On Friday, I held my boy in the “cradle hold” over the toilet and he peed into it. Twice.
Well, to be totally honest, the second time it happened I was watching his face (and he doesn’t really know how to aim) so it kinda landed on my leg, but I’m still counting it.
How did I know when to do that? I had noticed (as had various grandparents) that our boy sometimes goes through two to three diapers in rapid succession. Change him, and you’ve gotta change him again. Really? Yes.
So I took a couple of shots after diaper changes. And it worked. Heady stuff.
Must. Have. More. Catches.
A “catch” is also when you witness your baby in the midst of eliminating, and you communicate the cue sound. I’ve done a few of those this week too. Because, again, who doesn’t pee while on the changing table, just as or after the wet diaper has been removed?
“Pssssssssss,” I tell him.
He just looks at me, or the ceiling. So far.
The EC folks say that you will begin to track his cues, things he does just before, muscle spasms, faces he makes, sounds (in addition to recognizing his timing) — thus there will be communication; me reading his cues, me cueing him with sound.
They also say you can begin to develop a psychic sense of when he needs to pee or poo. It sounds odd, but I’ve had a couple of those moments with him this week too. Hmmmmm.
I’m not ready to have him go commando all day (although I’m sure he’d enjoy it). And I don’t know if I’m ready for those split pants and all the other gear EC parents need. For now, though, I’m doing something towards having my baby out of diapers before he’s three, and that feels good.
Plus, my baby is a baby that cries the minute he is wet, almost always, so diaper-free anytime is probably going to make him happier too.

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