Babies Aged 5-11 Months: How Do Solid Foods and Crawling Affect Elimination Communication?

Baby starts sitting up

And it may be time to switch from the newborn EC hold to a floor potty or toilet seat reducer!

Always keep a hand on your baby until she can sit confidently on the potty without assistance.

Baby becomes mobile

Rolling, scooting, and crawling are milestones that can disrupt EC:  Baby may be so focused on learning a new skill that he won’t signal like usual.  He might also become too busy to sit still on the potty or suddenly resist potty time.

Baby starts teething

Teething is known to cause crankiness and pain, both of which can reduce baby’s tolerance for the potty.

Baby starts solid foods

This is the big one.  The introduction of solid foods around 6 months of age causes physical changes in your child’s digestion.  As your child switches from an all-liquid diet to one supplemented by solid food, your child’s stools will transition, too.  They will change color, smell, and consistency.  Those mild-smelling milk poops on your cloth diapers that could just be tossed in the wash are now half liquid, half partially digested food, and 100% unpleasant.

Starting solids can throw a wrench into EC.

If you miss a solid-food poop while using cloth diapers, you’ll need to either dunk the diaper in the toilet or use a diaper sprayer to clean it out before laundering.  Flushable or biodegradable liners can help make cleanup easier.  Unfortunately, starting solids seems to completely upend your child’s timing and cues for poop and many parents experience a lot of misses right when poop is the grossest.

What is a potty pause?

All of the above factors can contribute to a potty pause for your mobile baby.  A potty pause is the term for any kind of EC regression, similar to a sleep regression or a nursing strike.  They can happen at any time, but there are ages where they commonly occur. 

Sometimes a potty pause is characterized by your child suddenly protesting or refusing the potty.  Other potty pauses are the result of natural changes in your child’s elimination patterns, which cause a string of misses until you figure out your child’s new timing and cues. The combination of newfound mobility, teething, language milestones, and solid foods creates a perfect storm for a potty pause right around 4-9 months old.  This potty pause can last anywhere from a few days to several months, but most parents find that it lasts a couple of weeks.

Like nursing strikes and sleep regressions, you don’t have to give up your EC goals when a potty pause hits.  The following are some suggestions for getting you through the 4-9-month potty pause.

Try Distractions

Everything in the world is new and exciting to your baby, and she’d much rather be exploring than sit still on the potty!  The best way to help her cooperate is to hand her a distraction the instant you put her on the potty.  Be creative—a distraction could be any of the following:

• Toys.  Create a “potty toy box” full of interesting things that she only has access to while she’s on the potty.  Hand her one after the other while she’s on the potty or just give her the whole box and let her dig through it herself.  They don’t need to be toys, either—sometimes a random object like a crinkly water bottle is the best distraction.

• Books.  Similar to the potty toy box, you can also keep a selection of special potty books to read to your child while on the potty.
• Calm Jar.  Create a mesmerizing distraction by filling an old water bottle full of water, food coloring, oil, glitter, seashells, small toys, beads, etc.  Make sure the lid is on securely.
• Music.  Play music for your baby or sing songs on the potty.
• Potty Activity Desk.  Get a low table, stool, or play table and set the potty at it like a chair by a desk.  Put something entertaining on it, such as a sensory bag, water play, finger paint, etc., that will keep your child busy while she goes.  Line the floor with a washable puddle pad if the activity is messy.

A baby play table with removable legs is a perfect potty desk!  Take two legs off so that the table is angled towards your baby as she sits on the potty.

Make a change.

Sudden resistance is often a signal from your baby that something isn’t working and needs to change.  Here are some ideas:

• Change your potty.  If you’re still using the EC hold, switch to a floor potty or toilet seat reducer and assist your child in sitting upright on it.  Try a floor potty if you’re using the toilet (or vice versa), change the location of the potty (move it to a different room or put it outside), or try using a potty cozy (especially if resistance began with chilly weather).
• Change your timing.  He’s not a newborn anymore and might need more space between pottytunities. Starting solids may also have changed up his “poop schedule”.
• He might need a deeper squat:  If baby is having trouble getting newly solid poops out, try holding him in the classic EC hold over the toilet or get a very low potty that puts him into a deeper squat.  You can also stack books or blocks under his feet to assist with this position.
• He might need help relaxing:  Hold and comfort him on the potty if he seems to have separation anxiety, or potty him by placing the potty on your lap.
• He might need privacy:  Try looking away while he goes potty or (if he’s old enough), turn your back or even leave the area or room to let him potty alone. Or, stay in the same room but busy yourself with something, like folding towels. CAUTION:  Only leave the room if your baby is in a safe, baby-proofed room and using a little potty that he can safely get off of by himself.  Always stay within sight and earshot.  NEVER leave your child alone on the toilet or in the bathroom.

Try Some Diaper-Free Time

It’s always a good idea to circle back to diaper-free time whenever you feel like you and your baby have fallen out of sync.  If you find yourself having a big string of misses, take a day or two to observe your bare-bottomed child and see if you notice new cues.  If your child is mobile, you’ll need to either go outside, confine her to a room with no carpet, or line the carpet with towels, mattress pads (a king-sized one can cover a big area), or puddle pads.

Remember, there are two goals of diaper-free time:  First, you are learning your baby’s cues right before/during a pee or poop so that you can better predict them in the future.  Second, you are helping your baby make the connection between pee/poop and the potty.  You can accomplish both of these goals by closely observing your naked child and transferring immediately to the potty as soon as she starts to pee or poop. The transfer is critically important to making the connection for your child.  Do not just let your child pee on the floor!

Dealing with frustration or burnout

Frustration is so common in all areas of parenting!  EC involves walking a very thin line:  On the one hand, EC is important to you, and you want to make an effort to succeed.  On the other hand, getting too obsessed or stressed about the process can be counterproductive.  My advice is to always take a laid-back approach.  Focus mainly on poops and easy-to-predict pees.  Don’t set goals or deadlines like “my child will be out of diapers by walking.” 

EC should be making your life easier, or at least not making it harder.  When you get too frustrated or obsessed, your child can pick up on that and resist the potty.  It’s OK to take a step back or even take a break.  EC is a two steps forward, one step back process that’s full of ups and downs.  It’s impossible to quit the potty forever—sooner or later, you and your child will come back to it, and everything you worked on before will be a huge benefit to the process. 

Those are the basics!

I hope this information helps you tackle your potty pause!  If you still have questions like...

• When will my baby start intentionally signaling for the potty?
• Do I need to potty my baby in the same place every time?
• When will my baby be ready to go fully diaper-free?
• How do I contain the mess during diaper-free time?
• How do I tackle night training?

I go much deeper into the ins and outs of newborn EC in my full book, Diapers Stink!, which covers how to start, how to navigate common challenges, how to ditch the diapers for good (and how to tell it's time), plus other important topics such as daycare, travel, bedwetting, and more.  Click below to snag your copy now!