EC and Cloth Diapering so far

I've been trying to keep a very open mind.  I said I might try EC at birth or a few months after birth.  I wanted to stay flexible to make sure I didn't give up on it so easily.  Well, at birth was impossible for me, I was so crazy and sleep deprived.  But that was OK, even in countries where EC is the norm the average age of starting is usually 2 to 6 months. 

Still I did not want to see diapering and caring for my child's elimination needs as an icky chore that baby has no control over. 

The first thing we noticed was that in the hospital Cedric would pee every time we took off his diaper.  Babies naturally like to eliminate when naked.  So, I've been trying to let him, instead of immediately slapping another diaper on him.  This has led to some hilarious peeings where he has gotten his hair full of pee when I'm not paying enough attention.  Bath time!  :)

So if he has pooped his diaper, but no pee (or if the diaper is not completely soaked), I'll wait at the changing table, with a cloth or diaper ready to catch the pee and when and if he does pee, I give a cueing noise ("Psssssssss....."). And then I put a clean diaper on him. I can usually tell when he's close to peeing because his penis will move around and his scrotum will contract.  But sometimes he doesn't and after a few minutes I just put a diaper on. 

We also have some naked baby time and if I notice him peeing, I give a cueing noise.  Cleaning up a baby that has peed or pooped on to a cloth beneath them is so much easier that completely diapering one.  Technically he is still peeing into cloth diapers, but the process is different and a pee-soaked diaper is not against his skin.  He seems to really love naked time, so hopefully this will lead to a love of being dry later. 

I sometimes have to remind myself that I am not doing EC to achieve anything, I am doing it for the journey.  I am doing it to be more responsive to my baby.  Even if he's still in diapers at age two, it was not all for nothing.  I am doing it to make diapering possibly more pleasant and to keep his skin drier.  Results should not be dwelled on; there are always diapers.  It does not have to be an all or nothing deal. 

For, now I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing until I think he's sturdy enough to sit on a potty, or I notice any other changes.  He definitely pees less frequently already, and poops less frequently too.  I am excited about the future of EC and everything else. 

People warned me that this would be hard, but so far, it really isn't.  I might get pee on me more frequently, but that's really not a huge deal.  It's only hard if you obsess over the future and the results; let's live in the moment.  :)