No More Diapers for Garrett

Well, it is now safe to say that Garrett is officially potty-trained for daytime. He’s been going diaper free during the day for the last two weeks or so (even at nap time) but I thought I’d wait awhile to post it here so as not to jinx myself. He is 21 months old. We are still using a diaper at night and he is peeing in those about 40% of the time and the other days he wakes up dry. I’d imagine within a few months or so he’ll be completely potty trained.

Overall, I really loved our E.C. (elimination communication) experience. I took a pretty laid back approach to it and decided we’d try it but that if it didn’t work out for us, no biggie. We had an expected set back around the 11-14 month range which I expected after watching the experiences of my friends. Most kids that are E.C’d go through a phase in which they want nothing to do with the potty because they’re figuring out their own independence, busy crawling/walking, etc. I just diapered him through that phase and waited and it worked out great.

Recently Garrett was potty trained during the day if he was naked (that’s been for the last several months) but he can now wear underwear and clothes and remember to take them off first before sitting on the potty. If he can’t get it off by himself (footie jammies for example) he will tell me he has to go “poo poo” or he will goo “psssss” which I think is absolutely hilarious since that is how we cued him with the “pssss” sound when he was an infant but I have not used that cue sound with him since he was six months or so. It amazes me that the cue sound is still in his memory. In fact, the whole E.C. thing in general is just amazing to me. The amount of control that Garrett has over his bladder and his awareness of it is just really impressive, not because he’s some magical kid or anything but just because we are taught that young children don’t have control or awareness over it when in fact, they do if we don’t teach them to ignore it at birth. Garrett can hold it for hours and hours and hours and he will even tell me while we’re driving in the car that he has to go potty and if I told him to wait for a minute, he can!

Anyway, it’s been a great experience and I’m happy we’ve done it. I realize it didn’t “officially” potty train him that much sooner than kids can potty train anyway but to me it made a world of difference in so many other areas and really he has been potty trained for a lot longer he’s just needed help with the aspects his fine motor skills couldn’t control yet.

I plan on taking the same E.C. approach with our next baby. We’ll give it a go and if it works great, if not no biggie. :)

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Garrett’s E.C. Progress (taking himself potty)

Garrett is 17 months old now and I’d say our Elimination Communication (E.C.) journey has been a pretty half-hearted one. I took the attitude of pottying Garrett with a grain of salt because I didn’t want any stress involved. I attempted to have the attitude of “it if works, great. If not, I’ve lost nothing.”

In the beginning I took him potty all the time and he did excellent and as a young baby he refused to poop in his diaper. As he got older he didn’t mind as much and would poop in his diaper if I didn’t get to him in time. Then around the time he started walking or thereabouts he started fighting the potty quite a bit. He was too busy and didn’t want to be bothered so I didn’t push it. I just let him go in his diaper but I would try to remember to take him when it crossed my mind.

A few weeks ago we picked up a Baby Bjorn Potty at a consignment shop and since then our potty success has skyrocketed. We all ready had a Baby Bjorn Little Potty (which is much smaller) and I like it but it’s size makes it difficult for Garrett to take himself to the potty without help because it’s so low to the ground. The blue potty we picked up is the perfect size. He backs up to it and goes.

Combining the new potty with keeping him naked from the waist down while we are at home has equated to him being “potty trained” during the day. He will completely initiate going to the potty and take himself without any assistance as long as he doesn’t have any clothes on. If he has underwear or a diaper on he will sometimes go in it without seeking me for help to get them off. I expect it will be another three to six months or so before he can reliably get his clothes off by himself to go potty. I have also noticed that since keeping him naked at home he has also started holding it better when he is in a diaper when we go out for the day or during nap.

Garrett mastering the potty has been just another reminder that my “baby” is quickly outgrowing his babyhood. So sad. But this is definitely a welcome change. He gets very excited when he goes potty and sometimes in his eagerness he tries to carry it to me (the little white part removes from the base) which has resulted in potty being dropped all over the carpet (yuck).

All though the concept and process of EC is very natural and makes total sense to me I am still sometimes baffled to watch a 17 month old stop in mid-play run over to the potty, go, and then resume playing as if nothing ever happened without any interference from me (except to wipe his bum after he’s gone poo). It’s a little amazing at times.

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EcaPants Cloth Diaper Review

EcaPants

Revolutionizing Cloth Diapers…

Let me preface this review by saying that this is by far one of the most impressive products in the cloth diapering world that I have ever tried. If you practice Elimination Communication or are attempting to potty train your child this is a MUST HAVE product.

The Scoop

EcaPants are designed to be trim fitting and quick and simple to flip open so that the baby/child can use the potty. Instead of trying to hassle with completely removing the clean diaper and then putting it back on, patent pending EcaPants are designed to stay on the waist, via a waist belt.

This makes putting the diaper back on after using the potty simple and quick and most importantly, possible with one hand. EcaPants are also a saving grace for older toddlers who have little patience for diaper changes or anything else that gets in the way of their exploring. It is the ultimate training diaper.

EcaPants come in various styles. There are waterproof and non-waterproof EcaPants and also snap closures or velcro closures. There is also a waterproof pocket style EcaPants that is currently being tested before becoming available to the public.

Inside of the new “pocket” style

The waterproof EcaPants like the ones we tested are made with a waterproof polyurethane laminate (PUL)outer with an inside flannel layer and a hidden internal cotton sherpa soaker.

The Crunchville Experience

Inside of maroon “original” style

Garrett and I received two EcaPants diapers in the mail from Lisa, the owner of EcaWare Baby and the inventor of EcaPants. Since we practice Elimination Communication (infant potty learning) we were very excited to give these a try. We received a brown EcaPants in size small and a rich maroon EcaPants in size Medium. The brown EcaPants is the newer “pocket” style that is currently being tested and the maroon is from the original line of Ecapants.

-Sizing and Fit-

We tried out the brown pocket style first and I was very impressed with the fit. He is at the tail end, waist wise, of being able to fit in the size small but even so the diaper fit snug and securely without being too tight. The waist belt has 4 snappable positions and Garrett is in the largest setting on the size small.

When I tried the medium maroon EcaPants on Garrett I was surprised at how well it also fit him. Like most cloth diapers I was expecting there to be a funky transitional period in which the smalls were getting to be too small but the mediums were still too big. EcaPants seems to have created a diaper that seamlessly moves your child from one size to the next. In the mediums Garrett was on the smallest waist setting.

I found the fit of the EcaPants diapers to be trim and overall to look great. They didn’t appear bulky under pants and even the newer pocket style with the added soaker remained trim. I love the low cut features of this diaper. It allowed Garrett to be more comfortable without all of the extra bulk around his tummy that makes the sitting position look uncomfortable on some diapers the way it gathers around his waist. I also noticed that the fit between his legs was very trim which creates a much more natural fit.

In general, EcaPants look great. The craftsmanship is excellent and the colors are great.

-Functionality-

I expected there to be some awkwardness in figuring out how to put the diaper on and in flipping it open to take Garrett potty. To my delight it was simple and pain free.

To put it on I simply laid Garrett on the floor…

snapped on the waist belt…

and pulled the diaper up between his legs and secured it in the back with velcro…

Wha la!

When it was time to go potty I was able to hold Garrett in one arm and unsecure the velcro with the other hand and flip open the diaper to allow Garrett to go potty.

For parents that practice EC this makes the “in arms” phase of pottying so much simpler and faster. Putting the diaper back on after Garrett went potty was the best part. I didn’t even have to sit down or lay him down to put the diaper back on. I supported him in one arm and used my other hand to flip the diaper back to the front and then secured the velcro on each side.

I love that it is possible to get the diaper back on securely with only one available hand. Genius I tell you! For those wiggle worm children who refuse to lie down for diaper changes this would certainly be an answered prayer.

Other super features include the velcro (it’s actually aplix). With other velcro diapers the velcro can begin to fray over time due to washings (think bumGenius). EcaPants all ready had that under control by sewing a protective edge around the velcro. No fraying, no accidentally scratching baby and I think it makes the velcro look nice.

Equally important is that the velcro attaches in the back. Obviously this allows the diaper to flip back and be out of the way but as an added bonus it keeps the velcro away from babies belly so that there is no chance of baby accidentally being scratched by the velcro.

-The Wash-

EcaPants have a pretty straight forward wash routine. Secure the velcro to the wash tabs. Do a hot wash and dry on hot. I followed the wash instructions and the diapers held up great. There was a normal amount of pilling on the flannel (pictured below).

The velcro stayed securely attached to the wash tabs. My suggestion, however, would be to use the dryer sparingly when drying your cloth diapers. The longevity of your diapers will last much longer if you line dry them. This goes for any cloth diaper.

I also appreciated that each EcaPants diaper had washing instructions included with it.

-Real Life Application (AKA The Pee Test)-

We’ve used both diapers several times and have found them to be very reliable in containing any misses. We used the diapers on outings, in the car and at naptimes and had great success. We only had one incidence of wicking and that was because Garrett had a large pee and he was in the original EcaPants that does not have a pocket for additional absorbency. Even so, the wicking was very minimal. I liked that I didn’t need to use the additional soaker in the pocket style diaper and that the diaper was still waterproof without it.

The other benefit of this diaper that is very useful for EC and also for older children learning to use the potty is that unlike most pocket diapers, EcaPants do not wick moisture away from baby’s skin. This helps to create a stronger association between urinating and being wet thus increasing the likelihood for potty success.

Since my son refuses to poo in a diaper we were not able to test EcaPants capabilities in containing poo. I imagine it does very well since the fit is so secure around the thighs and the back.

Wrapping it Up

-Suggestions, Observations and Wishes-

- I found that on the smaller sized diaper that the waist belt had a tendency to want to rise up above the outer shell of the diaper. All though this didn’t affect the functionality of the diaper, visually it is distracting.

- EcaPants are not for everyone. Since they are designed with EC and potty learning in mind they will not be an optimal diaper for those not wishing to take their children to the potty because inevitably you would experience leaks.

- All though I love that the velcro adheres in the back I imagine that this might make it somewhat cumbersome for the “do it yourself” toddler. However, since I don’t have a toddler I’m not sure if it makes it cumbersome or not, it is still reachable so perhaps they are able to detach it just fine. It is definitely something I’d look into if I were buying these for the older potty training toddler.

- My son doesn’t poo in his diapers so this was not an issue for us but I noticed that with the pocket having the insert in the middle and exposed that there is a high likelihood of poo getting on the fingers when removing the insert.

-If your child is a heavy wetter with even one pee you will want to invest in the new “pocket” style once they are available since there is the option to add extra absorption.

-Overall-

I absolutely LOVE this diaper. It is the answer to my EC wishes and makes pottying my son simple and quick. I can’t wait until the new pocket style becomes available so that I can buy a dozen of them. I’m not sure if I’ll use them for our night time diaper since we aren’t really practicing EC at night but it will definitely be our diaper of choice during the day.

NOTE: This is the first of many product reviews that I will begin to conduct on the site. All of the reviews will be archived on the Product Reviews page for future reference. If you have a product you would like me to review please email me.

Also, please keep your eye out for an article about Elimination Communication (EC). I am hoping to get this completed after our move.

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