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Easy Catch #1: The Wake Up + Pee – what’s so magical about rising and shining

Translations of this post: Spanish

GDF-Podcast-28-Wake-up-Pee

During the next four weeks of the Go Diaper Free Podcast I'll be going over the four easy catches! Today's episode is all about Easy Catch #1 - The Wake Up and Pee. If you've just started EC, it may feel a bit overwhelming, and that is perfectly normal. Easy catches are a gentle and easy way to test the waters, so to speak, and begin to experience what elimination communication(EC) is all about!

We'll go over methods for implementing Easy Catch #1 with children of various ages, from newborn through toddler. Whether you want to eventually transition to full time EC, or you just want to familiarize your child with the potty and eliminate a few diapers, you can take advantage of a time of day when you are likely to experience success - when your child wakes up from a nap or nighttime sleep.

You will hear:

  • All about the antidiuretic hormone, and how this knowledge can help you understand your child's potty signals when they wake
  • How to cue your child to potty once they wake
  • What to do if your child wakes up wet
  • How to establish an after-waking potty routine
  • How to balance wake-up nursing/feeding with wake-up pottying

Links and other resources mentioned today:

Easy Start Guide for EC (Free Download)

Go Diaper Free by Andrea Olson

Top Hat Potty at TinyUndies.com

Download the transcript

If you can't listen to this episode right now (um, sleeping baby!?)...download and read the transcript here:

Transcript: Easy Catch #1 - The Wake Up + Pee

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Have you tried Easy Catch #1? Please leave a comment below with your experience!

xx Andrea

Andrea Olson

About Andrea Olson

I'm Andrea and I spend most of my time with my 6 children (all under 12 yo) and the rest of my time teaching other new parents how to do Elimination Communication with their 0-18 month babies. I love what I do and try to make a difference in one baby or parent's life every single day. (And I love, love, love, mango gelato.)

16 Comments

  1. Avatar Vanessa Wright on January 22, 2019 at 6:35 am

    DS, 5 months, cries if I put him on a potty before the breast. But then he’ll pee while he nurses.
    I wish we had started at birth instead of 4 months!

    • Avatar Andrea Olson on February 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

      It’s GREAT that you started at 4 months, Vanessa! If you have any more babies, you’ll definitely get to start at birth, but you’re here now and that is awesome. You can always nurse him over a waterproof pad or have a top hat potty handy – https://tinyundies.com/tophat – and my book goes over a ton of options for pottying during nursing – https://godiaperfree.com/thebook – in case you don’t have that yet. Bottom line: this will pass, soon, so hang in there!
      xx Andrea

  2. Avatar Alexis on January 22, 2019 at 8:24 am

    I just started EC with my DD when she was between 6-7 months old. I thought I would never catch this “easy catch”. When she would wake up she typically had already gone in the diaper but I would offer a pottytunity anyways. It’s been one month and she’s starting to hold it and peeing once I get her to the potty (or as the diaper is coming off ?). Stick with it, we’re all learning! Thanks Andrea!

    • Avatar Andrea Olson on February 7, 2019 at 10:42 am

      Awesome, Alexis! Thanks for sharing. This is proof of what I always say – offer, be consistent, and eventually you and baby will align. Beautiful. xx Andrea

  3. Avatar Sarah on January 22, 2019 at 11:54 am

    I’ve always tried to do wake up and pee with my now 2.5 year old son, my challenge is sometimes in the morning he has an erection and I think that’s one of the reasons he resists at that time. I don’t want to push him to do something uncomfortable if that is the case but the morning pee is obviously one of the keys to getting out of nighttime diapers. Has anyone else had this challenge, any thoughts?

    • Avatar Andrea Olson on February 7, 2019 at 10:44 am

      Hey Sarah! That is actually a “sign” that he needs to pee! Baby boys will often get an erection right before they need to go. I have an assumption about this: perhaps Mother Nature’s way of helping him pee far, far away from his body? To help him aim by providing him with a temporarily larger hose (for lack of a more PC way of saying it!!)? Have him go. The erection is a sure-fire sign. And I would recommend one of those baby urinals that hang from the wall. That would probably make everything easier – and more fun! xx Andrea

  4. Avatar Gloria on January 22, 2019 at 6:43 pm

    this is really helpful! Usually I miss the wake up pee because my 3 month old has woken up without me realizing it. She’s just so chill and happy in the morning! But I’ll definitely start offering the potty at wake up more faithfully because she’s certainly caught onto the potty routine at other times of the day just in the one month that we’ve been doing it. Thanks!

    • Avatar Andrea Olson on February 7, 2019 at 10:44 am

      Awesome, Gloria! Let us know how it goes. But from Alexis’ comment, above, I’m sure you’ll see that you guys align on this one, too. xx Andrea

  5. Avatar Kari Matadobra on January 24, 2019 at 3:03 am

    We started EC with our 9 month old and have been doing it part-time about 3 weeks. I had a really amazing week in which I caught every morning pee and poop. The next week was just a bit haphazard where I just kept being busy when she wasn’t going and missed it, and I was so discouraged! This week has been better so far. Last night I even took my daughter to the potty every time she woke up in the night and cried, and she fell back asleep pretty quick. If I hadn’t missed her first morning pee this morning (I though she would go back to sleep as it was 5am…), she would have had a dry diaper this morning! WHAT, I would never have thought that possible as I have had to really work on a good overnight cloth diaper for her, and g diapers didn’t seem that comfortable and I feel conflicted about disposables. Usually in the morning she pees about 3 times in 45 minutes. 1-2 min. after she wakes up, 20 min. after she wakes up, and after she nurses or eats food. We have both a little potty and a potty toilet seat. Thank you for the encouragement and insights, Andrea! #1 gave me the confidence to keep going with EC.

  6. Avatar Andrea Olson on February 7, 2019 at 10:46 am

    Kari!!! I am so happy to read this. Thank you for sharing, and for sticking with it. Yeah…dry all night does happen some nights, and some nights it doesn’t but it’s not your fault (or hers)…it’s just the non-linear learning curve that is inherent with EC. Stick with it! If you don’t have my book, def pick up a copy. It will prepare you for everything without overwhelming you. If you do have it, you’ll probably already know that peeing 3 times in 45 minutes in the morning is totally normal. You gals are doing great! xx Andrea

  7. Avatar Maria on February 15, 2019 at 2:14 pm

    We have been doing EC part time, mostly on waking (and offering on diaper change), for a couple of months (he’s 4.5 months now). Most of the time, our son will pee! It’s great. We’re just working to teach him that there is another place to go other than his diaper.

    I have your book and it’s great but I’m still unclear about one thing. My question is about the cue, “psssss.” Do I do it the whole time he’s peeing? Or just as he starts and to get him to start peeing and then stop and let him pee? (same question for his BM’s and the grunt cue)

    Thank you! xx

    • Avatar Andrea Olson on March 7, 2019 at 11:44 pm

      Hi Maria! You do not have to cue the entire time he is going potty. Once he is going and you have acknowledged it, you can move on to singing or just talking with him.

  8. Avatar Johanna on December 1, 2020 at 9:13 am

    We are just starting with EC and I am holding our little girl above the toilet every time she wakes up but I didn’t had a catch yet. I am doing it since yesterday so I’m not worried yet, but I never know when I hold her long enough above the toilet. So how long do I have to hold over the toilet? And if she pees or poops, do I have to wait a little longer for the other one?

    Thank you! xxx Johanna

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on December 1, 2020 at 6:17 pm

      Hi Johanna,

      Glad you have started to EC your little one! Are you cueing when you put your little one over the toilet?

      If she is younger, you can also try ECing her over the sink, sometimes a little switch like that will make all the difference.

      If she peeing right after you take her out of the EC hold, then make sure you are relaxed when you are holding, so that way she can relax as well. If she isn’t going right after you take her out of the EC hold she might not need to go just yet.

      The best way to catch the morning pee is to take them right when they are stirring awake.

      Hope that helps!

      Xx Andrea

  9. Avatar Brianna Iverson on April 6, 2023 at 11:06 am

    My son is 7.5 months old and we’ve been ECing since about 6 months.

    We had it down Pat where he would pee either before every nap, or skip the before, wake up with a dry diaper and pee right after waking up in his potty.

    I tried adding more potty times and it’s like we’ve lost all progress. We’ve slowly gotten the nap times back, but it’s super hit or miss.

    I don’t know if I should keep going with the extra potty opportunities (he’ll use the potty up to 10 times in a day, or sometimes barely 4), or if I should do a total hard reset and go back to strictly before and after naps.

    I have a trickling stream sound playing now when he pees (started that today). I used to do the psssss sound and he would pee on command/immediately after he sat down), but I guess I assumed he understood to do it whether I made the sound or not and stopped.

    I know these set backs are on me and my 1) lack of knowledge and 2) on and off approach with the sound, but I’d really like to get back on track. I’m just clueless! And the Oh Crap! Potty training book is written specifically for kids who can walk and talk. Which is obviously not my 7 month old.

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on April 10, 2023 at 10:18 pm

      I recommend getting my Go Diaper Free book for 0-18 months, there is tons of information there that can help you in greater detail. Perhaps try incorporating just a few more potty opportunities for example one at a time, for example, upon waking for the day, before bath time, and before bed, along side catching your nap time pee. You can also try using a sign for him to use to be able to let you know when he has to go. As he goes, be sure he can see and easily replicate the sign while you say something along the lines of, “Potty, you go potty.” You can even use the sign for All Done, once he’s finished coupled with verbally saying All Done so he can begin to tell you when he’s finished as well. You are doing great momma! Hope this helps!

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