The Anti-Diaper Movement

Welcome back to Babylicious! Thanks for visiting again. If you've enjoyed reading my blog, subscribe to my RSS feed to get regular updates on what's new at Babylicious.

The war of the diapers – cloth versus disposable – is passe.  To Diaper or Not to Diaper – that is the new question.  

A couple of weekends ago, SM lent me a book called, “Diaper Free” by Ingrid Bauer.  The book is written by an inspiring mother who chose to go against the “norm” and raise her second child diaper free. 

I have heard about this concept before.  It is also referred to as “infant potty training” (IPT) or “elimination communication” (EC).  Even though it sounded very interesting at the time I heard it, I’m afraid I never quite got around to trying it on Gavin until now. 

Similarly to my parents and my in laws reaction to me when I first wanted to breastfeed, I guess I had the same reaction towards EC.  It sounded like a great idea, but I wasn’t too sure about putting it into practice – how do you “pee” a baby when he can’t even hold his head up right?  So I decided to postpone starting until Gavin was at least able to sit up so that he could sit on the potty assisted by me.

What I didn’t realise was that I didn’t necessarily have to hold the baby over a potty.  I could also let him pee over a towel while lying down.  The idea behind EC is to remove the waste immediately rather than encourage the baby to pee and poop into his diaper.  Yes, it is ironic that we are the ones who train babies to pee and poop into their diapers and then by the time they are two to three years old, we have to “untrain” them.

EC has none of the problems often associated with diapering (whether you use cloth or disposables).  It is cost effective.  It is environmentally friendly.  You don’t have to worry about nappy rash.  You don’t have to worry about harsh, drying chemicals in the diaper.  It is less work in the long run because you have less diapers to wash and you won’t have to worry about trying to potty train your toddler because he will already be using the bathroom by then.

The first half of the book is about the concept of “diaper free”, it’s roots, and the physiology of human waste production and excretion.  It is interesting to note that an anti-diuretic hormone helps keep baby “drier” at night.  I have noticed myself that often Gavin’s diaper is relatively dry after a whole night when I change it at 6am in the morning, yet, between 6am and his morning bath, it is full. 

Even though Gavin is soon turning 6  months – the age after which they say EC becomes much harder to implement -the fact that his diaper can remain dry through most of the night leads me to believe that it may not be too late to start EC with him.  I figure that if I could wake up frequently in the middle of the night to feed him breastmilk back before I discovered the ease and covenience of breastfeeding in the lying down position, I can wake up to “pee” him.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Other posts that might interest you:

• More Thoughts on Mommy’s Touch
• No Diapers, Please!
• What is the Diaper-Free Movement?
• Diaper-Free Part 2 – Learning Your Baby’s Elimination Cues
• Potty-Training with Mamy Poko Value Pull-Ups

What is RSS? How do I subscribe via RSS?