Throughout most of human existence, parents have cared for their babies hygienically without relying on diapers. In many cultures around the world, mothers still know how to understand and respond to their infant's elimination needs to keep them clean and content. Bauer has written a unique parenting guide that shows contemporary mothers and fathers how to practically incorporate this knowledge into their daily nurturing, with or without diapers. This warm comprehensive book with over 45 photos clearly outlines the benefits, the practice, and solutions to potential challenges. The author interweaves personal experience with medical research, cross-cultural examples, extensive pratical how-to support, and parents' stories. Her empathic writing style brims with encouragement and insightful parenting support. Practicing Natural Infant Hygiene fosters a close bond and communication, prevents conventional toilet training and diapering struggles, supports a healthy body image and early toilet mastery, saves money and the environment and offers another opportunity to respond fully to your baby's needs.
I was fascinated by this book, but entirely put off by the author. She makes an excellent argument for the feasibility of Natural Infant Hygiene, and gives useful information about "how to". Unfortunately, she is an all-or-nothing attachment parent advocate and comes across as incredibly smug and judgemental. She is very pleased with her life: she lives on a farm (an ORGANIC farm, she's careful to tell us), made a special sling for her babies that allows her to wear them under her clothes, had a miraculous homebirth, is a strong proponent of the family bed, advocates extended breastfeeding. While there's not a problem with any of these choices, she writes about NIH as if it is only going to work if you also make those choices. Again, while there is nothing wrong for families who do make those choices, not everyone can do so. She trumpets her advocacy of other aspects of attachment parenting in every aspect of this book, suggesting judgement where none need be, and setting up other parents for doubt and failure. In addition, she slips some specious and un-cited facts about vaccination (another highly charged subject, again irrelevant to the subject of NIH) into the book. I will be looking for more books on the subject, but unless you're playing the parenting game exactly as she does, this book might not be the one for you.
So this book is goofy. The writing is terrible, the author conflates unrelated cultural trends and blogosphere hear-say with actual information. So I did a bit of tooth-grinding on the way through the book.
That said, there was some interesting information contained therein. To spare you the task of reading it yourself, here ya go: 1. babies are born aware of their body functions but we train them to ignore their body signals by relying on disposable diapers 2. parents can become aware of baby's rhythms and cues for body functions in the same way we can be aware of their hunger. 3. Here's the best part: hold your baby over a little potty or over the sink. Say PSSSSSSSS! in her ear, and she will pee and poop. I promise. Also, she will wake up dry in the morning and wait till you carry her into the bathroom to do her business. Seriously. 4. So, dear readers, you can decide to live your life completely without diapers, or you can just "pee the baby" once or twice a day to save yourself some diaper-changes. Basically, take what you want from it: parlor trick or life-style.
My kids did not go diaper free all the time, but my three boys were totally out of diapers by their 2nd birthdays. This book helped me teach them that they didn't have to "go" in their diapers. I do believe that we diaper-train our children in this society, and it's possible to avoid it if one has an open mind.
I looked into this method when my first baby was about 6 months, but I never really got beyond cloth diapering. I would let her be loosely diapered at home to keep her aware of her movements, but other than that I never really pursued EC (elimination communication).
I went the traditional route of potty training at 2 years and it was stressful for everyone. Especially getting her to do #2. We are now out of the woods, thankfully, but the stress of that season of training (which, for us, was about 6 months long from start to finish), left me wanting to give EC a try again with my second child.
I got this book when she was about 6 months old and have been trying some of the methods when we are home. I have chosen not to stress out about it and not to try too hard to make her do anything. If it's a busy day, I simply stick to cloth or chlorine-free diapers, no pressure on myself or my daughter.
But, after only 2 months of trying methods from this book, she goes pee 1-3 times a day on the potty and has even pooped a couple of times. Today, she actually crawled across the house and began patting the potty chair. Her diaper was dry, and when I put her on the potty, she went! She had actually held it and communicated to me that she had to go! Amazing.
We still use diapers at night and when we are out and about, but if I can teach her early to be most comfortable when dry, and not to be afraid of going on the potty, I think we are off to a great start!
I read this book after starting to practice EC (Elimination Communication) and it was increadibly helpful in refining our "technique" with our son. We started practicing these techniques when our son was about 2 mos old and at 17 mos was completely out of diapers. He's now nearly 19 mos and happily wearing his nearly-always dry undies.
I don't know how I stumbled onto the idea of "Natural Infant Hygiene" aka "Elimination Communication", but I am glad I did and it is very easy to work into my life. I prefer that my baby use a potty rather than sit in her waste for any length of time. She also prefers it. It's working out great! I love the book! And, it makes Americans seem so stupid compared to all the other cultures that already practice this.
Amazon says this was published in 2006, but I read this author's book with a similar title in 2003. It was beautifully written and really conveyed the resectful listening and bonding that occurs when allowing a child to be free of diapers and able to eliminate somewhere away from his body, and that it was actually possible to be in tune with an infant's elimination needs. Inspiring.
This makes all kinds of sense to me-- think about it, how did people deal with babies' elimination before diapers were invented? The babies were not just going all over the house (or hut, or cave, or tent, etc.). In the U.S., most people first train their babies to go in diapers, then they have to teach them later that what they've been doing their whole young lives is wrong, and now the kids have to learn to use the toilet. It seems to me like it's much easier to just train them not to pee and poop on themselves right from the start, while it's still instinctual.
Granted, it seems like it's an easier path if you have the luxury of staying home with your baby without returning to work in the first year or two. But if you choose to put your baby in daycare, this book does have encouraging examples of ways to train your baby "part-time" in that case-- you're still in charge of your baby all night, after all. There are lots of helpful photos of different positions to hold your baby while they go, and descriptions of various methods different parents have used successfully.
The book doesn't promote one silver bullet, some magical technique that will enable every parent to help every child develop perfect bathroom hygiene. It's more of an encouraging guidebook to give parents different tips and tools to use as they determine what exactly will work for them and their own baby. Every situation is going to be a little bit different, based on the temperaments of the baby, the parents, other caretakers, and the community. But regardless of the situation, there is never a reason that diapers must be used exclusively.
UPDATE: My baby is 8 months old now, and was pretty much trained for #2 by the time he started solid foods at 5 mos. So we changed dirty diapers for 5 months, since then it's been just wet ones with an occasional dirty one now and then when we weren't paying attention. And he's just now starting to actually sign with his hands (we taught him to make a fist and wave it around by his head when he needs to go) when he needs to use the potty, so it's getting really easy for us to catch more of the #1s also. If he keeps up at this pace, he'll be in training pants soon, hopefully out of diapers completely by the time he's a year old. While we couldn't manage being literally "diaper free" , we certainly use fewer diapers than most since the baby keeps them clean by waiting to use the toilet instead of the diaper.
i agree with a previous reviewer that this author is a bit overpleased with herself. one of the things that disappointed me about the book was that there was a little too much ingrid b. (or ingrid b. waxing philosophical) a little too little practical tips. that being said, i find the subject fascinating and i personally think this is an inspiring introduction. i just also agree that the tone could put other people off.
Fascinating. If this practice is as commonplace in less-developed places in the world as she says, I'm ashamed once again at how extravagantly wasteful we can be in the West, and how deeply ingrained the waste is in normal life. Of course, we'll see what I do with a kid of my own. Ha!
BTW, I do think she over-romanticizes elimination communication a bit. At the end of the day she's just writing about holding tiny babies over receptacles while they pee or poop.
I had never heard of Natural Infant Hygiene or Elimination Communication before a couple days ago. A recommended YouTube video explained how one woman made the choice to parent her children in this way and she said reading this book had helped her make the decision. I was intrigued and decided to read the book from my library.
Fascinating and logical! I disagree with other reviews saying that the author portrays the concept as “all or nothing.” Ingrid Bauer, while embracing a level of attachment parenting that I don’t intend to try, clearly articulated that part-time EC or any efforts to be in tune with your child’s elimination will only benefit you both in the long run. She doesn’t push her own way of living though she is obviously biased to recommend it. She often articulates that mother’s should do what is best, most comfortable, for themselves and their child, because forcing this concept on children is not the way to go. I feel like someone would have to be really offended by the author’s lifestyle to read into her words that she’s so self-righteous that she wouldn’t advocate for “you do you” EC.
Parenting feels like one big experiment, and this is something that I am interested in including in that experiment, with the grace that I can take it as far as works best for our family. The potential outcome of trying to any degree seems like a more intuitive, empathetic relationship with each child and healthier communication around what happens in the bathroom.
This is a very helpful book. It gives a great overview of the history of how we've handle babies' toilet needs, revealing the cultural and social aspects of how we treat babies, and what we think about their intelligence and physical capabilities from country to country. American and Europeans appear to be far behind women in China and Mali and India and many other countries these days, and this book is meant to get us up to speed. Bauer is a sensitive and compassionate person and you can tell as you read her book how much she loves children - she really advocates for them and encourages adults to trust them and follow their lead instead of trying to control them.
The book includes helpful photos and anecdotes showing how to hold your baby and various potty choices, and how to handle special situations like travel, little ones who've been adopted, physical challenges, and families with many children. I like that it also encourages parents to de-stress, take time for themselves, reconnect emotionally with their baby, and seek support when needed.
Bauer practices attachment parenting and is able to take a lot of time to communicate with her baby in what seem to be idyllic surroundings. I think she could have included even more anecdotes from different mothers with different work and living and family situations - more perspectives would be helpful and would make this book more accessible.
I also take issue with the author's repeated, somewhat enigmatic references to intuition and psychic communication between mothers and infants. While I recognize that women can really learn to see and hear what their baby is thinking, I think that's based on subtle body language and sounds and expressions, not on telepathic communication. The inclusion of this aspect of the author's experience cast some doubt on the rest of the book for me. I imagine other readers might have similar reactions, which is a shame, because the rest of the material seems very sound.
I first found out about EC/Natural Infant Hygiene when I was searching online for arguments to support cloth diapering. I was about to have my first baby and had concerns about conventional diapering (mainly environmental), and my husband had already had two children in a previous marriage and was staunchly against cloth diapering because of the sheer volume of work he envisioned it requiring. Anyway, almost right away I came across EC and immediately requested this and one other book from my local library to find out more.
I will say, first and foremost, I am convinced of EC's validity. Now that I've finally finished reading the book I have an 8 week old son, and we will try EC and see if it works for us. Things about this book I liked: 1) the photos of positions were very demonstrative and helpful 2) the resource list at the end was useful 3) I greatly appreciated the anecdotes from other practitioners of EC (moms and dads!) and wish there had been more. 4) the positive you-can-do-it message carried al the way through the book. (Never once does she say I won't be able to do this.) 5) the clear examples she gives of what cues may look like 6) the helpful hints for getting started (such as how baby wearing will make the practice easier.)
I'm grateful that I live in Canada and have 52 weeks of maternity/parental leave to get to know my baby. I loved the idea of taking a specific getting-to-know-you period with your baby, and I lamented our surprising lack of feminine support networks here in North America and in my own life (as I live very far away from my grandmother/mom/aunts/sisters).
I am looking forward to trying this, and I hope we are successful! I would definitely consider buying this book, and would also consider gifting this book to other soon-to-be/new moms.
I found this book while I was looking for a perfect diaper. I was tired of diaper change after the 1st month. 2nd month switch to cloth diaper, still lot of changes. What could be more perfect than not using it?! While the disposible diaper package clear instruct to empty the human waste before throw it away, how practical is that? And how many of us following it while out at a park or public? This book save my years of diaper change, from the 3rd month we were on EC, by 2 yrs 2 months(if i must put a date on it) we were diaper free the whole day time. This is exactly like the book said the average 5 months before her peers to stop using diaper, not to mention the wastes of $ to buy disposable diaper(500 years to decompose on the landfill?!) changing diaper after the child has solid food was not something I look forward to.
i learned that you can train yourself to sit with your kid while they crap at one, but when it doesn't last and you spend the next nine months trying to recreate the magic, you feel like a failure. unless your kid is like running around outside and eating berries on some commune, this is not reasonable. we did the sounds from BIRTH and yeah, at 11 months we had a potty trained kid but she's two now and i was awoken from a nap yesterday when i heard "i poop in sisters bed." way frustrating, better off to put them in cloth diapers so they can feel their dirtiness and wait until they are ready.haha, 'dirtiness.'
Read The Diaper Free Baby written by Christine Gross-Loh instead of this one. Gross-Loh simplifies elimination communication in a no nonsense way, and is very relaxed about it. It isn't an all or nothing type of thing, and her book explains how to fit elimination communication into your lifestyle. No pressure, give it a shot, take it slow, and do what works is the overall tone.
This book will scare a lot of curious parents away. You don't have to make your own baby sling, live on an organic farm, preach anti vax sentiment, and never ever ever put a diaper on your baby to be a decent human being. Sheesh.
Before reading this book, I knew a little about Elimination Communication-- or Natural Infant Hygiene, as Bauer now calls it-- and I was interested in trying it with my new baby, due in February. But I didn't feel very committed or very convinced that it would work for me; I thought, "I'll just see how it goes." After reading the book, I feel very hopeful and informed, and really committed to making EC work. I feel really excited about this experience and pretty well informed about how to make it a reality. I ghighly recommend this book.
I might have read this before I had a baby, but now I know how hard it is and I understand that you can parent much better in how to books than real life. As soon as I learned she was into unassisted birth I was done. I live in a city and believe in healthcare. This book is not for me.
I think this book is an excellent resource for any mother that is considering "EC" or desiring to be more in tune with baby's elimination needs. Even if you aren't able/don't want to commit to it full time, Ingrid offers wonderful encouragement, tips, and perspective on why it is worth the effort to tune in to your baby's elimination needs as early in life as possible. I had read a few reviews from women that seemed offended that the author was so blunt about why diapers and the western method of potty training are not the best we can give to our children. Multiple times in the book, the author acknowledges that this method may be difficult for many families, due to both parents/mother working out of the home, having multiple children, having a handicap, not having support, etc. While the author does not sugarcoat her perspectives and beliefs, she makes NIH VERY accessable to anyone who wants to incorporate this method in some way or form, regardless of afore mentioned circumstances. Read the introduction before the rest of the book. :) I think that her chapter on accidents and bed wetting would be helpful even to those who are following westernized potty training methods. I wish I had read this book sooner, while I was still pregnant!
I am forever grateful that my Public Library had this book on hand. It was well loved before me, and hopefully will be well loved by many in the future. I have been practicing Natural Infant Hygiene (or EC) with my daughter for 3 months now. While I do recommend reaching out to other sources, such as GoDiaperFree for troubleshooting issues with the actual practice of EC, this book will open the reader's mind to how much Western parenting practices have strayed from natural instincts, and will encourage you and empower you to explore other options! I love the "free pee" haha. :)
This book was recommended by a friend who I asked about cloth diapering, and as a result I have been using EC with my 2-month old baby since her first week. It's amazing how intuitive it's been for her and for me! We're very much practicing it part-time, but I love the added level of connection. The book gave helpful background information and practical guidance. The writing was repetitive at times, and the author takes attachment parenting to a much further level than I do, but overall I would recommend it to any parent interested in EC.
Ja, die Autorin mag zu Beginn dogmatisch wirken. Das legt sich aber im Laufe des Buches. Es ist ein interessanter Bericht wie es ohne Windeln funktionieren kann und hat selbstverständlich keinen Anspruch auf Allgemeingültigkeit.
Dennoch fanden wir die Tips und Überlegungen mitunter sehr interessant.
Mehr Quellenangaben hätten dem Buch nicht geschadet aber der an sich gute Eindruck bleibt trotzdem.
Das Buch argumentiert und referenziert warum windelfrei „normaler“ ist als manch einer denkt und schildert die persönliche Überzeugung und Erfahrung der Autorin.
I liked this book because it challenged so many pre-set concepts I was exposed to and given as a new mother. It made me think of changing my approach to diapering and I took away some great ideas which I was able to successfully implement at home. Like most parenting books, I find you have to take what works of your and disregard the rest (and not feel bad about it), so I do recommend it as long as you keep an open mind and realize that if you are reading this book it's because we are just trying to be better parents.
Velmi zajímavá, laskavě napsaná kniha. O bezplenkové metodě jsem slyšela už před přečtením knihy, praktikovala jsem ji se svým miminkem se střídavými úspěchy, ale chyběly mi některé dílky do skládačky. A ty mi právě dala tato kniha. Doporučuji rodičům, kteří chtějí vést své děti trochu jinak, než je standard. Nakonec jsem zjistila, že bezplenková metoda není závodění v počtu ušetřených plen, či cirkusový dril miminka, ale je to způsob velmi laskavé komunikace s miminkem.
Really good book and can't wait to approach this with the incoming little one.
I do see where people come from with the smugness in writing but honestly I could see it being a LOT worse.
Some chapters really drone on. It was hard to finish but the last few chapters made it well worth it. After you read the meat and potatoes, it was just hard to see the point in finishing. But, again, it was worth it!
This second part of this book, the 'how to' was awesome and I wholeheartedly recommend it. The first part of the book was a LOT of rhetoric about convincing you that Natural Infant Hygiene is awesome. I already knew it was awesome and didn't need to read 100+ pages about that. Depends on where you are in your journey. :)
I think this is a great addition to the conversation and something every parent should consider. In a world where disposable diapers contribute a huge percentage of our landfills and cloth diapers take a lot of energy and water to wash, going diaper free to at least some degree needs to be a much more common alternative.
This was a great resource to start EC. Most of the book talks about the benefits, which for someone already sold on EC, wasn't so necessary. I was hoping for more tips and advice on overcoming struggles. The examples in the book were all a little too positive, it felt discouraging at times for a mom struggling with lots of misses.
Great insight and information into the world of elimination communication. I have said many times that I want to raise my baby as close to natural and pure as possible. This book has made this goal even more attainable!