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Top 10 Most Frustrating Parts of EC

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If only EC was always smooth sailing from start to finish! Thankfully, there’s no need to fret about encountering hiccups – I’ve got your back as I unpack the top 10 most frustrating aspects of EC AND how to un-frustrate them.

You will hear:

  • the top 10 most frustrating aspects of EC
  • my short ‘n sweet solutions
  • resources for extra deep dives on the topics
  • supplies for a smooth transition to diaper-free

Links and other resources mentioned today:

Download the Transcript

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

Transcript download: Top 10 Most Frustrating Parts of EC

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What’s the most frustrating part of EC for you?


Please leave a comment below with your thoughts

I look forward to discussing with you in the comments, below!

xx Andrea

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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.)

14 Comments

  1. Avatar Ravneet Kaur on May 24, 2022 at 7:37 am

    My baby is 7 month old. I was practicing Ec since she was 4 months. Initial 2 months i was taking care of her so had good success.

    Now i have started work from home so a caretake is taking care. And we are having so many misses. I feel
    I am failing at it. How can we do EC with a caregiver.?

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on May 24, 2022 at 10:14 pm

      You are doing great! EC is not a linear journey. Going over the basics of EC with your caregiver might help with the misses!

  2. Avatar Jailyn Smith on May 24, 2022 at 10:03 am

    My son is 13 months old. I started EC when he was a newborn and to my amazement, he caught on quickly! I also used CD for the first several months, but though he is naturally petite, he eventually outgrew his NB NAIO cloth diapers and I had to buy a bigger size. I am a newbie at CD so I bought these horrible used ones that caused leg gaps and didn’t fit snug around his waist. The seller said they were EUC, but they were barely GUC. Anyways, they weren’t NAIO and he started getting a rash from them so I stopped CD. He kept up EC for some time, but then he stopped wanting to go. He won’t sit on his own and he twists out of the EC hold. Help! I can almost never catch pees or poos anymore! What can I do?

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on May 24, 2022 at 10:18 pm

      You are doing great! Try maybe doing a reset and some naked observation, EC is non-linear, and at 13 months baby is still undergoing some big developmental milestones. I know it can be super frustrating at times, but stay the course!

  3. Avatar Jerusha on May 24, 2022 at 1:26 pm

    My top frustration with EC is the difficulty in finding underwear that are small enough.

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on May 24, 2022 at 10:20 pm

      Check out TinyUndies.com! I have sizes as small as 6 months!

  4. Avatar Jan on June 1, 2022 at 1:40 pm

    Hi Andrea! Thanks so much for all this awesome info. I’ve run into a snag that I can’t find any info on on your blog or podcasts. I have done E/C and early potty training with my grandson since he was about 12 months. He was doing great with pees and poos until he switched from 2 naps to one. Then his poos settled into nap time. I’ve tried adjusting nap time to earlier and later to try to catch it before or after but it’s like the diaper and sleeping releases the poo. I tried sleeping him naked with a potty in the room but he decided to use the poo as playdough and finger paint twice in a row so yeah that’s not a real option. Any other ideas for me?

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on June 2, 2022 at 7:05 pm

      Adjusting his eating schedule may adjust his potty schedule enough to where you can get that catch either before or after! Also, I have launched a new subscription program Potty Tribe where coaches as well as myself help troubleshoot anything that comes up on a weekly basis each Friday.

    • Avatar Joliane Tembwe Lofunge on June 2, 2022 at 9:29 pm

      Hi Jan! Oh my, I could’ve written that post myself!! I’m a Go Diaper Free coach, and let me tell you, I tried all that you did and also had the same results: playdough poop on the bedroom walls. Adjusting feeding times were not an option for me as I had 2 other kids and didn’t want to spend all day feeding my kids… So I turned a blind eye on the poops and just focused on the pees for a while. We did the hybrid plan when he was 13 months, hit a major resistance period when he was 14 months and hardly made a catch during that month. Which made us realize he needed more autonomy. We did the potty training experience at 15 months, and he was trained in 5 days. His pooping now is all over the place (sometimes after naps, sometimes after supper, sometimes when waking up in the morning)… And we have a stealth pooper on top of it… But we are seeing progress nonetheless. Just today he told me he had to poo (which I disregarded as he had just peed 10 minutes prior to him saying that, and he uses poo for both pee/poo). Well, he really did mean it! So I missed it, but I saw that as a HUGE progress on his part! And earlier in the afternoon, he had also told me, had done part of it in his undies, and the other part in his potty!! Why am I telling you all that? Just to say that even if things look like they are stuck in a rutt, it may not be so. He is constantly growing and learning, and as long as you follow your instincts, progressively teach him new things and stay consistent while somewhat relax… Things will evolve for the better! Good luck!

  5. Avatar NK on June 7, 2022 at 10:02 am

    Hi! I’m having all sorts of trouble. I started EC when my daughter was 7 months old and discovered she’s a stealth pooper so I’ve never caught one. I am mystified by people saying poos are the easiest.

    We were doing well with pottying after waking and during diaper changes until she was about 9 months old when she started protesting. Arched back, crying, got off the potty etc. I got a toilet seat reducer and it was a bit better for a while, then she started objecting to that too. She doesn’t signal much, sometimes tugs at the diaper but she does that randomly also.

    Now she’s 13.5 months old and I tried starting with the hybrid plan but I just couldn’t do it. I don’t know, I felt insane during diaper free time, I never managed to get her to the potty fast enough. She got very grumpy as well. She’s not totally clueless, she looked down while peeing and went like HMMM but then resumed playing. When she has pooed in the diaper she usually comes straight to me and I change it.
    The next morning I tried training pants which she just used like a diaper and then commando (pants only). She just peed/pooed in everything and I was too stressed and cleaning all the time. When I used natural timing like offering the potty after eating she held it and went a few minutes later in her pants.

    I felt insane so I put the diaper back on with the plan of continuing to offer after waking and diaper changes. After naps when I KNOW she has to go she arches her back and I have to wrestle her to the potty (which I don’t want to do so I usually don’t offer if she does that). Sometimes she’ll sit but not go. I’m at a loss and fed up.
    Do I just accept that she doesn’t want to do this and wait until she’s 18 months and then potty train? Does she even understand what I’m trying to do? I feel like a total failure =(

    • Avatar Jerusha on June 7, 2022 at 11:38 pm

      Oh, hon! First and foremost: you are not a failure. Keep in mind, most parents are not even thinking of potty training yet!
      Also, keep in mind that at 7 months, you’re literally just establishing a routine. You may not see it as progress, but trust me, the progress is there! I tried EC with my 4th, but didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Tried with my 7th baby, and she is usually dry when we are not home. Planning on starting in earnest with my 8th at 6 months. This routine thing is supposed to take the stress out of it. Have fun. Let the actual catch go; that will come in time. You’ve got this!

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on June 12, 2022 at 10:49 pm

      First of all you are not a failure! Sometimes it is better to take a pause to ease the stress and overwhelm of it all. You are on the right track with continuing to try for those easy catches. It may just not have clicked for her yet, and that is 100% okay. If she is fighting it, trying to redirect her attention with a toy or a book could help settle her long enough so she goes without complaint. You are doing a great job and you know what is best for your family. If you want more consistent and personalized help, I launched a new subscription service Potty Tribe, where several coaches as well as myself troubleshoot the weeks EC journey every Friday over Zoom.

  6. Avatar Amaya on October 5, 2022 at 2:25 pm

    Hi Andrea! Thanks to your work, I was able to use EC for my first child from birth and it went very well. Especially after realising at about the 1 year mark, I had to dial back the enthusiasm and relax and trust into the process. My daughter was out of diapers at the age of 15 months when she started walking and pretty much out of diapers at night too when I stopped nursing at night a few months later. Setbacks during theething or sickness would come and go but now at 25 months of age, something is different. She used to sleep from 7 til 6 without needing to pee but now she wakes sometime between 1 and 5 am and when we come into her room she has already wet her bed. I wonder if it could have to do with her recent speech development or with the fact that I am going back to work soon and we have been trying for another baby unsuccessfully for a while now. I hope you can give me some insight and tips how to handle this situation. All the best, Amaya

    • Andrea Olson Andrea Olson on October 7, 2022 at 7:54 pm

      Hi Amaya!
      First off, 15 months, Congrats! Speech development as well as other milestones and life changes can most definitely cause some regressions. Perhaps limiting liquids a couple hours before bed could be helpful in keeping her dry overnight. A gentle reminder at bedtime to stay dry that way she has it on the mind as she sleeps could help as well. Hope that helps!

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