Solve the Diaper Dilemma: Elimination Communication and the Diaper-Free Movement

This is the last in a series of diapering options for babies (read the earlier posts on Safer Disposables and gDiapers, the Hybrid Solution), and it is by far the cheapest option: Using no diapers at all. OK, I admit, when I first heard about this movement, I thought it was pretty ridiculous. I mean, how can an itty-bitty baby, who already has all kinds of things coming out if its many openings, go without a diaper?

To further cement my pedantic parenting ideology, when I spoke with moms in the bucolic 'burbs where I live, they made comments like, "my backyard isn't that big," and "probably reduces fertilizer bills," followed by muffled chuckles. However, after a closer look at this method, it turns out it's not as weird-or as difficult-as I first thought. Proponents call it Elimination Communication, or EC, and although it's becoming a modern trend, it's actually not very new at all. In certain matriarchal tribes in Africa, a woman's social standing in the tribe was heightened or lowered according to whether or not she was enough in tune with her infant to avoid embarrassing surprises. Today's EC moms say that they, too, are ultra-sensitive to their baby's cues. Take Nicole, for instance, a mom from Mississippi who started out using conventional disposable diapers, but has been practicing EC with her 14-month-old daughter since the baby was five months:

When she was 5-months-old I began to research more natural things. I hated the chemicals in disposables, so I switched to gDiapers, searching for a better way. But they are so expensive, so I researched it a little more and began to really think we could do EC. At 5 months it's not so much about cues, its about timing. I had to learn her schedule--how long after she ate or drank would she go. We tried the cradle approach where you hold her over the toilet and she wont do that for me, she'll do it for my mom, but not for me. We have a Baby Bjorn little potty we got at BabysRUs. We keep a potette in the car. (Both are also available at the EC Store.) Most times the baby sleeps with a diaper on; the gDiapers cover with a cloth tri-fold insert. EC is not a science, it's really day-to-day. It's about communication and respect. If she doesn't make it, we call it a 'miss' because I've missed her cues.

The bottom line? I love it when I learn something, and I gotta say this option takes a whole lotta work, but if I were to go the baby route again today, I would consider this. (Note to my husband and children: Don't worry-I am not dropping any bombshells here!) Hey, in our household, we expect and receive this elimination communication from our friendly shelter pup...so why not from kids, too? Think of the landfill space you'd be saving-and the big bucks, to boot.

Interested in learning more about elimination communication? Check out Diaper Free Baby or Ingrid Bauers's book Diaper Free Baby.