Kacie is almost out of nappies :D

Well I've not really shared any where else just how much we've used EC as I know even among my AP friends people will think I'm slightly odd not to mention my non-AP friends who would have just thought I was completely insane to suggest my very yound baby was aware of her need to wee or poop However I do believe that even as a newborn baby Kacie was aware when she need to go and would cry prior to doing anything in her nappy. I also believed she could hold it in somewhat even at that young age.

Well after reading an Oz based website on part-time EC DH and I came to the decision to give it a go. We bought her a toilet seat at about 3 or 4 months old and would at least once a day hold her on it if we thought she might want to wee or poop. By about 6 months I always put her on the toilet when I took her night nappy off and she would do a big wee. We've always had nappy off time 2 or 3 times a day and she will do certain little things just before she wees, like stomp her foot or sit looking down at herself. Poos were a bit different she would often just stand and do it while playing

Over the last 3 or 4 months we have increased the amount of times she is put on the toilet and about 8 times out of 10 she would do something. Over the last month I have found more and more dry nappies when I've gone to change her, popped her on the toilet and she has used it brilliantly

Last week at my parents she actually started to go to the door to get out to either of their toilets and would knock on it. She is very good at comunicating yes and no if you ask her a question, so asking if she needed wee-wee or poo-poo would get a nod and off she'd go. I've had about 7 wet nappies and 2 dirty ones, including night nappies, in the last week. This has including a 4 hour train journey back from Cumbria and times while we've been out, I've gone to change her and she's dry. I've held her over the toilet and she'll wee. We have had just 2 accidental poos and no wees on the floor too and she is very aware she's doing it, stops it and waits until you get her to the toilet.

I'm so proud of her I could burst and just had to share somewhere This is never something I've forced and if I'm honest didn't expect it to work quite as well as it has, but by the way she runs into the bathroom and picks up her toilet seat to ask to use it I'd say it is

Wow thats amazing! I have been really thinking about doing this with Lottie (even trying now) as she gives off loads of signals when she wants to go and I know she hates having a wet cloth bum.

Ooo you have given me a boost to give it ago.

That is remarkable! well done both of you!

fantastic! well done both of you

Thanks girls and Tasha I say go for it I think it's amazing what they're capable of. Babies and toddlers are so much more intelligent than most people give them credit for

Interestingly yesterday we were at a birthday party at a friends house and this was where I found it hardest to get her to the toilet. She'd already wee'd in her nappy by the time I got her into a toilet We had a hour and half trip there on the bus, but she can go for longer without weeing so I don't know what happened except that she was asleep in the sling. She also then wet the first nappy I put on her last night, so I had to change her at 1 when she woke up, but she was then dry this morning. I seem to be finding that if she uses her nappy once then it takes her until the next morning to get used to not using it again, if that makes sense.

Anyway I'm waffling now Basically I'm just going with the flow over the next few weeks, I'm not in any hurry to stop using her yummy fluffy nappies just yet, especially not when I just got 5 new squishy ones from America that I have to get some use out of

Just thought I'd write about our last couple of days adventures

Well after a couple of wet nights, which I realised was due to her having a 9oz bottle of milk in bed both times w've had 2 great days. Yesterday we went into town, after almost hours from setting off to wandering around she was getting shouty so I headed to a toilet and th minute we walked in the door, it was a double cubicle she pointed at the loo So I too sat her on and she did a massive wee We then went in again about an hour and a half later ( lady = week bladder ) and she did the exact same thing. When I put her on she did another wee.

Today we went out quickly to Costa and Tesco. I put her in a Muttaquin Baby fitted with no wrap and she stayed dry the whole time we were out. We made 2 trips to the toilet, again lady = week bladder and she had little wees both times, the first time pointing at the loo as we walked through the door Then just about 15 minutes ago, after going to bed early after refusing to nap this afternoon she has woken up crying, climbed off our bed and gone into the bathroom. When I got there she was crying with her head on the seat, bless her popped her on and hey presto big wee, that's after she had one before she fell asleep

I'm almost ready to tell people out there in the big wide world that my little girl is using the toilet like a big girl

Thats fantastic!

well done

Just thought I'd add another little update

Kacie has been wearing knickers at home and on short trips out for the last 2 weeks or so. I'm still putting her in nappies for longer trips out, but she has only once done anything in a nappy in the last 3 weeks, and that was a poo of course She has also been dry at night, with just 2 exceptions in the last 2 weeks or more and I think that might have been when she was having extra milk through the night for her cold. She's getting much better at going to the bathroom when she needs to go and 'asking' too

TBH I think I could safely put her in knickers full time, but I'm just a bit worried of her flooding the pushchair or peeing down my back in the sling

The cutest thing she does is wee in her sleep if she falls asleep and she's not been to the loo for a while. I sit her on the loo and whisper 'Kacie have a wee' and she does. She's done this at home before bed and out shopping perched on the edge of a big toilet.

I'm so very proud of my baby girl

What sort of clues did she give to start with when she needed to go? I thought about trying this with Natasha but I can't see any clues that shes about to wee or poo. when shes got her nappy on I can't always tell if she pooing or farting ( I took her to change her nappy 3 times last night and it turned out shed just farted)

I'm afraid I found that really difficult to tell too I know she would wriggle when she wanted to wee if she as feeding, but she wriggles most of the time anyway The easiest way to pick up cues is to have loads of nappy off time. Mainly I think she gets really shouty, not crying, but whining and clingy at me. This is also what she does when she wants feeding or is tired though so if I'm busy I've often ignored her or tried to get her to go and play the result usually being a wee or poo on the floor, which I then feel really guilty about because I should have realised especially after 6 months or more of this. She still tends to come and be clingy now and it can take me a good 5 or 10 minutes of telling her to go and play before I think 'hold on a minute maybe she wants the loo'

I must say I found it easier once she was more mobile, particularly once she was up on her feet. One thing she does sitting up, even now, is look down at herself and start having a mess around down there, pulling at herself. She would then sit and watch herself do a wee if I didn't notice and go 'Ooooooo' and look at me. Once she was up on her feet she would dance around and stomp her foot like Thumper in Bambi She tends to run around and get quite hyper now too, like she knows something is wrong, but isn't quite sure what.

My best advice if you want to give it a go, would be lots of nappy free time and buy a toilet seat and don't be afraid to use it. The best time I think to start is first thing in the morning when you take her night nappy off as they will often be holding on to some wee. Check out some of the links in the Useful Info Resources sticky above this thread and Google Tribal Baby, that's the website I used. It gives info on being part-time nappy free to show ways to use EC along with having your LO in nappies at times its convenient to you.

HTH

how is she getting on with it now?

She's doing brilliantly thanks for asking

She's been out of day nappies for a over month now We do fantastic when she's out, have had just one or two accidents. We even went on an hours train journey this week, so our first long day out, with no problems We have a few more accidents at home and I'm trying to figure out the reason for this, I'm not sure if it's because we're more distracted from the need at home.

Oh and she does ask now, she says wee-wee on occasion or comes to me holding herself, not to mention the very cute going to the bathroom and trying to put the toilet seat on herself. Best of all she'll let me know when we're out that she wants to go, so that is easier and I'm not constantly asking her if she needs to go

Night times are hit and miss. She's either dry or soaking wet and I have to change her through the night, but I really don't mind how long she's in night nappies for. I am trying to figure the connection, I thought it was when she has a bottle for bed, but it seems to happen other times, or she'll have a bottle and not be too wet

Overall though she's brilliant and I'm so proud of her, want to tell everyone now just how well she's done