ELIMINATION COMMUNICATION (EC)

(Originally posted January 2006)    

A Day in the Life of an EC Family (Aiko 15months)

Eight o'clock in the morning. I feel stirring beside me and soft little body wiggling and stretching into wakefulness beside me. Even though it is a beautiful sunny, summer morning I could sleep-in later. But I don't - I wake myself up because I know Aiko has to pee when he wakes up and I don't want him to pee in the bed. He makes his little squeaky noise that says, "I have to go so take me pee now!!". I pick him up and place him on the little potty at the side of the bed. He wobbles a little, trying to get his bearing, and then lets out a good stream of pee. The first catch of the day.

After some snuggles and mommy-milk-milk in the bed we venture downstairs to start our day. First Aiko has another pee in the toilet though. Often this is when he will poo. He likes to lounge on the toilet first thing in the morning and so I say, "go poo-poo", and I make the sign. He signs back at me and starts grunting. It is soooo cute.

We get dressed quickly and I tie Aiko onto my back. It is a beautiful day for a hike and the mountain trails are luring us. After a half hour or so of hiking I take Aiko off my back and pull down his undies. He takes a wee in the wild. We pick huckleberries and he continues to eat as I pass him the tasty berries over my shoulder once I resume walking. We often go for a two hour hike in the mornings. Aiko won't pee again until we get home, at which point I put him straight on the toilet and he has his fourth (usually big) pee of the day. Now I know he won't pee again until after he nurses.

Around eleven o'clock, just after our shower, Aiko signs for some milk. We snuggle up on the couch and he has a good feed and a cuddle. A half-hour later (usually on the nose) I take him to pee. I know he has to pee at this point but he sometimes resists - he is busy playing. I don't push it (this is the HARDEST pee of the day for me to catch). Sometimes it's easier to let him go nakeybutt out in the garden and when he pees I say, "Aiko, that's pee-pee. You can pee-pee on the grass. That is okay." If he goes in his undies I say, "Aiko, no pee-pee in your pants, pee-pee goes in the toilet." He will pee every half hour from now until we take a nap. I usually catch the rest of the pees.

Often we go over to a friends house for a couple of hours. I bring a bag with a change of undies, pants and socks (just in case) and a toilet seat. It works just fine.

Then we eat lunch (well I eat and Aiko samples very delicately - he doesn't eat much yet). Some more nursing for him, a pee on the toilet, and then we both go up to bed for a nap. He nurses himself to sleep and I usually doze off too for an hour. When he wakes up I have to get to him immediately. If I don't he'll wet the bed or his undies. That's what happens when I leave the bed before he wakes up. It's a fine balance.

After nap he won't pee for at least an hour or maybe two. He doesn't pee often in the evening.

When Dave comes home it gets harder to catch the pees. I try to let him take an active roll in ECing when he is around. After dinner I remind Dave to try to take him and Aiko will often resist. Sometimes he'll pee fifteen minutes later which is frustrating for Dave - especially if he forgot to put his undies back on and Aiko makes a puddle on the floor. We clean it up with flannel rag and some vinegar water that we keep in a spray bottle above the toilet. Usually he catches the next pee at eight o'clock or so. Often Aiko will sign pee-pee to Dave and play that he is going to pee in the potty. Then he will actually pee and they will go and put the pee-pee in the toilet together.

Around nine o'clock it is time for us all to go to bed. I wait for Aiko to pee before we go to sleep otherwise he'll be waking me up in a couple of hours. We snuggle under the sheets and he suckles for a half hour or so until he falls asleep. I love this time of day.

Three o'clock in the morning I feel a little body stirring beside me and a little squeaky noise saying, "take me pee now". I don't love this time of day - especially if I am in a good dream. I wish I could just wiggle my breast into his mouth and forget about the peeing - but I can't. My son doesn't want to wet the bed, he knows that the pee-pee goes in the potty. So I put him on the potty beside the bed. He squwacks a little and then pees. Back in the bed we cuddle up and nurse back to sleep until the next pee at six o'clock.

That's about 13 to 16 pees, 1 poo, and 2 wet undies or little rags to wash.

Just a day in the life of an EC family :-)