Interview with Ethically Kate

When it comes to dealing with a baby’s excrement, using nappies – whether disposable or reusable – isn’t the only way. Some families practise elimination communication (EC), and many of them use cloth nappies in conjunction with it too. It’s a subset within the cloth nappy community that is not talked about as much, so we wanted to shine a spotlight on it.

This week, we are interviewing Kate Hall, a sustainability-focused content creator and author, about how she uses EC along with cloth nappies. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

🎙️ Could you introduce yourself and tell us how you began Ethically Kate

I am Kate Hall, also known as Ethically Kate. My main job is a content creator, celebrating and heroing sustainable brands, products and services. I share my passion for sustainable living and sustainable fashion on Instagram as @ethicallykate. Now that I am a mother, I share a lot more about sustainable mothering too.

🎙️ We have a lot of members who are interested in cloth for sustainability reasons. Elimination communication (EC) is a great way to be more sustainable, but many people don’t know about it. How would you describe EC to someone who’s never heard of it before?

EC is a method of dealing with a baby’s poo and wee without using nappies. It’s about observing your baby’s cues around when they need to go poo and wee and offering them a vessel, whether that be a potty or a toilet or a container to go in, instead of a nappy. 

It is a two-way communication system. You’re not only listening to your baby’s cues and responding to them, but you’re also communicating back to them. You make sounds to cue them as they go. This tells them that when you make that sound, they have the opportunity to go.

🎙️ What made you decide to try EC with your baby, and how old were they when you started?

I saw a friend practising it with her baby. We were at her house, in the lounge, and she had a potty. When her baby needed to wee, she held her over the potty and made a sound. I thought, ‘What’s this all about?’ 

I heard about it from a few other people, then I read a book called Diaper Free by Ingrid Bauer. As I read it, a whole lot of light bulbs went off in my brain. I figured that if I became a parent, I would at least try it. 

I tried it from day one, as soon as my baby was born.

Another element was wanting to save money and save some of the hassle of changing nappies. Babies who do EC are often toilet trained earlier, and it saves work in the long run of changing and washing nappies.

🎙️ What type of cues does your baby give, and how do you read them?

Like all things baby-related, it’s not linear. The cues have changed as she has gotten older, and they’re always changing. 

When she was a newborn, she would just be lying there and then suddenly squirm. That was her cue to wee. 

Currently, she has quite a distinctive poo face. It’s much more obvious and much more concentrated than it used to be. She looks like she’s bearing down or about to bear down, and she also stares at you. 

She used to have way more cues around when she needed to wee. These days she doesn’t really give any cues that I can observe around weeing, apart from if she’s busy doing something, then she will stop and stand still and look up to me if she needs to go. In some ways, being in the newborn bubble felt much easier.

Cues that other babies give may be squealing, facial [cues], going into a corner of the room if they’re mobile, or grunting. There are all sorts of different cues.

🎙️ What EC-related tools would you recommend having on hand, whether new or repurposed from around the home?

Tools

I bought a top hat potty, which was awesome when my baby was little. I did use a sink a lot because breastfeeding poos are water soluble. You could use an ice cream container instead of buying a top hat potty. Going into a sink with a mirror was really, really helpful. 

I had lots of change mats and things that I could lie my baby on so she could do a lot of nappy-free time.

Online courses

Andrea Olson (@godiaperfree) is kind of like the queen of EC and has a lot of online courses. I did the newborn course, which was really, really helpful. She has practical videos and lots of troubleshooting tools.

I think there’s a lot of merit to starting it from day one, when you don’t know any different and it just becomes part of your norm. Often people say, ‘Oh, I’ll start it when I feel a bit more confident with my new baby’. It’s really simple to just start it when you’re changing the nappy, or when they wake up, or after they’re fed – just common times that a human would need to go to the toilet.

🎙️ What advice would you give to parents who want to try EC alongside cloth nappies?

EC goes amazingly well alongside cloth nappies. It reduces the number of cloth nappies you use each day, and that reduces the amount you need to wash. Each nappy is then used less, which adds to its longevity. In that sense, it’s kind of tempting and alluring.

Having a lot of nappy-free time and not being scared of wee on the floor helps.

Get a regular cloth nappy washing routine in place, and think about how you would adapt it if the amount of nappies reduces.

Postscript

EC can sound intimidating or ‘all or nothing’ from the outside. Just like with cloth nappies, families adapt the way they practise EC to their unique situations.

A large part of EC comes down to timing. Just like adults, babies often need to go to the bathroom at regular times. If you want to try EC with your baby or toddler, it can be as simple as sitting them on the potty at nappy change time or while you run their evening bath.

Would you try using EC? We originally posted this interview on Patreon, and members shared their tips in the comments. 🙂

More about Kate Hall

You can follow Ethically Kate on her parenting journey over on Instagram. She shares candid moments from her life, including her experience with EC. 

🌐 Instagram: @ethicallykate
📕 Book: Better, Bolder, Different

EC resources 

👩🏻‍💻Online courses: Go Diaper Free
📕 Book: Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene
🌐 Andrea Olson: @godiaperfree
🌐 Cali Woods: @caliwoods_eco
🛍️ Products: Top Hat Potty