Anyone scared to EC?

[milkmommy]

For me is a bad childhood memory thing. My mother brags how I was PT in a day and at 14 months, but due to a medical condition (had surgury)I didn't fully night train till well into 6th grade :blush I was aware during the day and did fine but totally unaware at night, my body simpily couldn't cope but unfortunally this was during the time doctors taught parents that it was a behavior thing. I remember my parents not allowing any liquids past like 6pm or past dinner and even that was limited, and of course being punished with accidents. We have pictures of my DB and I (diffrent years) "potty training" with little pottys complete with straps to keep us in place. In school we had horrid "bathroom schedules" and I suffred from tons of UTI. Eventually my problem went away. Nothing happpended other than my bladder finially caught up with my body. No diet change, no medical change etc.. I KNOW I KNOW EC isn't this horrid picture of parents forcing something on their children. :blush Sometimes I think maybe I'll try for baby #2 but unfortunally all those horrible memories flood my mind and I guess I get a mental block. I'm not sure what my point is? I guess just to "let it out". So if your reading thanks for listening and if I offended I'm sorry.

Deanna

[tui_song]

(((Deanna)))

I'm so sorry this happened to you. :(

As an ECer I find it really gentle and a way of being in tune with my child rather than forcing anything on him. In fact I think if he had a medical problem it would probably be more of a help than a hindrance to EC. For example, through doing EC with him I discovered that he is 'ballooning' when he urinates, and he is receiving medical treatment for it. Hopefully this will help prevent infections later.

Not offended at all, btw. :)

[milkmommy]

hanks I think I need to be more open to it.. I mean I know there is no rule stating I must do it and honestly part of me just doesnt want to not totally. but your soo right. Part of the reason I choose to CD was so both she and I would be more aware and so she wouldn't feel pressured to train. (no cost worry that shes not ready to train at a certain age). I do havea question. did you EC as a newborn? If so how? like my DD had explosive BM while nursing for the first 6months (every nursing secession) would I wait till that stopped? Just learning ;)

Deanna

[ChristineG]

:hug Wow, Deanna!! That is awful! I know you know this isn't EC at all, but a good way to think of it is that this type of situation is exactly what EC is attempting to avoid. Ec's purpose is to avoid ever teaching the baby to use his clothing as a toilet. An ECed baby knows right from the start that a potty is the place to pee (or wherever mom/dad takes him). This way, a baby never goes through toilet training. They grow up always knowing and eventually rely on mom/dad for help less and less until they are able to take themselves all the time. It is a lot like child-led weaning. A baby nurses less and less and then you realize that it has been a few days, later a few weeks and eventually, they are weaned, with no stress, just gentle transition. It is really a lot of fun. It can be a lot of work, too, but there is something amazing about a 3 day old baby pooping in the potty that makes it all worth it!

Yes, you can start right from the beginning. With baby #3, I can remember my midwife doing a homevisit during dd's first week of life and being there when I was taking her potty. She pooped and peed then and the midwife was amazed. Lots of ECers find that those explosive BMs tend to come out more often all at once (or at least only a couple of times a day) as opposed to every nursing. Of course, there are tons of exceptions to this, but the position for EC actually helps the baby empty his bowels better than lying down. If you are concerned that you may stress about EC, it is extra important to start early. A baby will catch on VERY quickly, but this is only if he is younger. Waiting until 6 months or later is actually considered 'late starting' and is much more difficult. Before this time, babies are fairly reliable signallers. After 6 mo or so, they often move on to just going when mom takes them and signal less. Later, they will resume signalling. Every baby is different. It is a lot easier to figure stuff out and help them figure it out when they are in arms more and not busy trying to learn to crawl and play. EC is really very simple. I will let someone else fill you in on how it works because I have to run. I just wanted to offer you encouragement and also to say how sorry I am about your childhood potty experiences. It sounds terrible.

[Mother of Sons]

For example, through doing EC with him I discovered that he is 'ballooning' when he urinates, and he is receiving medical treatment for it.

I take it your son is intact? Ballooning is completely normal and does not require treatment! Most doctors don't know a thing about intact penises so they think it's a problem but it's not. It will not cause urine backup, it will not cause kidney or bladder problems. Eventually it will stop happening all together but it is not a problem and it isn't a medical issue.

To the OP. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I can't imagine going through that!. My oldest son also had a very hard time at night. He was just too deep of a sleeper, impossible to wake up. (((HUGS))) I'm not sure what to suggest in terms of EC. I think the other posters said some very good things. :hug

[julbug]

I'm planning to use EC when my little one arrives. I never have done so before. Someone said something about the position they're in makes it easier for them to go, what position is that?

Thanks.

[tui_song]

I take it your son is intact? Ballooning is completely normal and does not require treatment!
Thanks for this infomation MOS - I have pm'ed you. :)

julbug, the sitting/squatting position makes it easier for them to go, as opposed to lying down.

[julbug]

That makes sense, who would want to go lying down? I should have known that was what you were referring to.

[milkmommy]

That maybe something I can try with the next child. With my DD I always nursed her sitting so she was "semi upright" and I'd hold her or put her in her swing etc for a bit after because I did notice she had far less spit ups and gas and her mesiest diapers (fullest ?) occured then. I then immediently changed her. I guess I could of tried getting her to use the potty instead?
Deanna

[Roma]

i've never been scared to ec but on bad days I have referred to it as the blue pill in the matrix, kind of like....'wish you'd taken the blue pill right'

on the other hand on the good days i dance for joy at only having one or two dirty dipes