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We practice Elimination Communication. It seems odd to call it that with Sasha anymore, since she has been out of diapers for about a year. She literally tells us when she needs to potty, so there are no "signs" for which we must watch. We're also doing Elimination Communication with Spencer.
A lot can effect babies and toddlers as far as communicating their needs, including elimination needs. When we moved in October, Sasha was suddenly making puddles everywhere. We knew she was capable of getting to her potty or telling us she needed to go, but we had miss after miss after miss.
Moving, especially into a house with other people, is a huge change. Change effects everyone. Noticing when she needed to "go" was just one way this major life change effected Sasha. After about 2 weeks, things got back to normal for us and we only had occasional misses, mostly very near the potty.
Children practicing Elimination Communication can also have hiccups when they are concentrating on learning a new skill. You might not even realize at first that they are working on something new. After a week or two (when things hopefully get back to normal for you), you may realize that your child's vocabulary has sprouted. Perhaps they now know how to skip or can hold a crayon better.
It can be tough, but don't get mad about puddles. It isn't anyone's "fault" that you had a miss. I don't even like to call them accidents. When we have several misses in a day or two, I try to remember that my toddler is dealing with some sort of change. It might be to her environment or it might be within herself. That helps me to stay calm and chipper about it. Thankfully, all of our misses since our most recent move have been on linoleum rather than carpet.
What reactions has your child(ren) had to change?
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Visit Hybrid Rasta Mama and the Fabulous Mama Chronicles to find out how you can participate in the next Fabulous Hybrid Carnival! Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
- Unschooling My Heart - Patti at Canadian Unschooler discovered that Unschooling her kids was EASY compared to the bigger change required to Unschool her heart.
- Change (Variety) - Rachel at Lautaret Bohemiet writes about how variety is the spice of life.
- No More Threats - Amy at Presence Parenting flips the idea of parental control through threats on its head, for good.
- Why Are You Mad??? Turn Off the T.V and Meditate - Destany of They Are All of Me discusses limiting stress by focusing more on your Inside self.
- Co-ed Sleepovers? Changing My Mindset – Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama takes a hard look at her previous beliefs about sleepovers.
- Change Can Mean Puddles - Jorje of Momma Jorje has had to clean up some puddles after major changes.
- On Acceptance - Laura at Authentic Parenting writes about how she ditched the constant longing for change and came to accept herself as she is.
- Blissed Out on Birth, Drunk on Baby Skin - Melissa from Mothers of Change passionately explores the changes she would like to see come to the maternity care system, and our universal love of the smell of a newborn baby.
- Changing My Mindset, One Challenge at a Time - Wolfmother at Fabulous Mama Chronicles speaks candidly about her challenges in changing how she parents.
- Because Mommy Said No - Dawn of Raising Natural Kids discusses the use of a common phrase that makes Mommy out to be the bad guy when, in reality, she is making decisions out of love.
- Through Adversity We Grow - Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children chooses to take a positive view on change and growth.
- Life is Change - Rae of Ital Livin' writes about the large changes her family has made within the last year.constant in life.
- A Changing Voice - Jennifer at Our Muddy Boots discusses how in order to grow change is unavoidable. That does not mean the process is easy though.
- Being. Changing. Believing. - Amy at Me, Mothering, and Making It All Work reminisces on the changes that have shaped her adult life thus far, and molded her into an adaptable, but still type-A, believer in change.
- Motivating Change In The Face Of Apathy - Brenna at Almost All The Truth is asking the question many of us who actively work to change the world ask ourselves: how do we get people to care?
- She Changes Everything She Touches - Change is the only thing we can count on in life, and Jen in Canada examines some of the biggest things she'd like to tackle before the birth of her second child.
