EC... yeah... I'm THAT mom Part I

When we got back from our first camping trip when Aden was 6.5 months old... we started doing a little something called EC.  EC is short for elimination communication.  I first heard about it way before I was even pregnant on another blog.  The mother was 'thinking' of doing it.  I, too, was very skeptical.  The premise is that babies can communicate when they have to 'eliminate' very early on, just like they communicate hunger or tiredness.  As parents, we just have to read the signs.

Most parents do this already.  "Oh look, Johnny is pooping" "There's Sally's poop face".  Now, all you have to do is plop baby over the toilet and voila! Baby is pooping in the toilet.  Pee is another story.  Is basically about timing with pee from what I can see.  You give baby the opportunity to pee when they wake up from a nap and/or after nursing and a few other 'key' times.  Now once you got baby peeing and pooping and the toilet, you assign them sounds.  Whenever Henry poops you make _________ sound, when he pees you make ______ sound.  Eventually the kid catches on and you got your communication going on.

Aden's little Pjorn Potty

 

 

I know it sounds it bit crazy... it definitely did to me when I first started doing, but there also is something very intrinsic about it.  I mean... 1st world countries are the only countries that diaper as long as we do.  What do all the other kids do when they can't afford to buy diapers?  Living here, as I've said before, all babies are potty-trained by the time they are walking.  Of course they can eliminate anywhere if they live in 'the bush' but there is also a certain awareness to what they are doing because they were taught about it.  In America, there is definitely a lack of awareness, or a pushing back of awareness till babies are a lot older, all to the joy of the diaper companies.

Aden in just his cloth diaper, sans cover, so I can remove it lickity-split

I read somewhere that it is not in the baby's tendency to want to soil themselves.  First we train them to feel comfortable peeing/pooping on oneself (in a diaper) and then we wait till they are in their terrible twos to train them out of it.  When I was pregnant I read this book called The Baby Whisperer and her sequel.. Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems.  Both were good references.  The latter discussed potty training as a process.  I think all parents dread the task of "potty training." We just have to remember, potty training will not happen overnight just like a baby learning to eat solids or learning to walk.  It takes time.  Well, for me EC is just starting that process a little earlier so its easier later on.  And as my friend Kati says "I don't want two in diapers."  Don't read too much into that last statement.

Tomorrow I will post about where we are in this EC process and how Aden is doing with it all.

Are You My (Grand)mother?

This is Aden a month or two ago with Grandma Beth.  She just moved here in November or December.  She has quite an affinity for little babies and has a grandson that is 2 months younger than Aden.  Thus said, she takes out a lot of her lovin' on Aden. 

Note:  This post is not intended to make other Aden's true Grandmas' jealous, especially not intended to bribe them into buying their tickets to come here.  But if it pushes them over the edge to do so, then so be it!

Around 6 months old... an outfit from Sherry

Found a few photos from my other camera so expect to seem some older photos here and there in the blog.  This is one that showcases an outfit that our friend Sherry sewed for Aden.  Isn't it darling?  I love the one pieces that bunch at the bottom like that! Darling!

If I had to pick a Peanuts character...

for Aden to play...

It would be Pig Pen.

Its really not his fault...

It's so hot here, we leave him in his diaper (often without a cover because of the EC we are doing... later post about this).  And when he crawls around he gets soo dirty!!  It is sooo dusty here, that its impossible to keep my floors clean.

Before every nap, I take him over to the sink, plop him in and give him a good scrub over.  Repeat every 3-4 hours. 

Aden 9 months update

So looking back on things... I haven't given an update on Aden in 5 months!!! His last update was at 4 months old!  

Stats

Weight: 19.5-20.5 lbs- Between the 25-50th percentile
Height: 28.25 inches - Between the 25-50th percentile


We don't have an accurate scale but the one we do have measures about 19.5 lbs which is probably pretty close.  I think the heavier the person, the more inaccurate it is.  We actually haven't been in to take Aden to the Dr. since our last experience.  I didn't really enjoy our last experience so I think I may wait to take Aden in... possibly till the next time we are in the states.  I will take another look at the vaccines he needs, we shall see.  If I do go, I don't think I will go to the clinic because it was quite a confusing experience. 
 

Milestones

So since he was four months old... Aden has since passed all these skills: sitting up, crawling, and standing (even unassisted for a few seconds).  He loves to stand up and bang on things and is learning his way around furniture. 

Teeth:  Aden has his lower two teeth all the way in and his upper left has already poked through while his upper right is following close behind.

Schedule:  Aden is nursing every 2ish hours.  I was doing the whole "eat-play-sleep" cycle but I found it helped my milk supply if I did the "eat-play-eat-sleep".  Also, he is eating 3 "meals" a day.  Breakfast is usually 2 egg yolks and maybe a few tiny bites of banana.  Lunch and dinner consist of either chicken/tuna/salmon and some avocado, pureed carrots, banana or whatever else I have around to make.  We are waiting on grains till he is a year old.


Naps: Aden is down to 2-3 naps a day.  The first two naps are usually 1.5-2 hours long and if he gets a third it may be 30-45 minutes.  I actually had to quit caffeine (goodbye beloved morning coffee!) because I noticed he wouldn't nap for as long.  We weaned him off the pacifier about two weeks ago.  It went really well... just went cold turkey.  The longest he cried for it was about 15 minutes, but even then it was 'off and on.' I am not against pacifiers at a later age, I just knew it would be harder to take away later on so I decided to bite the bullet and get it over with.  He does quite fine even as he is teething now. 


Clothes: Aden is in the 9-12 month range of clothing.  We are slowly switching out the 9 month clothes that don't fit for the 12 month shirts/shorts combo.  Thanks Grandma Hunt for sending us a wardrobe for Aden.  We had assumed we would be coming home this summer and could get clothes then but due to finances it may be another 6-9 months later.


Aden is such a blast!  He will go to anybody and not cry (unless he is need of a nap).  We are working on 'don't touch' and some basic sign language: more, all done, and please.  The locals love him and call him "white boy" or "bobo"

 

Beach Day with Auntie Amy

We got to hang out with Amy and her team at River #2 beach.  It was quite fun because where the river meets the ocean it is quite calm and so a lot more fun for Aden.  We hadn't been to this beach since we were in Sierra Leone before Aden was born.  Get ready for some picture overload!!!

Auntie Amy Comes to Sierra Leone

John's sister recently came here with her ministry school out of Redding, CA for a missions trip.   We just like it how God orchestrates her to be assigned here instead of somewhere like LA or another needy country.

We took full advantage of the time we got to spend with her.  Her visit was a refreshment to us spiritually much like Timothy was often to the people groups that Paul sent him to.

A few pictures from Day 1.  He was a little weary of her at first, he even smiled a lot more at the other women that came on the trip with her.  We decided it was because her and John look so similar that he was confused by the resemblance.