031 / The Secret To Potty Training Before One? You Already Have It.

Can you really potty train a baby before one? If you're practicing elimination communication (EC), you may already know that babies can communicate their need to eliminate long before conventional potty training says they're “ready.” But what happens when your baby is using the potty successfully at home and suddenly refuses when someone else is caring for them?

In this episode of Held & Heard, Heather shares a recent experience with her 17-month-old while visiting family—and what the experience revealed about elimination communication, potty training before one, baby potty signals, and the difference between following your baby's communication and simply putting them on the potty according to a schedule.

If you've been doing EC and wondering whether you're relying too much on timing, struggling to recognize your baby's signals, or wondering whether it's still worth continuing when your baby spends much of the day in diapers or daycare, this conversation is for you.

Heather Medlin is a mother of three, infant potty learning educator, and founder of Ready From Birth. She teaches elimination communication and early potty learning from birth through toilet independence, with an emphasis on listening to your baby's communication rather than waiting for conventional “potty training readiness.”

Get started the right way with the Born Ready course, and put your baby in control of potty time with Ditch the Diapers. 

Learn more about infant potty learning, elimination communication, and potty training before one at readyfrombirth.com.