by Lorna Doone

Created on: November 12, 2008

I have two children, one was diaper free by 4 months, the other potty trained herself at 19 months; both happy and capable girls, both trained in different ways. I guess with the first one I had read about Natural Infant Hygiene and wanted to try it, with the second, I had too much on my plate and let her train herself when she wanted to.

I believe that diaper-free babies are a fact; are eco-friendly, aware of their bodies at a young age, sociable and under no pressure to perform in any way. At the other end of the scale, children who train themselves when they want, achieve much the same results apart from the fact that they can work their way through thousands of disposable diapers by the time they are ready to use the toilet.

Starting off simply is a good plan. Use one less diaper at night by leaving your baby free from the waist down after her bath in the evening and getting her to sleep on a thick towel after she has peed. Babies will very rarely wet themselves whilst asleep and will benefit from air circulation around the parts that have been enclosed and wet all day. This I did with my first child and never had an accident in bed, nor diaper rash. It helps if you co-sleep with your baby, (but I figure if you have thought of infant training, then you have probably thought of co-sleeping too!) when she fidgets in her sleep, get her up and let her pee into a towel or potty. Making quiet hissing sounds will encourage her to relieve herself straight away, then settle her down again - you will probably find this much easier than if you had left her to pee into a nappy on her own.

This routine I was doing by 4 months with my first baby. I then graduated onto awareness of her needs during the day. Making the hissing sound whilst holding a baby in a comfortable position over the sink or potty i found to be a key factor to my success - staying tuned into her cues also was crucial. Wooden floors are probably a must! My partner became proficient in the gentle art of infant natural hygiene soon after me.

This is the start of diaper-free babyhood. It is all about becoming aware of your child's patterns and cues; squirming and fussing are good signs that your child is trying to tell you she wants to pee. It happens like this all over the world. That is why Chinese children have splits in their pants with their bottoms showing and use the gutters regularly. I kid you not.

My first born was a happy and contented baby, we never looked back. The second one directed her own training and achieved it without fuss or problems in two days when she was 19 months old. I am pleased that I tried both ways, but I often think of my second child's used diapers lying in a landfill somewhere on their 500 year journey to decomposition.

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