Elimination Communication with a Newborn from Birth

Elimination Communication with a Newborn from Birth

We have been practicing elimination communication with our newborn baby girl since she was born. I would like to share which tools have been working well for us and some journal entries from these early days. This is our second child we are EC'ing but the first time starting elimination communication from birth. With our son, we started offering the potty when he was one-month-old.

This blog post includes:

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! I purchased the wool puddle pads from Little Bunny Bear at a discounted price, in order to share them with you. I received the GDF Online Minicourses for free, in order to review them on this blog.

Potty and Diaper Changing Station for Elimination Communication

Bedside Potty and Diaper Changing Station for EC

One thing that has been working really well is our bedside potty and diaper changing station. I have a rolling diaper cart right next to my bed with everything I need for offering the potty or changing a diaper.

I had a home birth and my midwife advises moms to stay in bed for the first week after giving birth, so it made sense to store diapering supplies right by our bed. I debated whether to get a changing table but decided just to change diapers on the bed.

Wool Puddle Pads on the Bed

On our bed I keep an extra large family size wool puddle pad from Little Bunny Bear topped with a Cloth-eez double weave muslin swaddle blanket. This is where I sit while nursing and where Baby and I nap. The wool puddle pad protects our bed from liquids of all kinds. If the muslin blanket gets wet I toss it in with the dirty diapers and replace it with a clean one.

On top of the large puddle pad and blanket you can see what we use as a changing pad. First is a wool changing pad from Little Bunny Bear folded in half. (I think it stretched length wise when I washed and lanolized it.) Then an organic cotton cloth prefold. And to top it all off, a cloth wipe. This is also what we use for diaper-free time. If the cloth wipe gets a few drips on it, I can easily swap it out. If the whole set up gets peed on, I can replace the wipe and prefold. The wool changing pad has only needed to be washed a couple times, mostly to wash away breastmilk.

Top Hat Potty

You can also see "The Baby Potty" top hat potty sitting on the bed. When I offer the potty I sit on the edge of the bed (on the extra large wool puddle pad) with the potty between my legs. I normally hold my baby over the potty in classic EC hold, with one hand under each thigh and her back resting against my belly. Sometimes I sit on the middle of the bed with one leg bent around the potty to hold it in place. The top hat potty worked perfectly for our petite baby girl for the first couple months. Once she reached two-months-old, the pee would often shoot across the top of the potty and run down my leg onto the floor.

We switched to using a chamber pot for about a week. The larger opening made the chamber pot easier to use, but the rim was not as comfortable as the top hat potty.

Around 11-weeks-old we switched to using the Potette Plus with reusable liner, since I still had one that my son had used. The Potette Plus with silicone liner is comfortable and my baby loves when I hold her on it, since she can look around. But it's too wide for her to straddle and put her feet down.

By three-months-old she really needed a new potty, so I plan to get her another small potty soon. If you are trying to figure out which potty to get, please read my post on The Best Elimination Communication Potties.

Rolling Diaper Cart Beside the Bed

Cloth Diaper Storage Cart

On the rolling diaper cart I keep all of my cloth diapering supplies and other items that I need to have within arms reach.

Top shelf:

Middle shelf:

  • Fitted cloth diapers
  • Cloth prefold diapers

Bottom shelf:

  • Flaparap pads
  • Bummis organic cotton prefolds (stacked on receiving blankets)

Cloth Diaper Storage Cart Side View

Top basket:

Round container:

Middle basket:

Round container:

  • Flaparap belts
  • Diaper pins

Bottom basket:

I also keep my Lifefactory glass water bottle on the floor by the bed to drink at night or while nursing. It didn't fit on the cart.

Open Diaper Pail

I decided to use an open diaper pail after reading that the air flow helps to reduce odor. So far with washing every other day it's been working great! Only a couple times when the weather has been really hot has there been an ammonia smell. We keep the dirty cloth diapers in a wicker basket lined with a Planet Wise diaper pail liner. If we have a big poop miss in a cloth diaper we rinse the diaper with water and hang in on the edge of the basket to dry.

I'm not one of those EC'ing moms who doesn't have any poop misses with a newborn. My baby poops A-L-L the time!

Remote Controlled Lamp for Nighttime EC

We have a little mushroom-shaped lamp that I love using for nighttime EC and diaper changes. A remote controlled lamp is something I wished I had with my first baby. I chose this lamp because it can be set to different colors and dimmed. I was hoping to use the orange setting, but it looks more yellow, so I use the red setting at night. Red/orange/amber colors are less likely to disturb your sleep at night.

Newborn Cloth Diapers as Elimination Communication Backup

I researched and researched when writing my post on the best cloth diaper backups for EC. Instead of testing out numerous types of cloth diapers, I wanted to choose just a couple types that would best suit my needs. But despite all my effort and expense, I still didn't end up with the most convenient cloth diapers for elimination communication with a newborn. Now I understand why many people recommend trying various brands and types of cloth diapers to see which ones work best on your baby.

gDiapers gPants

Newborn Tiny gPants Grey and White Striped

With my first baby, we used gDiapers and cloth prefolds provided by Dolphin Diaper Service. While we were at the hospital the first couple days we used disposable diapers and when we got home we finished the pack of disposables. After that we switched to size small gDiapers.

My sister-in-law had gifted us gently used gDiapers gPants that she had used on her daughter. My son was just shy of seven pounds at birth and was able to go straight into the size small gPants at a few days old. I was always asking the diaper service to change the size of prefolds, trying to find which ones would fit perfectly in the gPants and prevent poop from getting on the inner waterproof nylon pouch. When we were expecting our second baby, I wanted to find something even better than gDiapers.

Turns out gDiapers weren't so bad after all! They were easy to use and they NEVER leaked.

Even if the waterproof pouch did get soiled, with the size small gPants, I could simply swap it out. With newborn gPants the entire gPants would need to be changed, since the pouch isn't removable.

gDiapers recently started offering a six pack of newborn gPants, which I would have purchased if they had been available just a little bit sooner!

Our Organic Cotton and Wool Newborn Cloth Diaper Stash

I'm going to share which covers and organic cloth diapers we used for our newborn, in hopes that you can make the best choice for your baby. We didn't do newborn cloth diapering perfectly. Hopefully you can learn from our mistakes.

Let's start with the diaper covers in our newborn stash.

Newborn Diaper Covers Wool and PUL

Clockwise: 2 Loveybums-in-One Wool Crepe Covers, Blueberry PUL Mini-Coveralls, Babee Greens Wool Interlock Cover

Our newborn cloth diaper cover stash includes three wool wrap style covers and one polyurethane laminate (PUL) cover. I also have three Flaparap shells, but I am waiting to use those until my baby grows into them.

Shown clockwise above starting from upper left:

Here are some details regarding how these covers worked during the newborn stage.

Loveybums-in-One Wool Crepe Diaper Covers with Aplix Closure

Loveybums Newborn Wool Crepe Diaper Cover

Loveybums Newborn Wool Crepe Diaper Cover

I had high hopes for the Loveybums-in-One wool crepe covers with Aplix closure and snap-in cloth diapers. Unfortunately, they don't fit tightly enough around my baby's legs to contain pee. Especially if she is laying on her side, the pee runs right out the leg hole.

At first, the Loveybums wool covers were leaking no matter what my baby was wearing under them. Once the Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted diapers started to fit her well (at around 10 lbs), the Loveybums covers worked fine over those. But they still leaked with the snap-in diapers that were made to go with the covers! And they didn't hold a prefold or Flaparap pad in place well enough to prevent poop from getting on the wool cover.

I had originally intended to get Loveybums-in-Ones in size medium to use after the size NB/SM, but I need a new plan!

Babee Greens Classic Merino Wool Interlock Diaper Cover

Babee Greens Newborn Wool Diaper Cover

Motherhood - Babee Greens Newborn Wool Diaper Cover

The Babee Greens wool cover is the only cloth diaper in our stash that fit my baby from birth (5 lbs 13 oz). The Merino wool interlock is super soft and cuddly when I'm holding my baby.

The newborn Babee Greens Classic Merino Wool Interlock Diaper Cover is my favorite cover!

I thought I didn't like diapers with snaps, but the two rows of snaps are actually very functional. They allow for adjusting the leg openings and waist separately. We started with the leg holes on the smallest setting and the waist band on the middle setting. That worked well while our baby's thighs were still thin but her belly was big and full of milk. The looser waist setting also allowed the cover to go over her cord stump, although I would have preferred an option that sat below her cord stump, since it tended to bump against it.

The Babee Greens cover fits tightly enough to hold a pad folded prefold or Flaparap pad in place (see photos below). It can also be used over Cloth-eez fitted diapers. I wish I would have bought two of the Babee Greens wool diaper covers when I placed my order with Green Mountain Diapers!

Instead, I have been hand washing poop spots off the one Babee Greens cover quite often and using the Loveybums covers while it dries overnight. But in the early days, the Loveybums covers would leak at night, making for a stressful night. I even sent my husband to Target to buy a pack of newborn Honest Diapers for me to use at night. But the pack of 44 diapers only lasted about four nights, since I was going through about 10 diapers per night at that point! That's why I'm a cloth diapering mama. I change diapers way too often to rely on disposables.

I am tempted to buy a couple Babee Greens wool covers in size small, but I know that as my baby grows and I am not always laying her down for diaper changes, the snaps will be too difficult to close while holding her in my arms.

Blueberry Newborn Mini-Coveralls

Blueberry Newborn Mini-Coveralls Diaper Cover

Blueberry Newborn Diaper Cover and Rock-a-Thigh Baby Socks

I originally wasn't planning to get any PUL diaper covers, but I got one Blueberry Mini-Coveralls as part of a set that came with three newborn organic cotton fitted diapers. I don't like the feel of the synthetic polyester fabric as much as soft wool. The Mini-Coveralls works as a light weight option for carrying in the diaper bag. It's also nice that it can be machine washed.

The Mini-Coveralls fits over the Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted diapers and Flaparaps pads, but the rise needs to be adjusted taller to accommodate the Blueberry fitted diapers which came with the set.

Now let's look at the absorbent cloth diapers we have been using with the covers or on their own.

Newborn Organic Cotton Cloth Diapers

Clockwise: Cloth-eez newborn fitted, Blueberry organic fitted, Loveybums Snap-in Diaper, Preemie Prefold, Small Flaparap Pad

We've been using an assortment of organic cotton cloth diapers with the newborn covers.

Shown clockwise above starting from upper left:

Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted Diaper Newborn

Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted Diaper Newborn with Boingo

Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted Diaper Newborn with Boingo

From what I had read online, fitted diapers sounded like an excellent option while doing elimination communication with a newborn. They can be worn without a cover at home, so you can tell as soon as your baby pees. You can add a cover over the fitted diaper for waterproof protection when going out. It sounded like they would be the best option for using under wool covers.

What I had not considered is that not all fitted diapers fit the same way, and so a certain brand might not fit a particular baby. I know many expectant moms who skip newborn cloth diapers all together, opting to put their baby straight into a bigger size. Based on my first baby's size, I thought it would be worth investing in newborn size fitted diapers.

I didn't expect the newborn Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted Diapers to be too BIG on my newborn!

I had thought that the elastic leg gussets on the newborn fitted diapers would contain runny newborn poop better than prefolds, but the leg holes were so big that they didn't even contain pee! I sure knew right away when she peed, because the pee ran right onto my lap. And in my sleep deprived state it took me two days to remember to put a wool puddle pad in my lap while holding my baby when she wasn't wearing a waterproof diaper cover.

By the time my daughter was around 10 pounds and finally fitting into the newborn Workhorse Fitted Diapers, it also seemed that she was quickly on her way to outgrowing them.

What I had really wanted were the Loveybums organic cotton fitted diapers with Aplix (hook and loop) closure. But at $20 a piece, they were too expensive to buy a large stash. So I opted for the no-closure version of the Workhorse Fitted Diapers, thinking they would be easier than the snap version. Update 8/28/2019: Turns out I prefer the Loveybums fitted diapers with snaps rather than Aplix closure. We are currently using the Loveybums organic cotton velour fitted diapers size large on our toddler for outings and nighttime and we love the fit and how trim they are.

At first I tried using a Boingo fastener for securing the Cloth-eez Workhorse fitted diapers closed. But I realized that was contributing to the poor fit around the legs. So I shelled out some more money and bought a pack of Snappi fasteners. The Snappis worked a bit better. I didn't like the hassle of needing to secure the fitted diaper with the Snappi and then put the cover on, making it a two step process. With the gDiapers I had used with my son, I was able to trifold a prefold and place it in the pouch of the gPant, which I could then put on my baby in one piece.

Once my daughter grew into the Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitted Diapers they were my most trustworthy option for containing pee and poop and the ones I preferred for nighttime and away from home.

Instead of buying so many fitted diapers (two dozen!) I should have bought at least one dozen newborn size Cloth-eez organic prefolds. The prefolds could have been used at home with a diaper belt or under my baby for diaper-free time. I also could have trifolded (pad folded) the prefolds and laid them inside the covers. That way I could put the whole diaper on my baby in one step instead of two steps.

Basically, it wasn't worth the extra expense to get fitted diapers. I thought I was paying more for ease of use, but instead they caused more difficulty since they leaked and needed to be secured onto my baby before adding the cover.

Blueberry Fitted Diaper Newborn

Blueberry Newborn Organic Cotton Fitted Diaper

Blueberry Newborn Organic Cotton Fitted Diaper

I purchased one set of Blueberry newborn fitted organic cloth diapers that are made in the USA. Mostly, I wanted to find out if newborn fitted diapers were just a bad idea or if some fitted diapers are a better fit than others. The Blueberry fitted diapers with snaps did fit more snuggly around the legs. The lesson I learned is that it's better to buy just a couple fitted cloth diapers per brand to try them on and see what works best for your particular baby. The same goes for covers and all-in-one diapers.

I liked that the Blueberry fitted cloth diapers were made with organic cotton velour. They also snapped down in the front to accommodate the umbilical cord. That's something I should have thought about, since I was planning to cloth diaper from birth. I guess I didn't think much about it, other than that the Workhorse Fitted Diapers could be folded down in front. The gDiapers I used with my first baby fell nicely below the umbilical cord, so that issue just didn't cross my mind when planning for my second baby.

The Blueberry fitted diapers were bulkier than I would have liked. I didn't need that much absorbency, since I was changing after every pee or poop.

Loveybums-in-One Snap-in Diaper NB/SM

I had been so excited to discover the wool and organic cotton Loveybums-in-One (which is misnamed since it's really an all-in-two cloth diaper). I had thought that Loveybums-in-Ones with snap in diapers would be a main staple in my cloth diaper stash throughout our elimination communication journey.

But despite the elastic around the leg openings on the snap-in diapers, they just didn't contain pee. Every time I used the wool crepe covers with the snap-in diapers they leaked, even once my daughter was fitting into the rest of her newborn diapers. I was so sad that what seemed like such an awesome idea just didn't work.

Cloth-eez Prefold Diaper Preemie

The Cloth-eez Preemie prefolds fit nicely trifolded and laid inside the Babee Greens wool diaper cover. However, they are not very absorbent. Even with changing after every miss, they soon were not absorbing enough to keep the cover dry.

I had actually purchased these preemie prefolds to use as mama cloth postpartum, so they weren't originally meant to be part of our cloth diaper stash. It was nice to have an extra dozen cloth diapers during the first few weeks.

It would have been nice if I had also purchased some newborn size organic prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers, which are thicker and a bit longer than the preemie prefolds. I was trying to get away from prefolds this time around, but they really are one of the best types of cloth diapers for elimination communication.

Flaparap Pad Small and Large

When our baby girl was brand new, our favorite combination was the small Flaparap pads folded (with a breastmilk poop trench) and laid inside the Babee Greens wool cover (see photo below). I had heard from another EC'ing mom that the Flaparaps pads fit inside the Babee Greens wool cover, and they do work great together! The waterproof Flaparap shells look huge on my newborn so we haven't used them yet. I'm glad we have the absorbent Flaparap pads to use for now.

Note: As of March 12, 2019 the Born Ready shop selling Flaparaps has closed. If I were to have another baby I would look into the wool drop-flap diapers from Emilino.

Here's how the preemie prefolds and Flaparap pads look inside the newborn Babee Greens Wool Diaper Cover:

Babee Greens Wool Diaper Cover with Organic Inserts

Clockwise: Babee Greens Merino Wool Diaper Cover Newborn; Preemie Prefold; Large Flaparap Pad; Small Flaparap Pad

What I Would do Differently for Newborn Cloth Diaper Backups

If I could go back and re-create my newborn cloth diaper stash, I would have done more of a sampler: six of these, half a dozen of the other. That way I could have compared and seen which diapers fit my particular baby the best and which ones were the easiest to use. One reason I didn't go that route was because the new organic cotton cloth diapers that I bought from Green Mountain Diapers needed to be prepped before use (washed and dried five times). I wanted to get all of the prepping done before my baby arrived. I also wanted to have enough cloth diapers on hand to go straight into cloth diapering after our home birth. What I wasn't expecting was that even the newborn size cloth diapers were too big on my baby at first!

It would have been nice to start with the following stash. I could have added from there, depending upon what worked or didn't work for us.

Sample Newborn Cloth Diaper Stash

I normally don't recommend all-in-one diapers for elimination communication backup, but there were a couple nights that I was super tired and had a terrible headache and I was wishing for the easiest option possible. Normally I think all-in-one diapers are excessive for EC backup, since the entire diaper needs to be washed for one little pee. But sometimes we just need to make life easier on ourselves!

Update: After cloth diapering and EC'ing both of my kids as newborn babies, I wrote wrote a separate post on building a Newborn Cloth Diaper Stash for Elimination Communication. I hope it helps you choose which types and how many cloth diapers to get when preparing to practice elimination communication from birth.

Elimination Communication Journal: 0-2 Months Old

I have been writing journal entries using Google Keep on my phone to document our elimination communication journey with our newborn. Here's how it's been going practicing EC from birth.

May 9, 2018 (Day 1)

We were trying to catch meconium in the top hat potty, but instead we caught her first two pees! She kept passing a little bit of meconium that we would wipe off her bottom, but when we would hold her over the top hat potty she wouldn't poop.

The first diaper she wore was a Cloth-eez Workhorse fitted diaper without a cover. I'm glad I bought newborn size cloth diapers, since she was only 5 lbs 13 oz at birth! I had 4 disposable diapers on hand that I got from the Amazon Baby Registry welcome box. I finally put a disposable diaper on her while I was trying to breastfeed. Meconium and a pee ended up in that disposable diaper.

May 10 (Day 2)

Last night I changed three disposable diapers with meconium and one with pee. I nursed her around 6am. I planned to offer the potty the next time she woke. I heard a fart while she was sleeping, and there was already some meconium in her cloth diaper. I held her over the top hat potty and caught two big pushes of meconium.

May 11 (Day 3)

No catches in the potty today. I offered the potty a couple times and my husband also offered once. Her poop switched to breastfed yellow poop today.

May 12 (Day 4)

There was a little breastfed poop in her cloth diaper and then we caught two squirts in the potty!

On the next attempt, I was trying to fold a slightly poopy diaper so I could set it aside and position her on the potty. Out shot the poop, running down my leg onto the floor and getting on the bed sheets.

Oh, well. It was time to change the sheets anyway. At least we caught a little bit of the poop in the potty.

At 4 pm she had a little bit of poop in her cloth diaper, and the rest went in the potty.

May 13 (Day 5)

There was a tiny bit of poop in her cloth diaper and the rest went in the potty. I have been using "poo poo poo" as a cue. Then I ask, "Any more poo poo poo?".

Pee has been leaking out the leg holes of the fitted diapers, especially when holding her on her side to nurse. I'm not sure how to secure the fitted diapers tighter while still folding down the front for her umbilical cord.

3:30 pm Caught a poop by offering right after nap. Trying to fasten diapers by bringing tab up and then twisting before fastening.

May 14 (Day 6)

6:30 am She was still awake after her first morning nursing, so I put her on the potty and caught a poop.

10 am: She was straightening her legs and staining so I put her on the potty and she peed and pooped. There was a little poop in that diaper. Then she was acting like she wanted to nurse but still wouldn't latch, so I put her on the potty and she peed again! Saved that diaper!

2:20 pm She woke up from her nap fussy but not wanting to latch, so put her on the potty and caught a poop. Figured out that sometimes she crawls in her sleep because she peed and is trying to get out of the pee puddle.

May 15 (Day 7)

Caught a tiny bit of morning poop in the potty, had some awake time, got fussy, but wouldn't latch, caught more poop. She peed and started pooping during her afternoon sun bath, so I rinsed her bottom in the sink, and caught the rest of the poop.

May 16

Offered the potty during my appointment and my midwife took a photo to show someone. Awake time, then caught a pee and poop.

May 17

5 am I haven't been offering the potty at night much. She was working on a poop and about to soil another diaper, so I offered the potty and she did a big poop.

She tends to straighten her legs and pee before latching on to nurse. Her poop signal  is that she farts and brings her legs to her belly. Maybe I should start offering during the day right before I nurse her.

She already seems like she prefers pooping in the potty. Or maybe the position just makes it easier for her.

8:20 am: She usually pees before starting to nurse, so when she woke up I offered the potty right away and caught a big pee and a poop. Saved a diaper from getting dirty this time.

11:20 am Offered potty upon waking up but nothing. started nursing but unlatched. Offered potty and caught a big pee.

Apparently, sometimes she wakes from nap because she needs to or is peeing and pooping. After changing her diaper or offering the potty she will often go back to sleep.

12:20 finally fed, farted while putting on diaper, caught a big poop.

May 18

Poop and pee catch at the park (first time taking her out of the house). Offered potty at night when she was grunting and caught a poop.

May 19

We let her nap completely naked for most of the day, so she wouldn't have a cloth diaper bumping against her umbilical stump. We layered her small wool pad, wash cloth or prefold, and cloth wipe. It was easier to change out the cloth wipe when she pooped a tiny bit or the wipe and prefold when she peed than changing a diaper would have been.

May 20

Pottied at the lagoon, but then didn't know what to do with the contents on the potty. My husband emptied it in a bathroom.

May 21

Big poop in potty around 4:30 am. Then nursed well.

Poop farts while sleeping, but does bigger poops in the potty.

Noon: Caught poop, pee, and more poop that comes out like a fire hose.

Signals by being fussy and not latching when naked. Also, panting (breathing heavily) as a signal.

Almost all the cloth diapers are in the wash, so lots of diaper-free naked bottom time today. Plus, she has a little bit of diaper rash. Might need diaper cream after all.

2:20 pm Woke fussing from nap, peed in potty, nursed a little and went back to sleep.

May 22

5:20 am I finally caught some poop in potty after she had been grunting all night and multiple offers.

May 23

Grunting loudy a good portion of the night. Wouldn't poop when offered potty. Had to hold her in burp position in the early morning to get her to stop grunting. Huge poop in diaper as soon as she started wiggling at 7 am. Then a big poop in the potty. And then on two clean diapers and then another diaper!

May 28

If she wakes up crying she needs to poop and/or pee. She usually pushes out the poop first and then pees.

June 1

Now that she is a little over 7 pounds the Blueberry fitted diapers fit well. The leg holes on the Loveybums are also fitting better.

I've already had to wash the wool covers 3 or 4 times, washing two at a time. At first, umbilical cord stump was getting them dirty. Now poop gets on them, especially at night.

June 2

She already prefers peeing in the potty rather than her diaper! She will poop in her diaper no problem. It's the opposite of some EC'd babies.

I think she only peed in her diaper once today. The rest have been in the potty. She pees almost every time I offered the top hat potty or bathroom sink.

She had just fallen asleep but started crying while I was eating dinner. I asked g to offer her the potty. He found a little poop in her diaper and just changed it. She kept crying even after both of us tried bouncing her. I took off her diaper and she peed in the potty. Then I was able to get her to go back to sleep.

June 9 (one-month-old)

Workhorse fitted diapers are fitting better now with a Snappi fastener. Even Loveybums cover is fitting better over the workhorses now that her thighs are getting a bit chubby.

This morning g had been holding Harumi for quite a while. She had sleepy eyes and was resting her head on g's shoulder. She whimpered and I told him she probably needed to use the potty. He didn't believe me. I told him the other signs were if she started breathing heavily and panting and crawling up him, which she started to do not long after. He put her on the potty and caught a poop and a pee. There was a little poop already in her diaper, but that's how it always tends to be. He's still not sure he believes me.

June 15 (5-weeks-old)

My itty bit used a public restroom for the first time today! First we tried the family bathroom, but it was locked. The changing table in the main bathroom was occupied, so we looked around for another changing table. My son was rather confused by the child occupying the changing table in the main bathroom. He asked, "Is that a baby? If it's a baby, why does it have big shoes?". I told him it was probably at toddler getting it's diaper changed. He still looked perplexed. Then the lady changing her child let us know the family bathroom was open, so we went inside the private bathroom. I removed Baby's poopy diaper on the change table (she is still pooping quite frequently) and held her over the big toilet where she peed and pooped some more!

Yesterday was the first day where her diaper was sometimes clean when I would take it off to offer the potty. Before that, it almost always had poop and sometimes pee.

She seems to be opposite of other babies in that she signals strongly for pee (fussing) but not for poop. I think with poop I'm just too slow to respond. And her gut is probably still healing from the silent reflux caused by the lip and tongue ties she was born with. I need to eat more probiotic foods!

June 18 (7-weeks-old) - Elimination Communication with a Newborn While Traveling

We are visiting family in California for a week and a half. I've been borrowing a changing table, which is fun to get to try out. My set up with the top hat potty on the changing table has been working well for offering during diaper changes. I'm getting used to the convenience of disposables that I'm using on this trip, but I go through way too many! Disposable diapers are so much easier to fit in the diaper bag!

EC Diaper Changing Table with Top Hat Potty

EC Diaper Changing Table with Top Hat Potty

We did our first in the air and on my lap diaper change in a public bathroom. I learned about the lap diaper change technique from the Go Diaper Free "Baby Meets Potty" online class.

Since it is cooler where we are staying, I've finally gotten a chance to dress Baby in outfits. Until now, she has mostly just worn a cloth diaper while at home.

July 4 (8-weeks-old)

We are finally starting to save some diapers! Sometimes when I offer the potty her diaper is dry and clean! It helps that she isn't pooping all the time anymore.

July 5 - Grandma Came to Visit 

Baby seemed a bit agitated when my mom handed her off to me - flailing her arms and legs. I offered the potty and she peed. And her diaper was still clean and dry!

EC seems to be clicking at 8 weeks.

Her hormones also seem to be kicking in. Her diaper is often dry at night when I take it off to offer the potty. Or maybe I'm just responding quicker at night. She has also started waiting until morning to poop. Yay! No more pooping all night long.

July 8

Our local library does not have a diaper changing table in the bathroom.

I managed to change her fitted diaper with Snappi and Loveybums wool cover while standing up in the library bathroom! Mama's got skills!

July 7

Today we are trying Flaparaps. First we had a pee miss. Next time we had a pee catch with a dry pad. It's tricky to get the pad all the way forward when it is so low rise. After tucking the flap under the waist band on the back, I reach in and pull the pad up in the front. Had another pee miss and decided to end experiment for now.

July 9 (two-months-old)

I was getting worried since Baby didn't poop yesterday. It occurred to me that she is almost always being held, now that her grandma is here. I figured we better lay her down for a bit, so we did. Then I offered the potty and she did a big poop. When I laid her back down to put her diaper on she pooped on my shorts and her wool change pad. It's a good thing I didn't wash the wool pad yesterday like I had planned to!

July 10 

It seems like she might be outgrowing the top hat potty. She peed over the edge three times yesterday. She didn't poop much yesterday, so this morning after first morning milk (6am) I gave her a good amount of time on the potty and we caught a big poop. Its hard to know when she is done pooping.

9:30 am While she was laying calmly letting me clip her nails she did a big poop in her diaper.

We went for a walk to the playground and were out for three hours. We used all 4 cloth diapers. I didn't bring the potty, trying to lighten the load. 1 change in the bathroom on the way, 2 changes at the playground, 1 change in the bathroom on the way back. This is why I normally like to bring 6 cloth diapers!

July 11

We had 3 pee catches in a row this morning! I stopped using the still clean Flaparap pad in the wool cover and switched to a fitted diaper, in case we miss the morning poop.

July 13

We were out most of the day yesterday and she didn't poop. I made an effort to offer the potty this morning and we caught her poop around 9:30am.

She was straining while nursing, which is usually a signal that she needs to poop.

July 15

We attended the Hawaii farm fair today. After nursing Baby, I looked around for somewhere to change her diaper and decided on a patch of grass. To my surprise, her diaper was still dry. Not wanting to force her to pee in her diaper, I took her to a porta potty. The Go Diaper Free "EC While Out and About" online class gave me the courage to try taking my baby in the porta potty. Half of her pee went in the urinal and the other half on my feet. At least we tried!

We ate lunch at the Kualoa restaurant next to the fair. She nursed and then I took her to the bathroom. Her diaper was dry and she peed in the toilet. She had a few wet diaper after that.

Not bad making it to 2pm with the same diaper she left home wearing!

July 17

I decided to try out the Flaparaps today. Flaparaps do not work well for catching liquid newborn poop! Right before lunch I was nursing her. Then I was going to hand her off to g so I could eat lunch. I told him it would be a good idea for him to hold her over the potty or sink, since she might need to poop soon. Then she let out a big poop in the Flaparap. And some more and some more. It didn't stay contained in the pad with breastmilk poop trench. It also got on the Flaparap shell. I washed it off with water and stain soap right away.

This last time around I was able to go an extra day between washing diapers. Wash day, day, day, wash day!

***

That's all my notes for zero through two months old. Our next update will let you know how it went during her third month.

You may also want to read my tips on Preparing for Elimination Communication with a Newborn. Next I will share my thoughts on the connection between Elimination Communication and Breastfeeding.

About Heidi Avelino

Heidi is passionate about spreading awareness of elimination communication and natural cloth diapering. She is an environmentalist and strives to live a minimalist and zero-waste lifestyle. Heidi practiced EC with each of her three children. Her eldest son and her daughter have reached potty independence. She is currently practicing EC with and cloth diapering her youngest son.

4 Comments

  1. Jessica on February 10, 2019 at 7:34 am

    Hi Heidi. I love your rolling diaper cart. Looks similar to a cart that’s available at Target, but did you add the perforated metal panel on the side?

    Thanks for all your great content. I’m learning a lot before my little one is born.

    Jessica



  2. Heidi Avelino on February 10, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    Hi Jessica,
    We purchased the rolling diaper cart at Sam’s Club. It came with the side panel that allows the little baskets to be attached. There are similar ones on Amazon, like this one: https://amzn.to/2tgCuUr

    Congratulations on your baby on-the-way!



  3. Emma Read on October 6, 2019 at 1:24 am

    Hello, I am pregnant now and following your advice to get ready for the arrival, thank you so much for all the information. I was wondering if you can help me with your knowledge, I have bought some newborn gdiapers but do not want to use the reusable insert provided because im trying to avoid polyester and cannot afford the disposable inserts, I live in the uk so I cannot find preemie prefolds, do you think I could use muzlin flats folded up or do you have any other idea? such as making own inserts? Thanks allot



  4. Heidi Avelino on November 3, 2019 at 7:20 am

    Hi Emma,
    Yes! You could use flats folded up (maybe half flats) or flour sack towels. Here’s a tutorial for sewing your own gDiaper inserts: https://seekatesew.com/handmade-gdiaper-cloth-insert-tutorial/