Baby changes everything...even the blog

So if you follow this blog, you'll notice I've got a new look and theme these days. Not surprising, I'm sure. I hope you'll enjoy the new twist and my ramblings and ravings about being a mom. I want to give folks an idea of the realities of motherhood - the intensity of my love for Calvin, the way Toby and I are handling an addition to our family, the tiredness, the laughter, the tears...you get it.

I also want to share my experiences of practicing infant potty training with Calvin. It's something we've been doing since he was 3 months old. To fill those of you in who may not have heard of this, which I assume is many of you, infant potty training, also called "elimination communication (EC)," is a way of tuning in to one's child in order to learn their cues or ways of communicating that they have to pee or poop. Many "experts" say that kids don't do this until age 2. This just isn't true. Kids do give cues and let you know when they need to go. I think we don't give babies enough credit for their ability to communicate and learn. It has been an incredible process for me of really "listening" to Calvin and paying attention to his patterns, his different cries, his body language...all of it. Not just the elimination communication, but also his communication about his other needs. I found that when I tuned in to watch for potty cues, I started to learn more and more about how he tells me what he needs. I have been so amazed at Calvin's ability to let me know what's going on with his body. Toby was mighty impressed with this whole thing. He really wasn't on board at first and thought it would be too hard to "catch" pees and poos. But after a week of trying it and me showing him that I could catch some pees - Toby hasn't looked back.

So it isn't necessarily potty training as you may normally think of it. I first began noticing when Calvin peed or pooped in his diaper and then began to offer him a chance to go in the toilet or sink at those times. For example, I figured out that he would pee and poop every morning upon waking. I had a bowl right beside the bed, and when he woke up, I'd hold him over the bowl and when he peed, I would say 'Peeeee' and when he pooped, I would say 'Poo Poo.' Eventually, he seemed to understand that when I held him over a potty, sink, bowl and said either of the cue words, he could release.

Now, sometimes I think he has to go, and he doesn't. Other times, well, most of the time, I miss his pees and poops. I don't have any goals in mind for getting him "trained" by a certain point. I just really love the idea that I can help Calvin pee and poop away from his body more and more. Many kids whose parents use EC don't become what EC folks call "potty independent" until around the same time that kids who are potty trained in the typical way do, maybe around 2 years old. Some are readier earlier. The one thing I would love is to get Calvin out of diapers sooner rather than later. But I'm trying to hold that loosely and not get obsessed with it as a goal.

So - I'll be talking about that here because I love to share about it and haven't really found anyone in my circle of mommy friends who's into it. I'd love to hear your thoughts as you read about it all. If you want to know more about EC, check out the links on this page.

Well, it's been a long day...hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park with Toby, Calvin and Toby's dad, David. And then to a rodeo. Holy cow. I highly recommend going to one if you can. It was awesome!!

Nighty night