Pottying

I have been doing EC with my girl, "Ready to Go", beginning around 6 months. At first I put her on the potty occasionally and would make a "ssss" sound encouraging her to go. She did once and a while and we just continued from there. When she was 12 months I found the book Diaper Free Baby at the library, read it, and decided we would start doing this more seriously.

Once she was weaned around 13 months I discovered that the main reason she was waking up during the night was because she was wet and not because she wanted to be fed. I just assumed she was always hungry and never considered that she was only uncomfortable. So I began letting her use the potty when she woke at night and then put her right back to bed.

During the summer I let her run around in undies and so I could track her routine. I primarily wanted her to learn for herself when she had to go. The interesting trend I noticed was that if she had a poo she may start to pee a little, but then indicate right away and would then poo on the potty. I also paid close attention to her body movements and facial expressions. I could tell while she was sitting in the high chair and focused her attention on something, getting a bit flushed that she was about to go. I quickly took her and she was much happier eating after that!

One challenging thing that has been happening since around 16 months is her manipulating her signal for pee "ssss". She would use it to get down from the high chair or the more clever tactic of delaying going to bed. If I put her in her crib she would say "ssss" and I would take her out and sit her on the potty, read books or do a puzzle. After a while she may pass a drip or two and then say "all done!" I'd put her in the crib and the same thing would happen all over again.

At 19 months she is still doing this and it has become a very big obstacle in getting our two other boys in bed. She is really manipulating the situation. Two EC gals recommended having a strict bedtime routine where she uses the potty, reads 2 books, sings a song, brushes teeth and is offered potty again before getting dressed and put to bed. Lately, we have been doing this for her naps and bedtime routines. At first she resisted trying to pull the same act but after a few days she is going to bed closer to her normal time and with less fuss.

It's amazing to me how much little ones can control the situation if you let them. She was determined to go to bed when she felt like it. She would even go pee in her diaper while I was putting it on if she didn't want to go to bed. I hesistate putting her to sleep without one since she hasn't made it through the night dry and would probably wet herself just to avoid going to sleep.

So I'm excited that we seem to be making marked progress and I feel a lot less stress over the situation because I have a plan!