potty training started...

we started tentative potty training on wed 22 november. i'd ordered a transparent potty from mummysmilk.com, which came with a book by laurie boucke (infant potty training) and a pair of brightbots training pants.

we tried out the potty in the late afternoon. leah had only started crawling a few days ago and was a little constipated. but when we (my mum and i) noticed her distinct poo face, we quickly put her on the potty. to our amazement, she pooed immediately.

i decided that i'd try to get her into the habit of going to the potty twice a day at least - once when she wakes up in the morning and the other just before bathtime, after her tea. but i would be more casual about trying to catch her when she wants to wee or poo at other times - if i could get her to the potty in time then well and good, otherwise i wasn't going to try to kill myself (or dd) by rushing her or forcing her to go when she didn't want to.

anyway, it's now been 3.5 weeks since we began potty training, and save for one or two times near the start, she hasn't pooed into her nappy since.

there have also been days when she'd wake up in the mornings with a dry nappy. and she'd go only when i put her on the potty...makes me wonder if it's hurting her kidneys if she holds it in all night though. hmmm...

according to laurie boucke, most babies do communicate their potty needs from infancy, but it's just we have been conditioned to not listen to their signals, and in fact, we've been training them to use their nappies as a toilet instead*. and when i think about it, going into one's nappy is actually rather unhygienic and most uncomfortable.

ms boucke also says that there are a few windows of opportunity to start "elimination communication" - from infancy up to 5 months, then between 8-12 months, and then at 18-24 months.

i was a little worried that at 9-10 months dd might be too old for EC (i.e. too used to her nappies), but it seems dd has cottoned on very quickly.

it's certainly saving laundry, which helps the environment a bit more. we're using cloth nappies rather than disposables anyway, but this goes a bit further.

leah seems to be fine and happy about it too.

*this practice of using nappies till 2-3 years is actually newish for asia. many asian cultures don't or didn't use nappies - parents and caregivers would simply hold babies over the sink or toilet or ditch. that's why children's clothes sometimes have flaps on the bottoms so that they can just squat and go wherever, no different from longjohns!