3 months old and EC

Benjamin turned 3 months old on Monday. He is doing quite well. His pre-teething continues. We are getting lots of drooling, putting his hands in his mouth, and wanting to put our fingers in his mouth. He bites quite hard when given the chance. Ben has begun to be able to entertain himself for longer periods of time. He is playing with his hands and enjoys playing in his gym. A few days ago, Jeff and I were in the kitchen while he was playing in his gym on the floor and he made a complaining cry. When we came in to see what was the matter he smiled up at us and kicked the ball on his gym. It was very cute that he wanted us to pay attention to what he was doing. He has also been scooting himself across the floor a bit on his back when playing in his gym. We continue to enjoy Gymboree and are learning lots of fun things that we are able to do at home as well that help him with his development. He is beginning to hold his toys for short periods of time and bring them to his mouth to explore them. His smiles and giggles are such a reward everytime we play with him and he has started "talking" to us.

I have been interested in practicing EC since before Ben was born. For those who are unfamiliar with it, EC stands for Elimination Communication. Just as parents learn to read their baby's signs for sleep and hunger, they can also learn to read their baby's signs for needing to eliminate. In fact, most parents already know what some of these signs are, such as the straining facial expression or the telltale grunting and bearing down that precede a soiled diaper. Practicing Elimination Communication (EC) is just a matter of responding a little differently to these signals from your baby by taking your baby to the potty. To find out more about EC, you can check out the website Diaperfree Baby.

I did a lot of reading about EC and decided that we would take a laid back, part-time attitude towards it. My main goal is to help Ben be aware of his body functioning. It has taken me a few months to feel that we are really making progress. Ben rarely makes any sort of signal that he is going to eliminate, but I can often tell when he is going. Recently, a pattern has become apparent that has made a more conscious effort of EC an option. Ben also has become comfortable being held in a way that allows for us to practice EC more effectively. We have been able to make increasingly more catches each day and Ben smiles each time he is offered a "pottytunity" (any opportunity to potty the baby).

Each day offers new excitement and rewards.