Elimination Communication

It's so neat the way things work out. For the past week or so, I've been doing some research on early potty training or infant potty training better known as elimination communication. It's when a parent/guardian listens to a baby's cues or read it's body language to figure out when the baby has to go potty. It's pretty common sense knowledge when you think about it. Just think about it.. Have you ever thought about what the tribal mother's in Africa do? You know.. the ones you see wearing their infants butt naked with no diapers or clothing. Just the cloth they're being carried in. Surely they don't let the infant just soil itself and the mother. So what do they do?? Something, I'm sure, that all of our ancestors have done at some point and time. They simply squat with the baby over a bucket or some designated "voiding" area when the baby gives the approipriate cues that it has to go. So imagine my amazement when I walk into a patient's room to find that the aunt has the newborn infant squatting over the sink to relieve itself. The family were from Iran and the aunt explained to me that in their country people didn't always have money to buy diapers (the cloth one). She said it was something her mother taught her when she was young. Of course, I probed her with loads of questions on how to do it and told her of my recent readings.

I just can't get over how great that worked out for her and for me! For her because, if another nurse had walked in that room when I did, it wouldn't of looked too good. And for me because I still had my doubts, so it was nice to not just read about it but actually see it for myself.

To read more about this try these sites: www.diaperfreebaby.org or tribalbaby.org