Going Diaper Free with Elimination Communication, with Andrea Olson

Elimination Communication is a way of responding to your baby’s pottying cues that can lead to being diaper free. This is what everyone did before diapers were invented, and how half the babies on Earth are currently potty independent by age one. Intrigued? Andrea Olson is here to tell us more.

What we talked about:

• Our babies’ instincts not to soil themselves
• What is Elimination Communication?
• How easy is EC to do?
• What do breastfeeding, baby sleep, and EC have in common?
• What do an infant’s signals look like?
• Tuning in to your baby’s timing
• As Pampers intended: Why it’s getting harder and harder to potty train kids that use disposables
• World: 1 / USA: 3
• How long does it take for it to click?
• Using a diaper as a tool or back-up, not a toilet
• The best time to start EC, and is it ever too late?
• Does EC have to be done full-time, all the time?
• How are an older baby’s signals different than a newborn’s?
• Why it’s not really biological to wait for your baby to ask to be rid of diapers.
• Benefits of EC.

Resources, links, and other great info:

• Mothering, Mindfulness and a Baby’s Bottom: An Introduction to Elimination Communication, by Sarah Buckley
• Bye-Bye Diapers?, from WebMD
• What is Elimination Communication, by Andrea Olson
• EC Forums, at Mothering.com

Books*:

• All of Andrea’s books
• Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene, by Ingrid Bauer
• Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living, by Laurie Boucke
• The Diaper-Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative, by Christine Gross-Loh

Related Birthful episodes:

• Cloth Diapers, with Heather Holt

Courtesy of Andrea Olson

About Andrea Olson

Andrea Olson teaches parents of new babies and toddlers how to free themselves from diaper dependence, starting as early as birth, with her website, godiaperfree.com, and her podcast and books. She teaches elimination communication (EC) for babies 0-18 months with her book Go Diaper Free, gentle potty training for toddlers over 18 months with her book The Tiny Potty Training Book, and has also self-published 2 diaper-less board books for babies 6 months and up, Tiny Potty and Night Potty. She also runs TinyUndies.com, because diaper-free babies need something cute to wear (small baby potties as well). Andrea lives in beautiful Asheville with her husband, 5 kids, a sweet kitty, and 18 backyard chickens (at last count).

Contact Andrea through her website, or follow the conversation on Facebook or Instagram (@godiaperfree).

And click to get her free Easy Start Guide for Elimination Communication
 

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).