Problems with diaper rash or the cost of diapers? It is possible to keep your baby diaper free much of the time, and to catch messes using elimination communication (EC) or natural infant hygiene. This reading and video list will give you a good start with understanding how it works:
Cross-Cultural Wisdom
For the scoop on how cultures around the world have handled infant hygiene without diapers, check out Ingrid Bauer’s book, Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene. It is a well-researched book full of pleasantly written stories and illustrative photos. Laurie Boucke’s book is also praised for its rich stories of cross-cultural practices.
This video features a young Mom learning from her Malaysian mother how to keep her two daughters out of diapers. It seems to demonstrate the same principles as what Bauer describes. And another video, though grainy in quality, shows how an African-American family provides excellent care for their mostly diaper-free 6-month-old daughter.
Part-Time EC or Early Potty Training
For the family that is living a more complicated, modern lifestyle, Andrea Olson’s Go Diaper Free suite of services, books and tiny undies may be the best fit. Whether pottying from birth, from another point during infancy or working on ditching diapers for good with a 1-year-old, Andrea has a book for that!
Christine Gross-Loh’s book The Diaper-Free Baby is a more affordable how-to manual that encourages parents to try or try again at any age. Just skip the first few chapters if you want to stay positive and get right into the how-to details.
Olson also has two board books for kids 6 months and up, and a comprehensive website. Even kids under 1 year of age can enjoy board books. So it doesn’t hurt to read about potties if you are trying to reduce your use of diapers.
Other inspiring videos include this vlog post about a happy 10-month-old who is good at signing and loves reading her board books on the potty. For a video guide for smaller babies, check out this Mom who explains and then shows how her young baby avoids diaper rash by sitting on the toilet every day for a fresh morning start. Even actress Mayim Bialik is a fan, and you can hear what she has to say here.
Good luck with that potty journey, and stay tuned to learn more about the Ditch the Diapers Zero Waste Initiative that Re-ThinkGreen will be spearheading along with Seattle’s cutest diaper service, Diaper Stork.
