Accountability Overcomes Sloth

Since starting this blog, TM feels some responsibility to give the readers something new. Being naturally slothful, she might be tempted to just let Tommy pee in his diaper instead of offering him the pot, but just knowing there are readers encourages her to meet his real need, which is to eliminate away from his own body.

So, this morning, right after his first nursing, she held him over the red potty bowl, gave the cue "psssssssssss. Go pee-pee". And a stream ensued! Not only that, but it was immediately followed by a blast of poopy.

Speaking of blasting poopy - this next section will be graphic and probably of interest only to mothers. But then again, most mothers are already familiar with baby poop, so maybe it will be of interest to those who are less familiar. Not knowing who actually reads this, TM will just assume the minimum of knowledge and explain things "from scratch" so to speak.

Human babies who drink human milk exclusively have feces which is very different from the adult variety. It is even very different from the older baby variety. It has the color and consistancy of yellow mustard. More liquid than solid, peppered with seed-like elements. Many first time moms are surprised to see this, as they may have mostly encountered, during their babysitting years, the stinky blobs of older children who have been eating solid food.

But more interesting for first time ECing moms is the surprise they get at seeing how forcefully these movements pass from the tiny baby bottom! With TM's older children, she was familiar with the sounds of these explosive poopies, but until she held the little one over the sink and watched as the stuff flew out she had no idea of the power and speed with which they pass.

Many of the readers who are moms are familiar with this scenario: You hear the baby poop. You know by the sound that it was a "big one". You turn the baby over and see that the poopy has been forced out of the back of the diaper through the leg openings as well as up the back. Baby's entire shirt back is soaked with it and it exited the shirt via the neck opening. This is known as the "blow out." Moms every where pack their diaper bags in anticipation of just such an event. Usually both mom and baby need a bath after this.

Well, with EC, an attentive mom and some quick action, the above scene can be completely avoided, but take care to aim the baby's bottom properly, or that type of poopy will completely miss the sink and land on the counter!

Some are probably saying, "The sink! Oh! That is so GROSS! You let your baby poop in the sink?" But you must understand, this poop is mostly liquid, if not completely liquid. With a bit of running water it goes right down the drain and into the septic tank, the same destination as the stuff that goes into the toilet. TM also keeps a spray bottle of bleach water nearby and sprays the sink after using it to catch bm's.

Not everyone uses the sink, but TM finds it handy. When the stuff is caught in the big red potty bowl, it is rinsed and dumped into the toilet.

When baby poops directly into the sink or other receptacle, there is little or nothing on baby that needs to be cleaned or wiped. That is one of the benefits to the force of the blast. Baby's bottom stays clean and dry. There is never an issue of diaper rash. That is one of TM's favorite things about ECing. The clean baby.

In between starting and finishing this post, TM managed to catch two more pees and a poop. All the books on this subject say that best time to try catching a pee (if using timing and not watching or waiting for a signal from baby) is right after a nap or right after nursing. When Tommy woke up from one of his little naps, Mommy held him over the bowl. He didn't go and he seemed pretty hungry, so Mommy held his bottom over the bowl while she nursed him. This was one of those few times when he didn't poop while nursing. But as soon as Tommy finished nursing, Mommy held his bottom in the bowl with his back resting on her chest, and she gave the cue, "Psssssssssssss. Go pee-pee". And he did!

Then, it was time for Tommy to nurse on the other side. Mommy left his bottom bare and just slid a cloth diaper underneath him. After a minute or two Mommy heard the sound of a bm and quickly switched the diaper for the red bowl. She got 1/2 a catch as more poopy and pee pee landed in the bowl.

Fun, fun, fun.

Tommy and Mommy had one more catch before bed time. All in all it was a good day. Hopefully this blogger will be returning soon with a post containing pictures of some of the equipment we use for ECing. Surely everyone wants to see the big red potty bowl?