It's also known as diaper free baby, natural infant hygiene, and infant potty training, or just EC for short. EC is a modern interpretation of handling your baby's pottying needs without (or with limited use of) diapers.
If you didn't already think I was crazy, you may start now. I thought EC was crazy when I first heard of it, but since giving it a try with Orion, I became a convert to the ideas of EC.
We started ECing Jules as soon as he was born. At first it was mostly observation. We kept a diaper on Jules for the first two weeks. The diaper came off during feedings and I held him over a potty bowl while he nursed. If I noticed him peeing I would make a pssss sound, and for poos I would grunt. Eventually we learned to understand one another. If he was squirmy he needed to go potty. If he needed to burp he would stick his tongue out. If he was hungry he would either chomp on his hand, or peck around with his mouth open in a little oval. (Sometimes we would call him chicken boy because of this.) Now at six weeks he is rarely in a diaper. If we are going out or if I am busy with dinner then he gets a diaper, otherwise he is free. Now that does not mean that we aren't using diapers. he lays on top of diapers and when we hold him there is a diaper under him, but they are not secured in place. The main reason is to make it easier to take him to potty at a moment's notice.
Since I am the main one handling Jules it has all become quite simple to me. I forget that handling a non-diapered baby is not obvious to everyone else. So, to help Isaac and other people around me, I come up with EC rules to help them.
EC rule #1: When the baby wakes up, pee him first.
Like really, who doesn't need to pee when they wake up? If you pick up a baby and don't pee him, he will pee on you, or at least wet the diaper you are holding on him. Or maybe both. Or when he starts to fuss and you hand him to mom to feed, he will pee all over her as soon as he latches on and she will look at you and ask, "so you didn't pee him?"
So anyway, Abuela was visiting and she thought the EC lingo of "peeing the baby" was really funny. On her first day visiting we had our worst EC day. I was peed on twice and pooped on once. I also got covered in spit up. I went through three outfits. My mom said, "wouldn't it be easier to just put a diaper on him?" The ECing went better for the rest of her stay. She even peed Jules a few times and I really think she got a kick out of it.
Isn't it messy? It can be. I mentioned my three outfit bad day. Most days are not like that. Actually, so far I think things have been less messy than they were diapering Orion. With Orion he would pee all over us during every diaper change. Every one. Without fail. I tried so many things to keep it from making a mess, but he would always wait for me to lower my guard before letting go. Once he pooped during a change and it sprayed the wall, curtains and a plant. And he would fill up a diaper with pee and we wouldn't have a clue until the diaper started leaking on us. His poos could explode out of a diaper getting all over his clothing, my clothing, furniture. Babies are messy whether or not you use diapers, especially with your first child in the early months when you are still figuring everything out.
Now, eventually Jules is going to start crawling, and that is going to bring with it some EC challenges. EC is not about avoiding these challenges. It is not about potty training your baby before everyone else. It is simply about handling the baby's elimination in another way. A way that is gentle and environmental. People who EC say that it is about the journey, not the destination. There will be bumps along the way. We may end up putting him in diapers much more often. Who knows where the road will lead us?
