About three days in to this EC thing there were a few problems that I came across:
Very, very few American families know about this process. I know one other person who has embraced EC whole-heartedly. At work the other day I was changing a baby’s standard disposable diaper and thought to myself, “I bet I’d lose a ton of work if parents knew I was using Elimination Communication with my own child. They’d think I was weird.” Seriously folks, when you heard I was doing this weren’t you like, “Huh?! What is she thinking? Yah, we’ll just see how this works.”
I’ve realized that people may interpret what we are doing as a means to brag about what our daughter can do. Honestly, it’s not about bragging rights- any child can do this! In fact, my desire is to share how ALL families that want to can add this meaningful element into their childrearing.
Needless to say, it’s a little lonely here and I could use some reassurance since I get a whole lot of sideways looks and plenty of discouraging comments.
This second issue is much more logistical: It’s a pain in the arse to button and unbutton baby clothes. Onesies aren’t that bad but the little legged sleepers are! It’s hard enough when I’m changing diapers, but when my baby signals that it’s time to go, unsnapping a bazillion snaps really creates a sort of panic in me. Baby clothes in my closet are not made with the EC child in mind.
Here is how I am going to set out to remedy these problems:
I’m joining the Yahoo group that my friend, Chelsea, suggested to me. It’s a Southern California “diaper free” online community that just might make me feel a little less lonely. Hopefully I’ll be able to learn a lot from them. I’m also going to embrace opportunities to answer people’s questions about what EC is and how it’s working for us…not shove it in anyone’s face but simply be a resource. Ya, I know it’s counter-culture but it’s not really that weird…unusual for the environment we live in, but not weird. I guess if people think the Schutts are a bit freakish, so be it- all I can do is attest to how it’s improving my family.
I’ve gone through Fauna’s massive amount of clothes and am going to pass along any hand-me-downs that contain excessive buttons or snaps up the legs. We’ll focus on two piece outfits with elastic waistbands. Additionally, I bought several pairs of baby leg warmers off of EBay and commissioned my sister, Sam, to knit some as well. This has got to be the easiest way to dress an EC baby, excluding the Birthday Suit option…it’s too cold for that yet. Plus, legwarmers are pretty much the coolest fashion accessory on the planet (exempting the gauntlet, which is much tougher to pull off without looking like you’re trying).
So, as problems arise I plan on tackling them like I have done this past week. As my first complete week of EC has come to a close, I’m more determined than ever to never return to traditional diapering methods. It may be lonely here but I really, really like it.
Oh! Here’s some inspiration that I found on YouTube. This clip is of a mother who has, along with the cutest seven-month- old on earth, four other kiddies. She claims that since there are more eyes and ears to watch for the baby’s eliminations signs, using EC is actually easier! I also love how this little snippet addresses a few cultural issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoMS83FztA4
Very, very few American families know about this process. I know one other person who has embraced EC whole-heartedly. At work the other day I was changing a baby’s standard disposable diaper and thought to myself, “I bet I’d lose a ton of work if parents knew I was using Elimination Communication with my own child. They’d think I was weird.” Seriously folks, when you heard I was doing this weren’t you like, “Huh?! What is she thinking? Yah, we’ll just see how this works.”
I’ve realized that people may interpret what we are doing as a means to brag about what our daughter can do. Honestly, it’s not about bragging rights- any child can do this! In fact, my desire is to share how ALL families that want to can add this meaningful element into their childrearing.
Needless to say, it’s a little lonely here and I could use some reassurance since I get a whole lot of sideways looks and plenty of discouraging comments.
This second issue is much more logistical: It’s a pain in the arse to button and unbutton baby clothes. Onesies aren’t that bad but the little legged sleepers are! It’s hard enough when I’m changing diapers, but when my baby signals that it’s time to go, unsnapping a bazillion snaps really creates a sort of panic in me. Baby clothes in my closet are not made with the EC child in mind.
Here is how I am going to set out to remedy these problems:
I’m joining the Yahoo group that my friend, Chelsea, suggested to me. It’s a Southern California “diaper free” online community that just might make me feel a little less lonely. Hopefully I’ll be able to learn a lot from them. I’m also going to embrace opportunities to answer people’s questions about what EC is and how it’s working for us…not shove it in anyone’s face but simply be a resource. Ya, I know it’s counter-culture but it’s not really that weird…unusual for the environment we live in, but not weird. I guess if people think the Schutts are a bit freakish, so be it- all I can do is attest to how it’s improving my family.
I’ve gone through Fauna’s massive amount of clothes and am going to pass along any hand-me-downs that contain excessive buttons or snaps up the legs. We’ll focus on two piece outfits with elastic waistbands. Additionally, I bought several pairs of baby leg warmers off of EBay and commissioned my sister, Sam, to knit some as well. This has got to be the easiest way to dress an EC baby, excluding the Birthday Suit option…it’s too cold for that yet. Plus, legwarmers are pretty much the coolest fashion accessory on the planet (exempting the gauntlet, which is much tougher to pull off without looking like you’re trying).
So, as problems arise I plan on tackling them like I have done this past week. As my first complete week of EC has come to a close, I’m more determined than ever to never return to traditional diapering methods. It may be lonely here but I really, really like it.
Oh! Here’s some inspiration that I found on YouTube. This clip is of a mother who has, along with the cutest seven-month- old on earth, four other kiddies. She claims that since there are more eyes and ears to watch for the baby’s eliminations signs, using EC is actually easier! I also love how this little snippet addresses a few cultural issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoMS83FztA4
PS I wrote this entry a while ago...had some out of town stuff come up- sorry I'm running late!
That video was also amazing! And Mandalina, I didn't think you were crazy for doing this with Ms. Fauna...I figured if anyone could make it work, you could....xoxo to the Schutts!
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