Category Archives: Green Ideas

Psst, psst: EC at Four Months

Babies change so quickly in a month’s time, but I don’t think much has changed EC-wise.  At this point, the communication feels fairly one-sided, especially when it comes to pee: we give potty opportunities and cues and he [sometimes] responds.

Despite no diet change (still 100% breast milk), his poops are becoming more, um, interesting, providing extra incentive to get them in the potty rather than the diaper.  His poop cues are fairly distinctive: farting, grunting, fussing while feeding.  Unfortunately, these cues that sometimes mean, “I’m about to poop,” can alternately mean, “I have gas,” or, “I might poop sometime in the next 24 hours.”

In other news, I found a second potty on Craigslist for eight dollars — same brand as the blue pot, slightly different design.  The blue pot now stays at daycare during the week, and I offer potty opportunities when I go over to feed The Dude.  On the weekends, I just leave the pot in the car.  If I slide the passenger seat all the way forward, I can place the pot on the floor behind it, and I’ve caught a couple of pees when we were out and about.

I’ll close this update by sharing a couple of things we’ve discovered on our EC journey.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Sometimes The Dude needs a little help chilling out enough to pee.  For awhile, letting him suck on a pacifier helped accomplish this.  (It also gave me visions of him standing at a urinal in a public restroom when he’s twenty, casually pulling a pacifier out of his pocket before getting down to business.)
  • More recently, the hairdryer is our calming tool of choice.  We’d been using the dryer to calm him during diaper changes and make sure things stayed nice and dry down there.  Matthew discovered that it also helped while on the pot!
  • At daycare, in lieu of the hairdryer, I’ve sometimes resorted to running water in the sink.
  • If you’re not quite “diaper-free” (and we definitely are NOT),  something that’s easy-on and off, like a simple velcro cover with insert, makes potty opportunities more convenient.

Further reading
Diaper Free: FAQs and Facts — Good answers to common EC questions and concerns, written by a dad.
Elimination Communication — Tons of information in this two-year-and-counting chronicle of one family’s EC journey.  While I try to avoid doing too many comparisons, I find it helpful to see where “Itty Bitty” was at various ages and what lies ahead for us.  It also provides encouragement when I feel like just throwing in the diaper towel.

To resist the spirit of consumerism and materialism

We celebrated Gabriel’s baptism on Sunday.  The ceremony reaffirmed  my love for the inclusive, social justice oriented, faith community that is St. Cronan’s.

In keeping with the spirit of sustainability and simplicity, The Dude wore a baptismal gown made by his great-grandmother, previously worn by his father and uncle.

I’m not sure if you’re supposed to have a favorite baptismal promise, but this one is particularly meaningful to me, as a value that can and should be embraced by all humankind, regardless of faith or belief system:

Do you commit yourself to a gospel spirit of poverty and detachment – to resist the spirit of consumerism and materialism – to live a life of generosity – and to exercise a preferential option for the poor?

A good reminder at any time, but especially relevant this time of year.

Biking the web

This just in — biking is good for your health!

Swapping Tail Pipes for Pedals: Small Changes Could Pay Huge Dividends for Public Health and Economy

Secret to a Long Healthy Life: Bike to the Store

Okay, technically that was last week’s news, but people in the know have been preaching it for much longer, so what’s a one-week delay?

While cruising around the Bike Portland site, I came across The Center for a New American Dream’s Plentitude Economy video:

Sounds good to me!

Psst, psst: EC at three months

I’m a bit overdue for this post — the “three months” part of the title is quickly becoming dated — time to write!  We’ve made a good bit of progress since my first Elimination Communication (EC) post.  While he’s still most definitely in diapers, Gabriel pees and poops on his potty regularly when we’re at home, and we’ve had some 24-48 hour stretches with only one or two wet diapers 🙂

I’m not amazing at reading his pee signals (if he’s giving them), so pee catches involve putting him on the potty at regular times: when he first wakes up, right after a meal, if he’s hanging out and it’s been awhile since a pee, etc.  Poop signals are easier to read, but I still hesitate to interrupt a good feeding to rush him onto the pot.

The biggest issues at present?  Diaper rash and the daycare dilemma.Continue reading “Psst, psst: EC at three months”

Bikes fight back

I read about GM’s anti-bicycle (or is it pro-car?) ad in the LAB’s American Bicyclist newsletter a couple of weeks ago, and wow, just wow.

In the related blog post the LAB provided this great analysis:

If you are a student looking to add tens of thousands of dollars of long term debt, care little about the environment, and want to lump two tons of steel around campus while paying through the nose for insurance, gas, and parking…General Motors has got a perfect deal for you. Bonus: it’ll make you fat and unhealthy! All you have to do is give up that dorky bicycle that’s easy to use, practically free, gets you some exercise and is actually fun to ride.

Apparently, they’ve gotten a bit of flack (for some strange reason), and pulled the ad, but not before bicycle maker Giant had a little fun.

True that 🙂