CD stands for cloth diapers or cloth diapering. EC stands for elimination communication. So this post is all about pee and poop (baby variety) and the various ways I have had so far of dealing with it.
I started off with disposable diapers. Someone at Pat's work gave us this GINORMOUS box of disposable Huggies. I had already bought a small package of same to tide us over in case I hadn't gotten around to getting the cloth diapers ready when the birth occurred. So, we went through the small package and then started on the giant box, mainly because it was there, but also because I kept putting off and putting off getting the cloth diapers ready (I'll get to how in a minute). And then, someone else at Pat's work gave us another GINORMOUS box of diapers, this time Pampers. The Huggies are size 1-2 and I think they go up to 15 pounds or so. The Pampers say they go up to 14 pounds. This Saturday I weighed Silas and he was 13.2 pounds. I haven't finished with the box of Huggies (there's still what amounts to maybe a regular package or even two) and I haven't even touched the box of Pampers. Needless to say, even if we were going to stick with disposables, I don't think we'd ever get to use the Pampers before he was too big for them. I'm thinking I may donate them to a women's and children's shelter or something of that nature. I don't think I know anyone right now who's due to have a baby soon.
As for the cloth diapers, I had a quite large stash from when Irina was in diapers. With Irina I was somewhat erratic with their use. I probably used them for 60-70% of her diapering career. Sometimes I would come across a problem and use disposables for a while and then get stuck on the disposable train track. Inertia is a bitch.
So a couple of weeks ago I pulled all of the cloth diapers out, in all sizes, to take a look at what I had. I was very disappointed to find that the elastic had worn out in a huge portion of our pocket diapers (pocket diapers are made in two pieces: the outer diaper-shaped portion, and the inner absorbent part, which comes out for easier drying). If you're familiar with cloth diapers, these were Bum Geniuses and FuzziBunz. If you're not, you can chuckle quietly at the silly cloth diaper names. So I had to get rid of a whole bunch of those and was left with three small FuzziBunz and one BumGenius (which was actually new, a gift from a friend and which has snaps to make it fit from small to large (which is dead useful and I so love BumGenius diapers, I just wish they didn't have this elastic issue!)). I also got rid of a few that had just never worked for Irina and didn't seem to be working for Silas either. They just fit funkily.
I also had a great big pile of prefolds, both small and large. Prefolds are the old-fashioned kind that are like a flat rectangle (though not so old-fashioned that they are totally flat, they're "pre-folded" and then sewn). You can use pins to fasten them, but I use a snappi, which is a piece of plastic with claws. I have tried pins in the past, but for some reason, I simply can't get them to fasten the diaper tightly enough. The only issue with the prefolds was that they needed to be stripped (which I'll get to in a minute). Yay for prefolds! The simple way wins when it comes to longevity.
And I had several diaper covers, which you need to use over prefolds, because prefolds are not, well, waterproof. I got rid of some because they were already too small and put some away because they were too big and now I am left with one that fits but that I don't particularly like, and two gDiapers, which are sort of a cross between disposables and cloth (look, they have designs on their covers now!). I got those on the recommendation of Annika, who uses (used) the covers with prefolds in them instead of the disposable bit that comes with the diapers. I got them for Irina, but I somehow bought the wrong size and instead of returning them, I just stuck them in with the other diapers that were too small for her. So, at that point (when I was going through everything), I hadn't had any experience with them.
Next came the task of stripping the diapers. I had been putting this off because I had had trouble with it not working very well in the past. Cloth diapers sometimes develop an issue with becoming stinky as soon as any urine hits them due to a build-up of detergent. This can especially be a problem with hard water, which we have. So, to strip the diapers of the build-up, you have to wash them repeatedly in very, very hot water. Basically, until the water has no more suds when the load is agitating. So, after paring down the diapers to what I could actually use, I did this, and it totally worked just fine. I don't know what my problem was before. Though, come to think of it, we do have a new hot water heater now. Maybe that had something to do with it.
The past few weeks, I've used both cloth and disposables, slowly leaning towards more cloth more of the time. I tried the gDiapers w/prefold method and like it well enough. I'm generally using the four pocket diapers only for going out. The other method which I have been using is elimination communication. Next paragraph!
So, it turns out that in many different cultures they don't use diapers on babies. It turns out that they think diapers are kind of grody. You let your child sit in his own waste? Disgusting! Well, sure. I guess they have a point. But what other option is there? Well, you can just put your child over a toilet or a baby potty when they need to go and let them go in that. The popular conception in our own culture is that babies have no awareness whatsoever of their need to eliminate, but that's just not true. Diapers do dampen that awareness (haha, dampen), but it is definitely there, and from the very beginning. A baby can give all sorts of signals that he or she needs to pee or poop, and babies are perfectly capable of waiting until they are "in position" to let it go. Of course, they're not as good at it as an adult, but hey... they're babies. Cut them some slack.
I knew about EC when Irina was little, and I actually tried it a few times (and it worked!), but I didn't stick with it. This past week I tried it with Silas and after our first success, we have had a string of successes! I have caught several pees and one poop. Mostly I simply use timing as my method. I'll put him on the potty (we have a Baby Bjorn little potty, which was a gift from Elizabeth) after naps and after nursing and sometimes just because it's been a while. And sometimes, he'll fuss and I'll go to change his diaper and find it to be dry, so I'll assume he was saying he needed to go, not that he went. I put him on, I say "sssssss" (which is the signal to go, but I'm not sure it's necessary for us), and then he pees! Just like magic! I use prefolds as backup because I'm not quite brave enough to let him be nekky all the time. Prefolds without a cover work best because then I'm more aware of what's going on. And I put the cover on when I feel like I can't be quite that aware.
However, I did discover at first that if I don't relax, I can become too anxious with ECing. It's like my whole awareness is caught up in whether or not he has peed or needs to pee. The only way I can make it work for me is to make sure I'm not worried about missing a pee or poop. I kind of have to trick myself by saying, "I'm not ECing right now," and then just go ahead and do it when I feel like he needs me to. That way, when I catch a pee or poop, it's awesome and magical, but when I miss one, it's not a failure, because I wasn't doing it right then anyway.
As for other members of the family who change diapers (that would be Pat), EC is probably not something he's going to do right now, as it's too different and a change (down with change!, says Pat), but he might come around eventually. He uses a cell phone nowadays, doesn't he? He doesn't really like the cloth diapers much either, unless they are just like disposables, and right now that leaves us with just the four pocket diapers I have for going out. But he might come around on that too. After all, I don't really intend for there to be any other option.
So, the plan for now and as we move into the future is to continue to use EC in as casual a way as possible, basically whatever feels most comfortable. I'll use prefolds and covers as back-up while we are at home. I have set aside a small amount from this paycheck to buy a few more covers. Most likely I will get three Thirsties covers, which I have never used before, but I am hoping for the best because they look pretty good in the pictures. For going out, I will use the four pocket diapers (plus prefolds and covers if necessary). I don't anticipate using EC while going out, but who knows? My confidence might improve and I might one day feel like that's doable.
In conclusion, here is a picture of Silas that has nothing to do with diapers or pottying. It is quite possible that he is looking at his good friend, the ceiling fan, in this picture.
