Cloth Diaper Podcast – Show 29
Intro to Elimination Communication
This isn’t a show about the nitty gritty details of Elimination Communication. This is just a show talking with a parent who makes it work for her and her family and maybe she’ll inspire you to do it for yourself.
Sometimes we talk to experts, but mostly we just talk to other cloth diaper parents who make cloth diapering and other things work for them and their families.

Sarah
Rural RedHead
I’m Sarah. I am a SAHM/WAHM mom living a rural lifestyle with my farmer husband. I am all about simple, purposeful, and natural living. And I live in a constant state of life & home improvement.
Show Transcription
Sarah intended to cloth diaper from the get go. Her sister was on board with her and the support. They had everything, but she was completely overwhelmed from the transition to motherhood, and didn’t get into to it around 5 months and around 8 months she tried EC.
Sometimes when life gets too much, it’s okay to take something off your plate.
What is Elimination Communication? or EC.
Learning your child’s signals and timing for when they have to pee/poop and bringing them to the potty. It’s about watching their cues and then responding to them.
For Sarah, her daughter started to let out little cries when she had poop, and she met her childs need by introducing the potty and kick started off the thoughts around elimination communication. She’s home with her daughter all day and has access to the time and facilities to do so.
What is the biggest challenge with Elimination Communication?
Shifting into the new stage of life where she is busy playing and doing things has been hard as she doesn’t always stop to let me know.
It’s different than potty training in that she’s still a baby and remember and it’s just me her watching her. It’s not always going to be her telling me.
She stumbled upon in it a moms group…
It sounded really challenging and like something that wouldn’t work for her… but then around 8 months when she tried on the potty for the first time and it seemed like something that would work for their families.
I started little by little, and see how it works and happens.
Where to go to learn about EC?
Mainly just some local moms conversation and then maybe some google, but she then picked it up along the way. Sometimes less is more, and we’re going to do what works for us.
How do you leave the house?
That can be difficult, and sometimes things turn out in different ways where there won’t be a potty available.
Some of her friends take the small potty’s with them when they go out, but she hasn’t made that investment yet.
Currently, she puts her daughter in a cloth diaper when she leaves the house and then just try to respond to her cues if something comes up.
Cloth Diapering and Elimination Communication
Sarah doesn’t think being wet bothers her daughter and isn’t really sure if there’s any hindering of the process. At the end of the day, she’d rather use a toilet than a diaper regardless.
Right now she’s using 6 or 7 diapers a day because they are in a challenging place, but usually she’s in about 4 diapers a day responding to cues. And then she washes her diapers every 4-5 days.
Advice for EC?
Find someone who is doing it and talk to them and see what they are doing, but if you want to try it and you have the time then just try.
Overtime her daughter has really come to understand what the potty is. It’s not as hard as she thought it would be, and I’m glad she tried. Back when I had Common Crazy on the show, each kid is different really and just try things out.
Your Biggest Piece of Advice for yourself?
Just embrace every moment and go with the flow.
Take time for yourself and rest.
Don’t worry about everything else. She didn’t understand how life would look normal ago, and letting ago of that made everything so much easier and happier.
Where can we find you on the web?
TheRuralRedHead.com – Instagram – Facebook Page
Professional Cloth Diaper Educator
Bailey brings 5+ years of cloth diapering experience and conversation to the cloth diaper space. She's not just your every day mom blogger sharing her experience - Bailey is immersed in the cloth diaper community learning from other parents and growing as an individual. She wants to find the cloth diaper solution that truly works for you.
Bailey believes we need to stop and listen to cloth diapering parents. We need to recognize our own bias and preferences and focus on solutions that work for you, not us. The Cloth Diaper community needs to recognize the privilege of being able to cloth diaper, and provide spaces for more conversations and stories.
Cloth diapering is not about rules but about our own strength as parents to do the best we can for our children with the resources available.