One of the worst things about journalism is its tendency to cover both sides of the story when there are three or more. The Great Diaper Debate is similar. There are aspects you may have never considered.
Diapers -- like bottles, cribs and a nursery -- seem like a completely natural part of raising a baby. A moment's thought takes us back a step: these aren't natural; they are cultural artifacts. That doesn't mean bad; google is a cultural artifact and I adore google. But what did people do before there were diapers? And what do people do where there are no diapers? Laurie Boucke has answers in her book, and they fit very well with attachment parenting. Helping a baby to an appropriate potty location is just another way of sensitively meeting that baby's needs. Length of time in diapers is the biggest factor in environmental impact of diapers, another reason to consider this approach to handling baby ooze.
It has been noted that in other times and places, potty training occurred in about the time frame that we currently wean babies, and weaning occurred much later, more like the 2, 3 or older when toddlers are now being potty trained. I find it a little mysterious we're happier changing diapers for years than we are breastfeeding, particularly when breastfeeding is a useful parenting tool for helping a child to sleep, consoling and calming, and supports the parent-child bond, while diapering tends to result in a degree of conflict even with a strong parent-child bond. I think this must have snuck up on us in small steps and the bigger picture is harder to see.
By introducing solid foods late (at about a year, rather than around 6 months) and by potty training early (some time before a year), diapering is not too noxious. Once solid foods have been introduced, things change. A lot.
If breastfeeding is intensive, and nearly exclusively at the breast, a mother might remain amennorheic for the first year post-partum. She might have the baby potty trained before she was having to deal with her own period again. Seems like a nice trade (except for those first weeks postpartum when mama and baby both ooze continuously :-).
Exclusively breastfed babies have a wide variety of patterns of elimination. It usually takes a couple days for the meconium (the nine months of backed up poop the baby is born with. Hopefully. Usual descriptions are "black and tarry") to be cleared out. Once that's gone, breastfed baby poop is brown, green or yellow, loose ("pea soup") with little bits ("cottage cheese curds"). Depending on who you ask, they smell good or at least not too bad. There may be a few bubbles (think of them as farts); if it looks foamy ("cappucino mousse") you are probably looking at the result of an allergy to something you ate.
The gastrocolic reflex means that when the baby eats, the baby's poops move along. At the beginning, the baby may poop more or less continuously while eating, in little bursts. After a few weeks, they'll consolidate into larger movements, occurring between once or twice a day, to once or twice a month. As long as that baby is only getting breastmilk, it's virtually impossible for the baby to be constipated. Babies do not like to sit in it any more than we do; if your baby is waiting a long time between poops, consider offering your baby a chance to be held diaperless over an appropriate potty location after eating, particularly if your baby has been very farty during that feeding. A lot of pediatricians recognize that this is normal. Some do not. Hopefully, yours will not advocate anything more dire than a bit of glycerin up the butt.
After a few months, our baby quit peeing very much at night, and in the morning, his pee was darker, more concentrated. This is exactly what happens with most adults. If the urine is darker at other times (and not after a nap), you might try to make sure the baby nurses more often to stay hydrated, or discuss it with your health care provider.
Breastfed babies spit up. Usually, it's watery, and has white bits in it. It does not stain, or smell like much of anything, other than the slight sweetness of breastmilk. If your breastfed baby is spitting up something a lot thicker and more buttery and yellow, it's probably still not a problem, but it may no longer be the usual slightly-over-stuffed or jostled-right-after-eating spit up, but something from lower down. If that happens a lot, it might indicate an allergy to something you are eating.
If your baby is spitting up green or any other color, call your health care provider. If your baby is vomiting (coming out horizontally before dropping), call your health care provider).
We were quite surprised after a few months to notice that Teddy would, when it was possible, turn to avoid spitting up on himself and whoever was carrying him. We thought that was very considerate of him, and indicated a desire to stay un-spit-up-upon on his part. Of course he never seemed to mind drooling on himself, or sliming himself by sucking on his clothes.
A big increase in drool may indicate that the teeth are working their way out. This is a looooooong process for some babies.
Even if you don't use diapers, you'll have to clean off that baby's butt with something. Water works, as does a hand or toilet paper. You can also buy special products for this purpose.
I bought a package of the usual disposable wipes impregnated with cleanser. I thought I'd be using them. But those ingredients frightened me. I looked around a bit for the crunchy alternative, and found unbleached cotton/hemp/etc. wipes (think baby wash cloth, but actually useful). I ordered some. Occasionally I use a little soap, but usually just water. Amazingly convenient. Can't recommend them enough. I eventually bought a package of crunchy disposable wipes. As of almost 6 months, it has not yet been opened.
A General Discussion of Toilet Learning
A General Discussion of Diapering
Our Experience with Elimination Communication
Elimination Communication Gear
A Look Ahead: Toilets and Toddlers
Copyright 2005 by Rebecca Allen
Created October 11, 2005 Updated April 17, 2006