Customer Reviews
Very practical and comprehensive... 
2008-05-28
After reading another book on the subject of infant potty training, I was looking for something more practical and "How-to." I found what I was looking for in this book.
Though there are many pages, it is an easy read. I read it fairly quickly and began implementing its suggestions even before I was done reading. Our daughter is nine months old now, and we have been "potty training" her since she was two and a half months. She has been learning to control the necessary muscles more and more over the course of time.
This is an amazing concept: Instead of just ignoring the bodily functions and then suddenly, at around 2 or 3 years old, trying to teach the baby to control them and develop those muscles, we are helping her as she grows. If the baby can tell her mother or father that she is hungry or tired or upset or happy, couldn't he communicate the urge to go? Of course the baby may not understand the whole picture like we do, but he knows he feels something.
We thought, "Hey let's try it and see how it goes." We are thrilled that we did. Sometimes, like on car rides or during certain circumstances, we cannot fully be aware of our daughter's pottying needs. That's ok. As much as possible, we have learned to communicate with each other and take her to pee or poo as often as we can. Some days, especially the older she gets, we hardly miss one pee. Other days, we miss a bunch.
In the meantime, she is in cloth diapers, and at night we do use a natural disposable. However, when she got up this morning, she was DRY! At nine months, her little muscles are learning to be controled.
I say all this to hopefully convey that this method works, and it is not a new idea. It is a very reasonable, practical, healthier, and common sense way of dealing with an issue that is inevitable. What do you think they did before diapers? What do you think others do in countries where they do not have diapers readily available?
We felt closer to our daughter after beginning to work with her on potty training. We felt that we were meeting a need for her and with her that we were not meeting before.
Plus it is really nice to have the pee, and especially the poo, go into the toilet instead of the diaper and all over the diaper covered area.
I highly recommend this book. It is worth the effort to read and see if this is a method you would like to bring home to your family. I believe you will see that it is not as difficult or unachievable as you may think.
A Good Book on Diaper-Free Babies, Possibly Not the Best 
2008-04-19
Infant potty training is the practice of helping a child to gradually potty train over a period of one to three years, by helping her eliminate in a toilet or pot from a very early age.
This book gives a complete, thorough, and in most respects realistic account of how to do this. The emphasis on remaining relaxed and free of expectations for the baby runs throughout the book.
This book also takes a look at infant pottying in many cultures, revealing the wide variety of practices that exist around the world. For example, the Western parent learns that while some societies begin infant pottying at birth, others wait until three months, and still others do not see potty-independent children until three years.
I am giving the book four stars instead of five, though, for several reasons.
First of all, despite the attention the author gives to other cultures' practices of infant toileting, her attitude towards the success and gentleness of these practices seems to be a little naive. I lived in a country where this was practiced and there are a lot of accidents.
Second of all, I felt that since most people will probably want to use at least cloth diapers as "backup", this book overlooks that possibility, and this puts undue pressure on the parents to avoid accidents. Modern sanitary standards are a good thing and although not using diapers has its benefits, using a cloth diaper with pins is not going to harm the baby and it will do wonder for your nerves and carpet. As more people try to potty-train gradually, I think this option deserves more attention.
Finally, I must agree with the negative reviews that suggest that peeing in one's sink, while acceptable in an emergency, is not really ideal. I think this will put off people who have higher standards in sanitation. We never used the sink, ourselves, and I should note that none of the traditional societies described in the book seem to, either.
Overall, this is a good book, but I would like to see her new book and the improvements on it.
Review 
2008-02-08
Interesting book with some good ideas - babies in developing countries don't wear nappies yet they're not continually wet and dirty so how do they do it. There are some good tips and some ideas to try but possibly not a method for anyone who isn't fully committed to spending their lives observing their baby and prepared for a LOT of accidents along the way. Overall verdict: a good read with some ideas about how to integrate potty training into a day to day routine of a baby and so make it easier when you potty train 'properly' but not a particularly realistic way of living life with a baby (at least, not in my world)
fantastic book covering everything you need to know! 2007-10-04
This book covers all the topics related to infant potty training, and gives information for every and anything you would come across, by far my favorite book on the method!
I first read this book when I was pregnant, and it was this book that made me decide to give it a try. I'd never seen or knew anyone who practiced this, but this book gave me the resources I needed to feel confident enough to try it! It covers how to hold the baby in many positions - and with pictures which I found essential! It went over signals and cues with great detail, including the different stages babies go through and how those signals and patterns change. Knowing what to expect really helped me make it through all the different stages my baby went through. It really is all about communicating with the baby, and what a fantastic journey this has been for our family.
This book aslo has testimonials and stories from around the world and in the US, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Every child is different, even in the same family, and its great to see the many ways this method can be adapted for each child! It can be done with or without diapers, part-time or full-time, with support from your family or without. Just having the option to respond to this need, and teach a baby that a diaper isn't the only place to go has been a very positive part of bonding with my baby.
Thank you Laurie for writing such a comprehensive book for people who have never heard of the method to learn all they can! The DVD Potty Whispering is also a fantastic additional resource, I highly recommend it as well as this great book!
Our baby is much happier now 2007-09-18
Thorough and inspiring, my favorite part is the detailed section on babies' signals and cues for parents to watch for. This book taught us how to read and respond to our baby. She was fussy until we learned how to help her stay dry, and now she is much more content. Plus it's fun doing this with her. There are lots of helpful testimonials by parents who have used infant potty training with one or more children. The cross-cultural reports by doctors and anthropologists are fascinating. I also have Laurie Boucke's Potty Whispering DVD and recommend it too.
The method is great, but the book isn't 2007-07-31
The foremost and most comprehensive resource on infant toilet training including guidelines, medical and anthropological reports, testimonials, history, philosophy, cross-cultural research, and photos from around the world.
This is the third edition, now with 81 photos (including 66 in full color) and up-to-date medical research. For this elaborate and exquisite tome, the author has scoured the world for proof that her infant potty method really works, with or without diapers . . . and to the ultimate benefit of babies, parents and environment.
The book contains guidelines all ages (newborn, early-starters & late-starters); 100+ baby signals; 35+ tips for late-starters; tips for working with twins and other multiples; part-time pottying; sign language; commentary by pediatricians, MDs and psychologists; anthropological reports; testimonials; myths; and cross-cultural research on the practice which is also known as elimination communication.
Easy, encouraging read 2007-02-13
I just finished reading Infant Potty Training and must admit I am intrigued and quite encouraged. We are expecting our fist and my husband and I see no reason not to at least try this method.
There are many naysayers to be sure, but the crux of this method is *communication* between the caregiver and child...and who would say trying to communicate better with your child is a bad thing?!
The other aspect that is nice is that there is flexibility inherent in the method, as Laurie Boucke reminds repeatedly that it is not an "all or nothing" method. Each baby is different, each parent is different, and there is likely to be a lot of trial and error with any parent/child dyad.
I do not see any potential for damage to a child's psyche (as negativity and discipline in the wake of mistakes is most certainly NOT part of this method) as many might claim. Also contrary to many people's argument, I think a parent CAN use this method and NOT have to be a slave to the potty, barely getting anything else accomplished. One has to deal with elimination one way or another, this is simply another option to consider.
This book is an easy read with Laurie Boucke's easy-flowing writing style and it is encouraging to any parent looking at the range of options for dealing with this fact of life.
Incredible method, great book. 2006-12-29
I had heard little bits about elimination communication in my early pregnancy, thought it sounded interesting and decided to purchase this book. My husband and I both read it, were inspired by the success stories and decided to give it a try.
We adapted the method for our own schedule and comfort level.
For my sons first four weeks of life, we dressed him in cloth diapers with no covers and gave verbal cues when he would relieve himself (we knew as soon as he wet w/out covers). At 4-5 weeks we tried catching poops, but I found it difficult because he mostly pooped while breastfeeding and it was too much for me to handle. By 6 weeks he wasn't pooping during every meal, but a bit after, so using timing, cues and intuition, we introduced the potty bowl with great success.
My son is 11 weeks old this morning and almost all of his poops are done on the bowl, and half of his pees. It's totally incredible. We liked the no-pressure attitude of the author and are so glad we have decided to use this method!
I wish more people would know about this book 2006-10-01
I clearly remember potty training for my 8 years younger sister. My mom started her as soon as she was able to sit on the potty by herself (around 5-6 months). When she started walking, she was diaper free at the same time. I grew up in Eastern Europe, before Pampers, so my story is totally mainstream, all babies get early potty training. I just wish more people would know about this in USA so they can stop donating money to diaper industry for years.
Interesting Idea 2006-09-29
If elimination communication is your choice of approach to toliet training your baby, Boucke's book is filled with all the information you need to get started.
