Mum-of-two, Lauren Stamper, 35 from Louisiana says using a potty from birth is key to respecting a baby’s dignity – and also saves thousands of pounds in nappy costs
Most parents wait until their children are at least two before starting potty training. But one mum has revealed how she introduced her children to the potty from birth, and how you can do it too. Lauren Stamper, 35, a mum-of-two and content creator from Covington, Louisiana, says using a potty from birth – also known as Elimination Communication (EC) – is key to respecting a baby’s dignity. She says that babies are born with an instinct to not want to soil themselves – so you can start to teach them valuable toilet skills at an early age. She also points out that EC saves thousands in nappy costs.
“Our family life is deeply rooted in our Catholic faith, which influences our approach to parenting,” Lauren explains.
“We believe that each person is a unique and unrepeatable gift created in the image and likeness of God. “Each person is valuable because of their dignity and should be honoured because we are created by God. “EC stood out to me because it respects the dignity of babies and the needs they communicate to us.
“They are born with an instinct to not want to soil themselves, so practicing EC respects that desire to stay clean and dry. “I had heard about it several years ago and it sounded like something I might want to try at some point. “I didn’t know enough about it when we had our firstborn, so I didn’t start immediately. I also didn’t know how easy it would be to start!
“Fast forward to when we found out we were pregnant with baby number two, and I didn’t want us to be paying for two kids in diapers at the same time. In the US it’s about $70 per month for just one child! “I bought and read the Go Diaper Free book, and not only started using cloth diapers more, but started EC with my firstborn right away. “He was 12 months at the time; you can start EC anytime between zero and 18 months.
“We were able to get him out of daytime diapers at 17 months, and he started waking up dry from nighttime right after turning two years old.” Lauren says observing your child is key, and learning their body’s natural rhythm.
She says you don’t need to ditch nappies straight away – but that they should only be used as a backup.
“I started by learning his natural timing for pee and poop,” Lauren explains. “Any parent can do this by observing their baby diaper-free after eating or waking up. “You note how long it took them to pee or poop, then you get an idea of their regular intervals after that.
“I was able to catch a pee within the first 24 hours, and I was hooked. “It’s amazing what you can learn about your child’s natural timing when you take the diaper off for 30 minutes after eating or waking and just observe them! “Additionally, parents can also start with the ‘Four Easy Catches’ which include the wake-up pee, transition times, poops, and diaper changes. “Practically speaking, most families still use diapers while practicing EC, but they use it as a ‘back-up’ instead of a full-time toilet.
“Some parents might offer the potty once a day in the morning before heading to work, other parents might offer throughout the day on the weekend or if a parent stays home. “The beauty of EC is that it can be done part-time, and there’s no need to stress about catching all the pees or poops. “Parents can also ditch daytime diapers as soon as their child has mastered walking.”
Lauren advises parents to be relaxed and not worry too much about catching every pee or poo.
“Let go of expectations,” she recommends. “EC is non-linear. There are ebbs and flows especially during a big developmental leap like walking. “Just like sleeping and feeding, there can be troubleshooting. A lot of it is mainly exposure technique, similar to baby-led weaning. “If you offer the potty and your baby doesn’t go, it’s no worries. Even I have times where I think he needs to go and he doesn’t!
“You can think of it as similar to offering a nap when they aren’t tired. It’s all a learning process. “Observation time is key to tuning into their natural timing. “Completion can depend on a few factors, such as how parents approach it, the development of the child’s long term memory or any delays in the child. “But typically most children are capable between 14-20 months old. “There are certain ‘building blocks’ of potty independence that parents can teach during this time, which gives children mastery over pottying themselves.
“That’s all in the Go Diaper Free book. “Developmentally, toddlers at this age developmentally want to master tasks, hence why they like to say ‘again!’ over and over, and also want to do things themselves. “I wish more people knew that you can do EC even if you work full time, and to focus more on connection rather than catches. “EC shouldn’t make your life ‘pottycentric’, but instead helps us taps into the intuition of reading our babies’ hygiene signs that we’ve lost because of our diapering society. “