Elimination Communication is better together!

Thrace 2, Dagyn at almost 6mo

I'm sorry, y'all may think I am weird but I just think babies sitting on potties are precious!! 

Thrace finally 'graduated' from EC at around 26-27mo old.  He was the oldest of all my kids to become potty independent.  The others were using the potty pretty reliably between 17-24 months. But that is OK, they are all different and admiditally, by the time I was on kid #5, I didn't have as much time to spend taking them to the potty as I did when I just had a couple kids.  It is about communication afterall. 

Dagyn is proving to be just like the boys.  Piper (my only girl) loved to sit and play on the little potty, not the boys!  They are anxious to get off and crawl around!  So needless to say, I am still holding him over the sink or potty when he has to go most of the time.  He has been naked bum around the house since he was about 6 wks old. As with the others, we typically only use diapers at home for naps and bed.  He is 7mo now and for the past month has been crawling around everywhere!  So far no potty strikes! (knock on wood)  He is still communicating his need to go and is still patient when I take him potty (often times, once they start crawling and walking they go through a strike and become impatient with having to stop to go potty . . . all of my kids have done this). 

We'll see how long that lasts!!

We have breakthrough!!!

upper right first

followed by upper left

followed by lower right

3 teeth in 1 week at 6mo (it was a couple wks ago)

Add to that him also having a pretty bad cold and ear infection (a first for any of my 5 kids) and us preparing for the holidays (you know all the stuff I had to make) and it equals a whole lot of craziness!!

Love him!

Happy new year!!

We had our annual family new years party at Kozy this year.  The whole fam on my side (parents, sisters, 14 grandkids) all go to the Kozy headquarters and have a party, food etc. and then we spend the night.  The kids have a ball. They bring their newest gifts (this year we had lots of scooters, and RC cars . . . last year it was skate shoes and video games). 

We usually pitch tents or get out the air matresses. My sister and her husband had just come back from a few days at the beach so they had their camper and my dad insisted that they just back it on in the bay door (cargo dock or whatever it is) and so they did!

 Crazy no?  Needless to say they slept pretty comfy in there!

And we have a huge place here, so the kids still had plenty of room to skate around and play and stuff (we could probably fit 8 of those campers in here!).

I am having camera issues (meaning that my battery charger died and I can't afford a new one right now so I am conserving power) so I didn't take as many pictures this year.

But I DID have to get a recent picture of the 3 newest babies

Esther is 6mo, Jackson (kristi's baby) is 3mo and Thrace just turned 7mo.

I have eaten WAY too much junk since Thanksgiving.  It seems to take me a month longer after each baby for my body to get back to normal.  I can fit into all my clothes well before then but I was just starting to finally look like my old self at around the 6mo point.  However I think I have regressed with all the eating in the last month, LOL!!  Time to either cut back or break down and exercise (I know, I know, I should do it anyway for my overall health!).  I guess now is as good a time as any to start huh?

More Jackson Pictures!

Ok, so yes, I know it has been a while. But seriously I have been so busy here. After Kristi had her baby we had to get ready for a birthday party for the kids. We always have some project to finish before a party, this time we were building cabinets!! We finished them at 7am the day of the party (we went to sleep at 7.30am, woke at 10, the party was at 2, LOL!! Crazy!). We ended up having 9 kids and 4 parents spend the night. It was a ton of fun!! Then, after a few days of recuperating, we had to head out of town again for my sister Karla's bridal shower. We are going to GA for her wedding next weekend! I am so not used to having so much going on! I don't think I have even checked facebook in like 2 wks!! LOL!! I have like a list of things I want to blog about and no time to do it! I try to blog after the kids are in bed (which is my only time to really sit and do it uninterrupted) and I end up falling asleep every night!

Anyway, here are the pictures I promised. Kristi and Jackson in the Kozy. These were taken when he was like 12 hrs old!! I didn't want Kristi to have to get out of the bed but I was anxious to capture his first "ride" on camera so we just had her sit up in bed and tie him on!!

Ah, I love it when they are so close you can just lean over and kiss their little head!!!

Here are some pictures from 2 wks later, at my sister Karla's Bridal Shower
(which we had at Kozy)

Jackson and mama

Jackson and GG
(his great grandma, our moms mom who recently turned 80)

Jackson and his aunt Karla
(our little sister who is getting married next weekend)

The 3 newest grandbabies (numbers 12, 13 and 14). Jackson (2 wks) Thrace (4 1/2mo) and Shiloh (3mo)

OK so NOT Jackson, LOL!! But I had to throw this in because they are cute! Ever and Thrace lying with Polywhirl (the cat who really isn't supposed to be in the house but he is such a good sweet and tolerant cat that sometimes I let it slip).

Thrace is 12 wks old!!

Has it been 12 weeks already? Unbelievable!! The time always flies by yet it seems like he has always been a part of the family!

He is so sweet, he smiles with his whole face . . . makes you want to melt! The kids love him (almost too much, LOL). They are such a great help with him. I say it is easier now with 5 because my older kids (Xian and Piper mostly) can help out so much . . . they even hold him for me if I need to change or something and Xian has worn him in the Kozy a few times (which they both love).

He doesn't like to be put down of course (like the others) but sometimes after a good nap if he is fed he will lie and play happily for a while. He doesn't particularly love the car either, but so far he tolerates it better than most of the other kids have (I can sometimes go out without having to pull over and nurse him, LOL). He has been smiling since a week old but really started smiling lots daily around 5-6 wks and he is REALLY close to laughing. He sits up well on our laps and I am guessing he will be sitting on his own at 4 mo like all the others. I finally weighed him the other day (when he was 11 1/2 wks) and he was 13 1/2 lbs. So he is growing like a weed. Everyone says they can't believe how big he is for 12 wks! But if he is like my other 4 kids his growing will slow down soon and he will just hover around 20lbs at a year . . . we'll see.
I love seeing his personality come out, he loves music, loves watching the fan spin, loves watching the kids play etc. He is a joy and we are so blessed to have him!!

Here are some pictures of him growing over the last few months.

A few days old in the Kozy

3 days old in the Belly Cast. You always look at the cast and think, there is no way a baby can fit in there . . . then they are born and they fit perfectly!! So cool!!
I am going to have to do a blog post sometime about how to make them. We have done casts with all of the kids.

4 days

8 days

9 days

5 wks

6 wks

9 wks

12 wks


He has nice fat rolls on this thighs and and creases on his arms, he is so squishy but still has that wonderful baby smell. And he can spot me across the room now and when he sees me he will call for me to hold him or nurse him (regardless of who is holding him) and just smiles and talks!!
Ah sweet baby love!!

7 Weeks Old and Already Potty Trained!!!

I know, you are thinking . . .

Does that say 7 wks old and potty trained?

OK not really, LOL!! But Thrace definitely knows when he has to go!

Thrace going 'potty' at 7 wks. July 09

I have done Elimination Communication (aka. EC) with all of my babies. I didn't start with Xian till he was 9mo, though I knew about it before he was born (still kicking myself for not doing it sooner with him). There was information about EC on the web back in 2000, but there is even more now!! He was 'potty independent' at 24 mo. With Piper I started at 6 wks. It was like a light bulb moment when I realized that some of the fussing that she was doing was because she needed to pee . . . I mean when I realized it was just SO obvious (and here I was thinking that she was needing to be burped or something). She was completely independent (telling me every time she had to go, no more accidents) at 17mo. I started with the last 3 kids from birth. Arah 'graduated' at around 22mo and Ever around 24.

Piper sitting on the little potty at 8mo
It never ceases to amaze me when I take a newborn to the sink (holding them over the sink is easier on my back than holding them over the potty) and make the cue sound . . ."psssss" . . . . (this kind of just lets them know that they can go) and then seeing them actually responding and going to the potty. I mean you would think that it would be old hat by now but it isn't, it is just amazing that these little people, who can't even talk, can communicate their desire to go and actually hold it for a short time while they wait for me to get my act together and realize what they want and take them to the potty!!!
I usually start slow. For the first few weeks I only take them potty when I am changing their diapers (and they almost always go). Then as they get older I start leaving the diaper off or the cover off (we use cloth) and taking them more often. By a few months old I don't use diapers much around the house (and yes, I get peed on from time to time) and by 6mo I typically switch to waterproof training pants (EC pants I call them, from the EC Store) while we are out.

Ever 4 wks old

Anyway, the point of my post is that for the past 2 days, Thrace (as seen in the photo at top) has been VERY adamant about letting me know he has to go. We have gone ALL DAY both days in the same diaper . . . meaning that yes, at 7 wks old, he has told me that he has to potty, and held it for me to take him, all day for 2 days in a row with no 'misses' (meaning I haven't missed his 'cues'). This doesn't count night time of course. When we go out or if I am really busy I am not quite as attentive, and I can't always take him to potty every 1/2 hr (which is how often he has to go at this age when he is awake . . . though while sleeping he will hold it for a couple hours). But the last 2 days I have been paying attention and able to take him when he needs to go. We have gone 12 hrs each day with a dry diaper! Oh wait, I forgot, we did go out! We took the kids to a movie. I took him to potty at home before we left, he nursed through most of the movie, I didn't go to change his diaper till we got back to the car and it was DRY!! So I promptly held him over the little potty in the car and he went! Just SO cool! OK yes, I'll admit it . . . I think baby pooping and peeing is cool!!

With EC things don't always go so smoothly. They go through stages where they are more interested in crawling or walking than letting you know they have to go. They will go through little strikes or just go in their pants because they don't want to stop playing (or they just don't care). Each of the kids has been different. But the key is knowing that they CAN and DO communicate this need with us, and respecting and listening and communicating back with them. I always tell people it isn't about how many pees I 'catch' or miss, it is about the communication. I am telling ya, since starting EC with my first at 9mo . . . I feel like I know them better and knowing that they can communicate their need to eliminate . . . it isn't something I can ignore ya know.

Now that's a happy EC'd baby!!
(Piper 8mo on the potty)

The birth of Thrace Galen Mason

Well as some of you may or may not know, I had baby Thrace a little over a month ago (May 26, 2009). My stats . . . he is my 5th child, 4th son. It was my 5th 'planned' homebirth (first ended in transfer after 3 hrs of pushing due to excessive bleeding on my part and decels on baby's part) but 4th baby to be born at home. He was a land baby like my first (also weighed the same as my first 8.4) after 3 waterbirths. Not sure what I was thinking when I decided not to 'plan' a waterbirth this time, obviously it was pregnancy brain getting to me, LOL!!! I explain it all in the birth story though. It was my 3rd unassisted birth.

It wasn't an easy birth. So far each birth had gotten easier than the previous, but not this time. Though nothing can compare with my first birth (5 hr transition, 5 hrs pushing, it was durn hard!!!) Labor was long 24 hrs, and I pushed for 2 1/2. So much for the thought that the more kids you have the easier it is for them to 'come out' LOL!!! It was my 3rd birth where I had really weird like spaced out contractions. Lets just say that for the last 3 births, were I in the hospital, my labor would have no doubt been termed 'dysfunctional' and I would have been bombarded with all sorts of interventions. Actually come to think of it, my 2nd baby was the only one where things went pretty 'textbook' during the labor. My first would have most likely been a c/s.

I have been so amazingly blessed by God to have 5 beautiful healthy kids an 5 natural births where I was able to listen to my body and avoid interventions, despite my labors being so 'unusual'. Some of you know I use the name Entergently on lots of forums, and for my other website. The name describes how I strive to live and 'be' with my family. And it starts with a gentle entrance into the world . . . it is so important to me that my kids start out life this way!! And I hope to carry it on throughout their lives as they learn and grow.

The birth story is long (and very detailed and somewhat and bloody . . . just a heads up) ;0) so grab some popcorn and a comfy chair. I have pictures and video stills from the birth up too. To read it go to www.entergently.homestead.com/Thrace.html and click on the link for his unassisted birth story.
I actually have all the kids birth stories (and recent family pictures) up if you would like to read more http://www.entergently.homestead.com/