the edge of a big toilet. And one of my proudest moment with her was last week when she had fell asleep on me in the living room early than usual and I'd put her to bed. She woke up and cried so I went to her. She crawled across the bed pointing to the door so I asked if she needed a wee-wee, she nodded. I took her to the loo and took her nappy off, she sat and did a massive wee, went back to the bedroom let me put her nappy back on and crawled back to her bed and went straight back to sleep
I'm so proud of her I could burst and think as she is close to being dry full-time now it's time to share
This is never something I've forced and if I'm honest didn't expect it to work quite as well as it has, but by the way she runs into the bathroom and picks up her toilet seat to ask to use it I'd say it is