Elimination Communication: Let’s Just Keep the Poop in the Pants

home insemination Kit

Have you ever heard of elimination communication? I hadn’t either, until I stumbled upon it while searching for “babies without diapers.” This curiosity was sparked after chatting with local women in a village in Myanmar about how they managed with their diaper-free little ones. They had no idea what a diaper was, and after a funny exchange of hand gestures, I understood their approach: Hold the baby out so they can go potty in the dirt and wash their clothes if there’s a little mishap.

I thought if they could do it, so could I. That was my first mistake. I should have realized that the tea-picking women of Myanmar probably had a level of resilience that I lacked.

While my husband and I were traveling abroad for a year, I found out I was pregnant. Our last stop was Southeast Asia, where I was utterly captivated by all the bare-bottomed babies. This fascination was partly fueled by my ambitious goal to rid the world of disposable diapers.

Unaware of the chaos that was about to ensue, I dove deep into “EC” research for our upcoming baby. I read The Diaper-Free Baby cover to cover and purchased a BabyBjörn potty seat. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for the money we’d save on disposables.

In the beginning, it was surprisingly easy. At just three days old, my son peed on cue while I made a carefully practiced “psss, psss, psss” sound, pointing his tiny little penis toward the sink. I was beaming with pride, thinking, “Why doesn’t everyone do this?” Changing diapers felt like a thing of the past!

Those first few months—while we transitioned from carefree adventurers to sleep-deprived, routine-bound parents—my main joy was catching my son’s pee and poop in any container other than a diaper. I was obsessed! I loved showcasing our pee-on-command trick to visitors, while most of my friends politely backed away.

Then I went back to work. Strike one for EC. Next, he began crawling, losing all interest in sitting still. Strike two. Then came solid foods. Game over!

Once he started eating real food, everything changed. My son quickly became a poop machine, averaging five times a day without any apparent signs of when it was happening. I waved the white flag on catching those messes, ditched the cloth diapers, and rejoiced at the convenience of disposables, buying them in bulk from Costco.

Recently, a friend told me her 13-month-old son was fully potty-trained thanks to EC. My competitive spirit flared up, and I dug out the BabyBjörn potty once again. I placed my son on it, but instead of using it, he tossed it down the stairs. Next, I attempted to distract him with books, but he filled the potty with Legos instead.

The following morning, I tried a nostalgic approach by holding him over the sink. He flailed, babbled, and then—yep—you guessed it, peed all over me and the mirror.

Still determined, I attempted again that evening. (And yes, you should be cringing right now.) While I was doing the dishes, he decided to let loose on the kitchen floor. No biggie, I thought, as I swiftly cleaned up the little turd and strapped a diaper on him.

Then I started noticing a foul smell. A smear on one toy led to another, and before I knew it, I was in a poop nightmare—finding little brown smudges everywhere. After a few frantic minutes, I managed to clean the toys and give my son a bath, but I was left with a living room that looked like a disaster zone.

Needless to say, I returned to my trusty disposable diapers, and I now have a newfound respect for those tough women in Myanmar, who must have nerves of steel and endless patience.

If you’re curious about more on this topic, you might want to check out our post about home insemination techniques at this link.

In conclusion, while elimination communication may work for some, it certainly wasn’t for me! Sometimes, it’s okay to embrace the convenience of modern parenting tools.