Elimination Communication: Going Diaper Free From Birth with Andrea Olson
What if your baby has been trying to tell you they need to go to the bathroom this whole time and you just did not know how to listen?
Before disposable diapers existed, 92% of American babies were out of diapers by 18 months. Today our average is three years old.
And according to my guest today, that shift was not about biology. It was about marketing. Andrea Olson is the author of Go Diaper Free, the world's leading educator on elimination communication, and a mama of six who has never had more than one baby in diapers at a time.
Here's What You'll Learn in This Episode:
02:30 – Meet Andrea. Mama of six, author of Go Diaper Free, and the woman who almost never had children because of how much she hated poopy diapers. How she heard about a family pottying their baby over the sink and never looked back. 😂❤️
06:15 – What elimination communication actually is and what it is not. The instincts babies are born with that we have completely lost touch with in the Western world, and why none of this is as complicated as it sounds. 👀
10:42 – The Pampers story that will make your jaw drop. What Andrea learned from a conversation with an actual Pampers executive, and how disposable diapers changed the way pediatricians talk about potty training forever. 😳
17:28 – When to start and what it actually looks like, from brand new newborns to mobile babies to young toddlers. The two simple things Andrea recommends starting with that take almost no extra time or effort. 💛
24:15 – The difference between elimination communication and potty training. 👀
30:18 – The cues your baby is already giving you, from bearing down and staring off into space to popping off the breast and trying to escape the carrier. Once you know these you will never unsee them. 👀
36:44 – What this looks like in real life for mamas going back to work, for families with multiple kids, for babies in daycare. Andrea has three businesses and six kids and has made this work. Here is how. 💪
42:30 – The bonding piece. Why every single person who has done elimination communication says it is one of the most connecting experiences of early parenthood. And the secure attachment research that backs it up. ❤️
48:15 – The three biggest things that have surprised Andrea across six babies and over a million families (including the night her daughter just stopped needing a diaper at 17 months and never looked back.) 👀
54:20 – How much money you actually save. Andrea has saved $12,000 in diapers across six kids. The math is wild. 😳
58:30 – The free resources Andrea is giving every mama listening today, plus where to find her books, mini courses, and tiny undies for when your baby is ready to ditch the diaper. 💛
Babies are not any different biologically than they were before disposable diapers existed. They still have the same instincts. They are still telling us what they need. We just stopped listening. T
his episode is going to change the way you think about diapers, potty training, and tuning into your baby from the very first day. Tune in and let me know what you think at [email protected] ❤️
Links & Resources
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Head to www.myessentialbirth.com/EC to grab two free resources Andrea put together specifically for you:
The Easy Start Guide — a one page guide that shows you exactly how to hold your baby, what a signal looks like, and when to offer. Simple, low bar, and everything you need to get started today.
The Potty Training Primer — a 10 minute read that gets you in the right mindset for potty training. Perfect if you are feeling confused about when and how to start — or if everyone around you has been telling you to wait.
- Andrea's tiny potties, training pants, waterproof pads, tiny undies, pull-up covers can be found here
- Andrea's books, mini courses, and all resources can be found here
- Connect with Andrea on Instagram
- My Essential Birth Course
- 3 FREE Exercise Guide
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