As many of you know, Arden has been using the potty with variable consistency from the age of 6 weeks. Recently, however, she’s had some pretty major breakthroughs. She has started to give us the potty sign (a shaken fist in the form of the ASL letter ‘T’) and is therefore using fewer and fewer diapers every day (we continue to use the biodegradable and flushable gDiapers). She’s very good about telling us when she needs to poop, and is even starting to tell us when she only needs to pee. She has even used the potty sign successfully at daycare, much to the amazement of Susan, who runs the daycare.

Some people have asked us if elimination communication (EC) is worth the extra time and trouble. Strangely enough, we don’t see it as being any more trouble than conventional diapering. In fact, we much prefer taking her to the potty than having to deal with the mess of a poopy diaper. You should see the firedrill that ensues when I (Penn) have to actually deal with a poopy diaper. Does it take extra time? Yes, I suppose so, but potty time usually involves a lot of talking, signing, and reading with Arden, so it ends up being time well spent.

We really didn’t start trying EC with a goal of early potty training (although we certainly hoped for that as a nice side effect). Our real goal was nuturing early communication with Arden and helping her learn how to control her body, both of which can be very empowering for an infant or toddler.

Anyway, the bottom line is that EC is not the hassle you might expect it to be and I can guarantee that a trip to the potty beats a diaper blowout any day.

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