Having a newborn in your life definitely brightens it up with joy, love, happiness, and laughter, but of course, there are some things that aren’t all sunshine too. Crying at night, for example, or how about changing diapers every now and then?
Most experts agree that parents can teach their babies to be potty trained between 18 and 24 months old.
It’s not even uncommon if babies aren’t ready until they’re three.
One couple, however, managed to surprise everyone and made parents envious all around the world. How?
They taught their baby to be potty trained at just two weeks old.
And in case you’re curious about how they managed to achieve such a seemingly impossible feat, they decided to share their story on their YouTube channel. Montana Lower and Tom Lindwood from Byron Bay, Australia run the YouTube channel ‘On The Way’ and regularly post videos about their lives.
Their success was achieved by method of “elimination communication”.
Reportedly, their baby hasn’t been needing diapers ever since the age of two weeks old. Their adorable baby girl, whose name is Blue, doesn’t seem bothered that she doesn’t have to wear a diaper anymore.
In fact, her parents had to look out for signs that she needed to go to the toilet, and because of this, Blue seems to have developed some sort of learned behavior.
The elimination communication process, in a nutshell, relies on the parents to aptly notice when their baby needs toilet time. Once they notice one of these cues, they take the baby to the toilet. Lower and Linwood applied this technique in their own home, and it has clearly worked beyond expectations.
Diapers are no longer needed, and even mom was shocked that everything went so well.
When she first heard about elimination communication, she was skeptical, to say the least.
After that single day, Blue now looks at either mom or dad wherever she needs to go.
“Babies are born with absolutely no preconceived knowledge of how to go to the bathroom and so if we don’t teach them to go in their nappy, then we don’t have to unteach them,” mom said in the video.
It’s actually fairly similar to something most parents are able to see quite easily: whenever they’re hungry. Elimination communication is basically the same, although not every baby will display the same cues, so your mileage may vary.
Mom and dad chose to try the elimination communication method for a number of reasons:
“The biggest reason why we started taking Blue to the toilet at 2 weeks old is learning that being left to sit in a soiled diaper can add to shame and disassociation with our intimate areas — especially for girls. And it makes sense!”
Elimination communication has definitely gained popularity over the years, but like most things, has its benefits and caveats.
Of course, nobody will deny this is much cleaner for both parties, and a lot more comfortable.
Some experts believe that it actually strengthens the bond between babies and parents and that it makes them gain self-esteem.
On the flip side, elimination communication isn’t always cleaner, especially if you’re still in the learning phase.
You also need dedication and plenty of time, although Blue’s parents clearly didn’t need weeks in order for their plan to work – a single day was enough.
“Our baby hasn’t poo’d in a nappy since she was 2 weeks old because we do Elimination Communication (EC). (…) There are many reasons and ways to start your EC journey and it all starts with learning more about it. We hope this video helps!” they concluded.
You can check out their personal experiences in the video below.
https://air.tv/?v=06Qs5qZATkyU-yPefyq0CA