Have we made a stupid mistake?

Have you ever wondered why your baby often pees the moment the nappy is taken off?  I remember how I always held a nappy underneath my baby’s bottom at baby clinic when I carried my baby between the changing mat and the weighing scales.    I also remember how my babies/toddlers waited until they had a clean nappy on to do a number two.  I may have finally found out the answer.  No scientific proof you understand?  This evidence is purely anecdotal, but something to be aware of.

Earlier this month I attended a Natural Infant Hygiene (NIH) session at Nappy Ever After where I heard why the session leader started baby-led pottying, otherwise known as Elimination Communicaton (EC) with her daughter.   At about 3 months old, her baby hadn't done a number two for a few days.  This was followed by a massive poo explosion. 

The thought occurred to the mother that ‘elimination’ couldn’t happen or was difficult while her baby was lying down in a nappy.  She offered her baby a pot and there was no more 'constipation' after that.   Gravity and exposure to the air seemed to help stimulate ‘elimination’.

As parents, we have been told that we should just leave babies/toddlers in nappies 24/7 so the poo and pee just comes out of the child ‘naturally’.  Indeed we have been warned that giving your baby the opportunity to poo on a pot from an early age can be dangerous leading to ‘holding’ ie constipation.  See link to Huffington Post article below.  

This mother’s experience implies that babies do hold, that they are born with the instinct or if not, develop the desire quite early on to keep themselves clean and dry.  But when we don't give them the opportunity to poo (and pee) on a pot they give up.  Then when we try to ‘teach’ them to try to control their bowels at around 2 years old it’s a problem. 

And it is a problem.  We are hearing about more and more 4 year olds who are dry during the day but ask to put on a nappy to do a poo.   

Read an article on the opposite point of view in the Huffington Post.  Steve Hodges: A Doctor's Response:  Don't Potty Train Your Baby.  At Real Nappies for London we are sharing this knowledge.  It’s up to you to decide what works for you and your baby.

Is it time to rename Real Nappies for London?

Why does Real Nappies for London need a new name?  I started this conversation @_RNfL yesterday.  Thanks for joining in.  Perhaps we don't but there are several reasons why we're considering a rebrand:

1. The term 'real' nappies has become controversial.  Many in the real nappy community now prefer the term 'reusable'
2. Our remit at RNfL now extends to coming out of nappies.  There is a big potential for waste reduction (and our funding currently comes from waste prevention budgets) if toddlers stop wearing nappies (during the day) at around two years rather than four years old.  We're missing a big audience for potty training messages by being called 'Real Nappies for London'
3.  Over the last few years we have also responded to the growing interest in giving babies the potty from birth.   What used to be quite normal and called 'holding out' is now becoming fashionable and goes by various names: Natural Infant Hygiene, Baby-led pottying, Diaper/Nappy Free or Elimination Communication. 
4. Nappies are not just a waste issue they are also a health issue and it's often midwives and other health professionals (HPs) who give out RNfL leaflets.  We therefore need a name that works for them.  
5. Some HPs believe real nappies are only used by white middle-class families and so are reluctant to hand out our leaflets to their clients.

So it's tricky.  We'd also like the name to be fun, joyful.  We want to convey positive messages about changing babies to first-time expectant parents.  Nappy changing shouldn't be something we always do in a rush, a dirty task to be despised.  Nappy changing is contact time with our babies.  A time to enjoy, to sing, coo, smile blow raspberries on her/his tummy. 

All thoughts and ideas welcome! 

Nappy conscious?  Nappy Savvy?  Nappy Aware?  Baby Love?

What is Potty Training?

June Rogers, the UK's expert on paediatric continence draws a distinction between potty training ie taking away nappies during the day and preparing babies/toddlers for using the potty/toilet.  We don't just suddenly show children books with writing and expect them to read right?  We show them shapes, then books with shapes and pictures.  We read to children, we talk about books.  All part of developing the skills and experiences they need to eventually read books.  So why has it become the norm to suddenly introduce potty and pants to your child at 2-3 years old?

Advice from the top paediatric continence expert June Rogers is to prepare your child with potty/toilet skills and awareness before potty training starts.   You can see June Rogers in a video talking about potty training HERE

The New Baby Boom | Buy Shares in Disposable Nappies

Today the Financial Times Magazine published an article 'The New Baby Boom'.  It says "In 2001, the number of births in England and Wales hit a 25-year low of 595,000.  In 2012, there were 730,000, a 22 per cent increase."  And this growth is highest in parts of London: "There are more babies per person in Barking and Dagenham than in any other local authority in Britain.  One in 10 people in the area  is under five."  Working out what to do with the increasing volume of nappy waste generated by these babies is a real issue.

Recently I was told that disposable nappy waste is not a problem as we will soon have the technology to turn it into diesel.  "In our lifetime?"  I ask and "Will that be clean diesel?".  But nevermind, what that doesn't do is tackle the issue of children spending longer and longer in nappies.  The weekly spend on single-use nappies is a significant burden for families on low incomes.  Also, changing children's nappies is taking up an increasing amount of primary school teacher's time.
  
At Real Nappies for London we do not blame parents for children starting primary school in nappies.  What we (and many others) have observed is a change in cultural norms of later and later toilet training.  The norm has been to have babies in nappies 24/7 and then at the age of two and a half years suddenly introduce the potty and pants.  

Research shows that children develop bowel and bladder control through being given the opportunity to use the potty/toilet.  Just as we prepare babies for reading through showing them shapes we can introduce babies and toddlers to the potty well before they have bowel and bladder control.  Giving your baby the opportunity to poo or pee on a pot at change time, after a meal or before a bath can be good preparation for taking away nappies during the day ie potty/toilet training.

For several years Real Nappies for London has been pointing out the need for a public health intervention to help parents prepare their child for this important milestone - taking themselves to the potty or toilet.  John McDermott's report indicates the urgency to start this task.

This post may also be of interest:  Are Potty Training Methods in the West ....

For a more detailed account of changes in potty training habits in the UK since the 1950s see Rachel Richardson's Factfile (pdf).  Find  link from www.realnappiesforlondon.org.uk/elimination