Natural Timing: Part 2 of when does my baby need to pee – another of the four ways to know it’s time to go

This is the Go Diaper Free Podcast with Andrea Olson, session 10 - let’s chat about Rhythms

Welcome to the Go Diaper Free Podcast, where we're all about teaching you how to stop changing diapers, starting at birth. And now your host...she’s a quarter Filipino and a little bit Cherokee...Andrea Olson.

How does this woman know so much about me? :) Today’s episode covers part 2 of 4 in our series “When does baby need to pee?” You will remember from episode 8 that the first of my “4 Roads to Potty Time” is your baby’s signals, if any. The 2nd Road is Your baby’s natural timing. In other words, every baby has a rhythm to when they pee and poo. These eliminations occur a certain amount of time after feeding, and a certain amount of time after waking, and then at intervals thereafter. They expand and change over time, depending on a ton of factors. Babies are always changing. So just remember that this natural timing will also shift over time.

Let’s dive right into how to learn more about your baby’s own natural rhythm.

While observing your baby, keep an eye on the clock and see how many minutes it takes for baby to pee or poo after these 2 events only, in this order:

1. after feeding
2. after waking

...and how much time passes after that til the next pee/poo, and the next, and the next (called “intervals”).

One way to do this is to keep a log.

Grab a watch, a pencil, and if you’re a member of the GoDiaperFree.com community, download & print your Baby’s Natural Timing Log. If you’re not, simply grab 2 blank pieces of paper, title one feeding and one waking, and make columns on each sheet for pee/or/poo?, amount of time passed, and any notes for each occurrence. Start by timing pees & poos after feeding, recording the intervals in your Log. Then, time pee/poo intervals after baby wakes from sleep. As for the logs on my site, I’ve made one Log where you can chart feeding & waking on the same sheet, and two other Logs if you want to separate the two on different sheets.

Create your own however you like or if you have access to mine, use whichever forms work for you or simply make note of the timing in your mind. Again, start with feeding to observe & record Natural Timing...it’s easier to get the hang of.

At the very least, observe & record during the minimum of 1/2 hour per day of diaper-free observation time, starting with feeding, utilizing the Log. If you can, observe all day long for your baby’s overall patterns and rhythms, always referring to the timing intervals as they follow eating and waking (ie: don’t just start timing randomly!). It is MUCH better if you can do a full day or two of observation when beginning or updating your EC practice...so if you can, do.

And while you do this, please pretend like you aren’t...hovering and hyperfocusing are known causes of potty resistance.

The result of this observation and recording is your baby’s Natural Timing. In other words, you will discover the natural rhythms of his digestive and elimination systems, which vary slightly from baby to baby.

Remember...every baby is different.

As his muscles develop and bladder grows, more time will span between his pees. Baby’s natural timing intervals will expand over time. As he starts solid foods, his bowel movements may lessen (and harden tremendously). As time passes, your awareness of his inner clock will sharpen.

And as he learns that he can depend on you to (at least try to) help him potty, building mutual trust, he will begin to “hold” it and his natural timing will spread out a bit more.

In the beginning months, babies pee ALL the time (and boys do more than girls). It’s wise to remember that the frequency will reduce soon.

So, that’s about it. You can update your practice in a few months by doing more observation time and noting the timing after feeding and waking yet again. Remember that during naked observation time with a mobile baby, I highly recommend transporting your baby to the potty EVERY time she pees or poos in order to model the act of moving toward the potty, and that EVERY pee and poo goes in the potty, if even only a few drops. You don’t want to teach her to pee on the floor. Gather your info, taking as long as it takes to re-assess the new patterns, and then discontinue naked time. Use your backup, be it diaper, undies, or just clothing, and teach the right thing.

Stay tuned for Parts 3 and 4 of this series, coming up in a few weeks. In the meanwhile, please take a moment to leave a review for this podcast on iTunes. You can visit godiaperfree.com/itunes to see the show’s page and leave your thoughts. Thanks for everyone who has left a review thus far - it’s so nice to know that my practical tips and how-to’s are helping real-life parents. Keeps me going. Don’t make me cry now. I’m 32 weeks pregnant and I just might do that.

Visit us at godiaperfree.com if you need some more specific guidance and a succinct guide to starting EC. The show notes for this episode can be found at godiaperfree.com/10.

Til next time - I hope you have a wonderful time raising your baby. And when it isn’t so wonderful, remember, this too shall pass.... :)