By Sonia Mendes.
It’s 6:40 a.m., and I awaken reluctantly from a too-short sleep, interspersed with breastfeeding my six-month-old daughter. Typically, this is the time I like to roll over and try to grab a few more precious minutes of sleep. If all the stars are aligned, I might even successfully guilt my husband into taking both our infant and her three-year-old sister downstairs while I indulge in an extra hour of solo slumber. To the new mother, this is the definition of bliss.
But today is different. This morning, I am determined to implement my newly-discovered knowledge of Natural Infant Hygiene, an environmentally-friendly alternative to diapering based on the premise that babies are aware of their elimination needs. I’ve been reading about the technique in Ingrid Bauer’s book, Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene.
On this particular morning, baby Lily has been in bed between my husband and I since her 3:30 a.m. feeding. Wearing only a disposable diaper in preparation for this morning’s events, she is already awake and full of smiles. It’s time to take action. Scooping up my daughter, I walk purposefully to the washroom. According to Bauer’s book, the “morning pee” is the best place to start with this technique.
“A baby who has just woken up often has a full bladder,” writes Bauer in a chapter dedicated to ‘Getting Started’ with Natural Infant Hygiene. “Undressing and holding the baby in position to pee first thing upon awakening can bring surprising results, even for a novice at this form of communication.”
This makes logical sense. How many of us start our day with a trip to the washroom? I’m encouraged, even a little excited, to see how my initial efforts will play themselves out. Removing Lily’s diaper, I support her over the toilet, straddling her so that we’re both facing the same direction. Then, following the book’s direction, I make what I hope is a convincing “hissing” noise, her new cue to begin eliminating.
Lily is thoroughly baffled. A very alert and inquisitive baby, she gawks open-mouthed at her unfamiliar location, staring around the washroom with her huge, brown eyes. I continue with the cueing sound, although I’m starting to feel slightly ridiculous at this point. After a few moments, Lily begins to fuss. Not wanting a negative start to this environmental experiment, I quickly lift her from her place above the toilet and wrap her in a receiving blanket. Hmm. So far, Pampers: 1, Natural Infant Hygiene: 0.
Back under the warm covers, Lily is looking for her first meal of the day. Immediately after she finishes, I get the subtle but unmistakable scent of fresh urine. I hurry back to the bathroom, knowing that elimination often immediately follows a feeding. But en route to the loo, my toddler bursts into the room and demands to join us in the washroom. Knowing that Lily will be completely distracted by her older sister, who she adores, I make the mistake of gently closing the door on my toddler and asking her to wait. As Lily and I resume our position, there is a tremendous amount of thumping and wailing from the other side of the door. Of all unforgivable offences, I have dared to deny my toddler of a group trip to the washroom. Once again, Lily is baffled by the proceedings and nothing materializes in the toilet below.
To be sure, the practice of Natural Infant Hygiene is not off to the roaring start that I’d hoped for. After reading about the many different countries and cultures that successfully employ the Natural Infant Hygiene technique, it seemed to represent something so natural and easy. Could it be too good to be true?
Knowing the facts on diaper waste, however, I am determined not to lose faith so soon. Diapers, according to Bauer’s book, comprise a staggering one-third of non-biodegradable waste. If I can successfully employ Natural Infant Hygiene, at least some of the time, I just might be able to make some sort of positive environmental impact. Since I am not so deluded to believe that this will instantly eliminate all need for diapers whatsoever, I am simultaneously researching reusable cloth diapers to replace the environmentally toxic disposable variety.
The next day, we begin in earnest once again. At approximately 6:30 a.m., I awaken to my tiny daughter’s happy smile beside me. This time, my potty strategy has changed slightly. I remove Lily’s diaper and reach down beside the bed, where the little plastic pot of the potty seat is waiting on the floor. As exemplified in the book, I sit on the edge of the bed and hold my baby girl in position over the pot. I make the mistake of touching her sensitive skin to the upper edge of the plastic, which is icy cold from the nighttime air. She immediately begins to fuss and squirm. I take her out of position and prepare to give her morning feeding.
Partway through her first feed of the day, Lily pulls off the breast and gets a faraway look of concentration in her eyes. Suddenly, I feel a warm sensation in the cloth I’m holding underneath her bare bottom. I quickly fumble for the potty once again and manage to catch the last bit of her elimination. While this should be a moment of victory, I am just feeling badly for my baby, who once again is not happy at being held in this new position over a cold, plastic bowl.
In her chapter on getting started with the technique, Bauer dedicates a section to ‘Starting with an Older Baby.’
“Beginning Natural Infant Hygiene before five or six months is usually ideal because the baby has not yet lost awareness of his elimination needs or become accustomed to using a diaper as a toilet,” she advises. “Also, learning while the baby is still in-arms and before he is mobile facilitates the process. Yet, I’ve counseled many mothers who have managed to begin with babies aged eight, nine, ten months, and even older than twelve months. So…if you have an older baby, don’t despair. You can still give it a try.”
I can’t say that I’ve ever thought of my baby as “old,” yet it seems that by the book’s measure we are a little late off the starting block. Though I’ve known of the technique since Lily’s birth, I can’t really imagine starting off in those early weeks following her arrival, which were a total blur of sleeplessness. Maybe I’m simply not “granola” enough to make this whole thing work.
I take heart in the knowledge that children thrive on routine. Perhaps Lily and I only need to put a week or two of this early-morning ritual behind us and it will become old hat to us both. But for now, I’m reaching for that familiar stand-by—a diaper.
[Also see Sonia Mendes' recent Disposing of Disposables in her series on Green Parenting]
Front photo: Emily Roesly
