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The toilet is also a very easy option 👍 fyi though, breast milk poop from exclusively breastfed babies IS water soluble/liquid and very easy to wash out with hot water and a little soap

So glad you found it helpful! I think I'll make another video explaining all the practical details, I've already gotten a lot of questions about it! They recommend allowing about two months between matching with your au pair and having them start, this allows time for the agency to secure the visa and flights. They do have to have a room in your home/on your property, unfortunately I don't think you would be able to put them up in a rented space elsewhere because it's regulated as a "cultural exchange" by the US government. They're like an exchange student living in your home, who also cares for your children. They also do have the option to renew for a second year with you, which is what we did! Our au pair goes home in December, so I'll know more about the kids reaction after that! Our daughter has known her her entire life, almost two years, and they are very close. It is going to be hardest for her I think.

Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry that happened to you too, it was not at all how I hoped the birth would go (I was planning a vbac with midwives) and was instead incredibly traumatic. I'm very glad to hear that your baby is ok now! What happened to your separated partner? Did he attend the birth? There are definitely a lot of expenses associated with an au pair, I think the math only makes sense if you have more than one child and need full time hours (they can work up to 45 hours a week). But, as I explained in the video, the benefits have been very real and worth it and I'm so glad we made the investment ❤️

The signs will be more noticeable BEFORE you put them on the potty! Once they're on it, that's the time to relax and release so you would just give your sound cue once you sit her down, and then listen for the pee. There is usually a facial expression if they poop. To know when it's time though, look out for any shifts in behavior (usually higher energy/fussing/antsiness for pee) that could be your baby's "pee pee dance".

At the time this was filmed (7 months), I worked full time as a professional architect. My partner was also working full time outside the house, and we had an au pair for full time childcare for both children. We taught her how to use EC to recognize signals and offer the potty the same way we would, she was happy to learn and very supportive! She used diapers as a backup just like we did, and caught what she could just like we did. We chose an in home childcare option instead of daycare because not only did it make sense financially if you have more than one child, it provided a less stressful routine for everyone and gave us flexibility to have a provider that was actually willing to support our daughter with EC (and our son was also wrapping up potty training around that time too)

@@readyfrombirth that’s really great, thanks so much for sharing this. I’ll work on doing something similar. I have a 7 month old and I work from home but working on lining up some help

Yes! Great question. It's definitely important to keep your newborn warm, a very young baby is still learning to regulate their body temp! You can use tall thigh high socks or leg warmers, or just lay a blanket over top. Note for little boys though, having a visual on your baby can help you see when he is about to pee, and you may need to manually aim to get his stream to actually go IN the top hat potty as sometimes it will just come straight out.

Thanks for the idea! I have a lot to say about that 😂

Thank you! At 13 months he is ready to start choosing potty time for himself! Congratulations on making it this far with EC, such a gift you are giving your son! ❤️

There is actually another leap around 4 months! Most of my members report that their babies get much fussier, cry at potty time, and signal less around that time. The top hat potty is probably too small for her at this age, offering the toilet can work great and it's also a great time to introduce a floor potty she'll be able to use independently in just a few months!

It will be twice as much work, but it's important to remember you don't have to catch everything! If you can potty after naps and feedings, that can really help. And I highly recommend you get two potties for once they can sit unassisted around 5-6 months! There are moms in my community who do it with twins, it is more work but can definitely be done! And we'll worth it, otherwise you'll be changing twice as many diapers for twice as long!

Thank you, I'm so glad it was helpful!

Love this! Thanks so much for sharing your story!

Thank you, I'm so glad it was helpful! As long as they feel supported potty time will be much easier!

A young baby might become unsettled for a number of reasons in the night, primarily because their sleep cycles are immature and relatively short, so they will kind of rouse at the top of each cycle but usually will put themselves back to sleep if they are not too hungry or needing to potty. (However with a newborn-2 months, they would need to feed throughout the night and I would expect a pee/poop each time) So a snoo could be helpful just to help bridge that sleep gap, but generally if they really need to potty it will not work and they would let you know! My rule of thumb with EC at night is to only offer if they are fully awake and asking or you already have their diaper off. I would try it, and trust your intuition! If you're laying there thinking, I think they might actually need to potty...they probably do!

There is definitely a regression that occurs in many babies in the 10-12ish month range that corresponds to your baby's growing understanding of their independence from you, and the ability to say no and do something other than what you've asked. It is super common for a baby/young toddler to know EXACTLY where she's supposed to poop, and then run off and poop on the floor at this age. But, it's a normal developmental phase! Frustrating, but it WILL pass if you stay calm and neutral and it also indicates that your baby will be ready to transition out of diapers on the other side. Don't give up! If you've been practicing since birth, she knows the drill. Choosing not to sit is about testing her independence and control (basically the entirety of parenting a toddler 😅), so don't let potty time become a power struggle and do what you can not to let your frustration show. It can help to make pottying fun again!

It depends how long your baby has been practicing! Their muscles of control will get stronger and stronger the more they practice, so even if they need to go immediately upon waking they can hold it the minute while you get them to the bathroom. You might also try just taking the diaper off in the bathroom! Carrying your baby in a hip carry with pressure on their pelvic floor can help prevent an accident while transferring also

With a young baby who can't get off on their own, no more than 3 minutes for something to start, or for them to clearly tell you "no thanks"! It can take a few minutes for them to relax and something to come out, but if it's not happening by then they don't need to go. Try again later next time they signal or at the next out opportunity. A mobile baby will get off the potty on their own pretty much immediately if they don't need to go

Signals will continue to change as your baby grows! The way a newborn signals is very instinctual, and that type of cry/agitation will typically fade by around 3 months. But if you've been practicing consistently she will learn that she can ask, and may be using a new signal! Pay close attention to her body language and facial expressions leading up to potty time, you may notice that she IS signalling! Also, poop routines will change and consolidate as your baby grows! A newborn may poop 6-8+ times a day (as many as feeds) while a 3 month old is getting more efficient at converting milk to energy and will poop significantly less.

@readyfrombirth ok. Thank you so much. Thanks to your videos I can now see she is still showing signs. And letting me know when she needs to go.

It is true that most daycares don't want anything to do with EC (for now, but increasing demand may change that), but it's really easy to teach a nanny, babysitter, or grandparent the cues and how to do it! We have had an au pair, I taught her how to do EC with my daughter early on and she does a great job keeping up with it, even with two children to look after. But if a family needs to use daycare, they can still do "part time EC" with the baby at home and most babies understand and continue to make progress!

My partner and I both work full time out of the house, and for various reasons it was more affordable to choose an au pair than to have two kids in full time daycare where we live (literally would have been twice our mortgage). Nanny shares or time swaps with other families are also an option, they just require some more work up front to arrange but there are options when it comes to childcare if a family can't find a daycare that is willing to support EC

Don't worry, she pottied right before we filmed this! And we also use a sound cue to let her know it's an appropriate time to go, that can help so they don't just pee whenever!

Glad it was helpful!

Unfortunately this is super common! The mentality that "babies aren't ready until X age" is rampant in daycares, just like it is in the population generally. Working hard to change that! Were you able to find a provider who DID support your child?

@@readyfrombirth Yes! she starts a new daycare on Monday they actually help with the potty training process.

A lot of it in the video with spatial expression. But there was hitting me, kind of smiling before babies really able to social smile, indicating gas or pressure, and, I kid you not, she said “poo poo” I was putting her on the potty every 45 to 90 minutes at the time during the day and every time I would do it I would poo poo poo poo poo. Poo. Poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo. Poo. She learned how to say because it’s a very simple sound and I have it on video

th-cam.com/users/shortsIpkr3ep7TlE?si=RkqxpBezYC-9_vdm

Thanks for watching!

Great question! You are correct that you can't potty while side lying (at least I haven't figured out a way to do it yet), but you also can know your baby's usual patterns and cues and offer at the key moments, for example if you KNOW your baby always poops at the 4-5am feed you could sit up and feed over the top hat for that one, but do side lying otherwise. Your baby will also let you know if they really need the potty, and usually will NOT settle back for sleep if they do. Many times I would try to nurse my daughter back to sleep side lying, and I would be nearly asleep and then she would sit up in bed and look around 😂 that was my cue, and I'd offer and then she could quickly go back to sleep after that. So you don't have to offer EVERY time at night, but it helps to pay attention to patterns and tune in to your baby's needs in the moment

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with EC! It just goes to show how personal the needs of your particular life and family can be, and you can still do EC successfully and enjoy the benefits of convenience, developing her ability to hold it and wait, and ultimately enjoy full diaper freedom by 18 months! Love this so much ☺️

In public, I either find a public restroom and hold her in a classic EC hold over the toilet (or sink at the doctor's office 😂) or if I'm outside it's easy to find a private-ish spot to potty a baby over the ground! I don't try to feed over the top hat in public though, I would feed and then potty sequentially

I have definitely been peed on a few times! But to prevent that from happening you can try carrying your baby in a hip carry so their legs are around your body and there's pressure on their diaper area, or if you're burping them you can have a cloth in your hand pushing up against their bum. You just want to make sure there's pressure and not open space

You're definitely going to be tired regardless! But the poop and the diaper change are inevitable, so I just offer a chance to potty as soon as they wake up, then either breastfeed over the top hat or offer again right after you're done feeding. They usually pee/poop during or immediately after the feed so I personally think it's easiest to just leave their diaper off and feed over a potty! The baby bjorn white insert works well for this too, several mamas in my Community have shared that that worked for them!

I completely understand 😂 like all things in the newborn period, it will get easier soon I promise. Things started to change a lot around 3 months, and both our babies started sleeping through the night around then. We continued to use the top hat until about 4-5 months, but she could make it through a feed by then for the most part. You can also just stop mid feed to potty and come back if that feels easier to you, I personally always had a hard time getting a second let down so pottying while breastfeeding worked better for me. Experiment :)

Can you clarify what you mean by a baby seat? I would think most likely not, especially if they are usually wearing a diaper/backup or clothing!

I had never heard of the Thompson method of breastfeeding so I looked it up, but so far am having a hard time figuring out what it is specifically (that makes it different from breastfeeding in general). Do you know of a good source where I can learn more about it? I absolutely agree, you do NOT want to go back to painful breastfeeding! I want to know more about it before offering thoughts on this

Yay!! I'm so glad this information found you just in time!! 💗

Same! It was hard to imagine that working for US, but once we tried it it makes so much sense!

You're so welcome! Thanks for watching!

You're so welcome!

Actually, I just looked another video of yours and you explain it super well here! th-cam.com/video/e_SX7LWt8nU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=DMeSIMBmapnLAeUM So thanks for that! If I understood correctly, the top hat is nice because it keeps things seamless and easier for everyone. But it’s not obligatory. that sometimes they don’t poop for two or three days and that’s completely normal. So perhaps just a disclaimer for breast-feeding moms I’m really hoping it’ll go well for my 10 week old, I’ve been taking off her diaper sometimes since birth and observing her, but I only see a queue when she’s actually peeing. I don’t catch soft cues yet. Am I too late or something? Also, I do have some concentration issues so it is possible that I’m just getting distracted. 😅 Thanks for all this! And one tiny tip, try to increase the volume of your videos. I noticed that the volume is quite low for all of them. It’s more difficult to hear you in public transport. :) All the best!

Thanks so much for the feedback! First off, you can potty your baby in whatever way works best for you! I have a video all about different ways to potty as well, with and without an actual potty. I highly recommend that you practice the classic hold as much as you reasonably can so your baby is comfortable with it, that one will allow you to potty them absolutely anywhere with no gear on hand! Being comfortable is essential for your baby to be able to let go when you offer, so familiarizing them with the Classic can help you out later :) That's a great point you bring up about breastfed babies not pooping every day. My son actually went over a week without pooping around 6 months before starting solids, I read that it just means they are absorbing basically everything in the milk and there's nothing left to eliminate. As for my volume, thanks for that! I probably need to get a microphone 😅

You're absolutely right! Sustainability and reducing waste was a huge reason we looked into EC in the first place, but after getting started we realized there are so many other benefits too!

I'm so glad, thanks for watching!