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PrintSpecial Report: Diaper-Free Baby
With a room full of babies, you would expect to see diaper bags - but tots here are not wearing them.
Melinda Rothstein at Diaper Free Baby explains, "It just made logical sense. If you can figure out when your baby needs to go, then why should the baby go in the diaper? Why not the toilet or potty?"
These Massachusetts moms are practicing an ancient technique called 'elimination communication', looking for physical and verbal signs that their child has to go to the bathroom.
"They are born giving us signals," Rothstein continues. "We just have to learn how to recognize them. Some of the signs would be a certain cry that the baby would make."
Little Melinda Hannah will kick her feet or start verbalizing more. Or, if she's laying down, she'll kind of start swinging side to side.
With a little help, five-month-old Hannah sits on the potty. She's been doing this since she was only days old.
These "Diaper Free" moms believe it's better for the environment, and better for their child.
"The same as we wouldn't want to be sitting in waste, neither would a baby if given the opportunity," Rachel - another mom - says.
A well-known doctor who has written the book on potty training thinks looking for signs is more about training the mom - not the baby. He says passing up diapers may take an important developmental step away from the child.
"Each step in a design step-like process of showing a child and letting them take over each step themselves," he contends. "If you do it that way, then when it happens, the child feels 'I did it my self!'"
Dr. Brazelton thinks potty training too soon may be too much pressure on a baby.
"All of a sudden later ir crops up. Uhh, I'm not quite so sure I want to do this for mommy anymore. I'm negative right now - and so they hold back their B.M.'s or they wet the bed long-term, longer than they would have.
While the "Diaper debate" continues, these moms admit their babies do have accidents but say they've seen amazing results.
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