u/clanchet

We’ve been practicing lazy EC on a BabyBjorn smart potty since about 8 months, and it’s going pretty well, we practice sitting on it after waking up and after eating, and often we catch a pee or a poo. We’ll be leaving for a vacation soon where we’ll be staying at a hotel and I’m wondering what we should do to keep it up. Is there a travel version of a potty seat you’d recommend? Should we try to learn how to use a seat reducer here so I can bring a travel version of that on the trip? Should we take a break entirely and resume EC when back at home?

Today was our first day trying EC with our 8.5 month old and I’m feeling discouraged and looking for advice/perspectives. I was excited and thought I’d spent a good amount of time reading about EC and preparing for it but I feel like I’m already messing up.

I bought Baby Bjorn smart potties for the areas in our house that we spend the most time in. At first I put them on chux pads, but realized after our first attempt that they slide all over the place that way, so now the potties are to the side of the pad. Aside from sliding around and feeling a little stressed about that, the first attempt went OK - I put her on the potty after hearing some farts and sang a potty song. Didn’t catch anything, which I thought was fine. I tried that same thing a few more times, each time after either hearing more grunts/farts, or after feeding. Each time she got progressively more frustrated. The last few attempts she’d refuse to sit on the potty altogether. She’d arch her back and hold her legs straight, sounding upset. One time I thought I’d help by scooping her legs underneath her so she could sit on the potty, but she was still upset and I felt like I was forcing her which didn’t seem right, so I didn’t do that again. I don’t mind that we didn’t catch anything all day, but I’m worried that I’ve already built a negative association with the potty. I regret not starting this earlier when she was less squirmy, but our schedule just didn’t allow it till now.

What should I be expecting at this point? What should I do differently? Should I take a step back and pause for a while? How can I make it more fun for her to sit? Would it help to get potty specific books/toys (any recommendations)?

These seem like the only plants gophers are avoiding so looking for inspiration