Elimination Communication “gear” helps make the journey fun and easy.  I purchased most EC gear for my first daughter from The EC Store. With my second daughter, I have reused everything from the first time around, with the addition of some beautiful new gear from EC Wear.

Truly, there are SO many more online resources for EC gear now than there were five years ago! Here is a great directory of shops.

By the way, the lists below do not represent complete “systems”, but an assortment of options that you can mix and Journeymama's Favorites

~ EC Gear for Infants

~ EC Gear for Toddlers

~ Training Pants match, using trial and error to figure out what works best for you.  Remember, you will usually have access to the most important “gear” – a toilet or a sink!  Even older toddlers will often “go” when held in position over a toilet, especially when this is something they’ve done for most of their lives...

EC Gear for Infants

1.  Lots and lots of prefolds.  Soft cotton or hemp “prefold” flat cloth diapers are a must for catching pees during nakey-butt time, or when holding a bare-bottomed baby on your lap.  Have enough of these so you eliminate any pressure that might come from being worried that you will run out before you can do the laundry.  I recommend unbleached prefolds to minimize chemical exposure; these are made in India or China and are quite inexpensive.  It is possible to find organic cotton prefolds, but to get the quantity that I’m talking about, the cost may be prohibitive.   It is important to wash the prefolds several times before wearing (or boil them in a pot on the stove top) to strip the cotton of its natural water-repellant oils and boost absorbency.  Also, you’ll find that if you avoid washing them with fabric softener, they will perform better (although you have to balance this goal with having a soft surface next to that little tushie!).

2.  A potty bowl.  You will need a small bowl with a flared rim.   You might find a bowl that will work just fine, but the EC Store sells small red and blue potty bowls that look like top hats.  You can hold the potty bowl between your thighs and nurse while resting baby’s tushie on the rim.  Before babies are mobile, having a bowl that is comfortable for the baby’s bottom (and doesn’t leave a ridge imprinted) is critical.

3.  A potty bowl turtleneck.  The EC Store makes this helpful item that fits snugly over the rim of the potty bowl.  Especially helpful in wintertime, this little piece of fleece prevents the rude awakening of cold plastic on the bottom. 

4.  Wool puddle pads.  Put down the wool pad and cover it with a soft cotton blanket, then lay your baby on top.  The underlying surface will be protected – and no plastic or synthetic material is in sight!  Even more amazing, wool is self-sanitizing and there is no need to wash the wool pad after every pee.  Most of the urine will be absorbed by the cotton blanket, and you can shake off the rest easily and hang dry.  These are expensive; the cheapest I’ve seen for a crib mattress size, which can be used horizontally on a larger bed for co-sleeping, is $45, but these can be  a terrific investment.  You will continue to use them throughout your EC journey.  Downsides are two:  (1) If you are using a thick cotton blanket, you can usually just change the top blanket and leave the wool pad in place.  However, with a thinner blanket or a big pee, the wool pad needs to dry in between uses.  So you’ll need more than one.  This can be somewhat unwieldy to do in the middle of the night with one hand after baby wakes up crying because she’s peed.  (2) Wool needs special laundry care if soiled by poo or after several pees; it must be washed in special wool wash (Eucalan) and occasionally re-lanolized (something I have yet to do, but will try soon).  See one of several online guides to relanolizing.

5.  Fleece pads.  The EC Store sells large squares of double-layer fleece.  These can be really handy at night because they can turn a wet surface into a dry surface.  I tend to use them in the same way that I do wool pads.  I prefer wool because it’s natural, but if I have a big wet spot that I can’t change in the middle of the night, I reach for my fleece.  I also appreciate that a fleece pad allows me to change the top absorbent layer without changing the fleece pad (unlike wool, at times).  They are also excellent cushioning for putting an infant on the floor for diaper-free time.  You can simply but a prefold under their bottom and it will absorb all the pee.  Just change the prefold and you’re good to go again.  A word of caution:  Fleece pads should be washed with fabric softener, because you want it to repel water.  You do not want the fleece to wick moisture through or else whatever is underneath will absorb the wetness (which I’ve learned the hard way).

6.  Cotton/PUL pads.  The EC Store sells these handy things – 2 layers sewn together, one natural cotton, one polyurethane laminate (PUL).  PUL is the same stuff that keeps all-in-one cloth diapers waterproof.  These are excellent lap pads for holding baby on the couch or another surface that must not get wet.  We also keep these on hand in the car to protect the carseat when baby is traveling in underwear.   You can also put a cotton prefold on top to make this more cushy and use it as a bed pad for a small infant who’s not yet rolling.  The downside is the material – PUL is somewhat controversial for its alleged off-gassing.  Do a Google search if you want to know more about this.  For now, my personal take on this is that I try to maximize the use of wool and other natural options, but I am glad to have PUL in my toolbox – I certainly think it is no worse than disposable diapers. 

EC Gear for Older Babies and Toddlers

Toddlers can benefit from all of the above, with a couple of additions:

1.  Babywunder Deluxe Clear Potties.  Swap the potty bowl for several of these little potties, available at the EC Store.  The clear plastic makes it easy to see what’s going on so you can give your little one feedback (“You’re peeing!”).  An alternative is the Baby Bjorn Little Potty, which is cheaper and more readily available as it can be purchased at large baby stores.   I cannot overstate the importance, for us, of having a potty in every room of the house.  This has enabled my toddler to take over her own pottying while home and wearing no pants from about 16 months on.

2.  Potty turtlenecks for nighttime.  See above.  How many of us like the feel of a cold toilet seat?  Obviously, this kind of defeats the purpose of a clear potty, so for whatever potty you will be using at night, you could get a Baby Bjorn Little Potty and save a few bucks.  

3.  Baby Bjorn Potty Chairs.  Depending on the size of your toddler, he or she might find it more comfortable to use a potty chair.  I firmly believe that these are the best, most ergonomic potty chairs on the market.  My daughter loves hers (we have 4!), and is especially attached to her “red poo-poo.”

4.  On-the-Go Potty. This folding potty with disposable, absorbent liners makes ECing easier while out and about.  We just put it in the backpack and go. We also keep a Baby Bjorn Little Potty in the car and have been known to dump urine in the gutter.  The On-the-Go Potty comes in a variety of colors and is available at most large baby stores (and the EC Store).   Insert refills can be found online for around $5 for a package of 10.

5.  Toilet seat inserts.  Baby Bjorn (Baby Bjorn Toilet Trainer) and others make inserts for adult toilet seats.   Interestingly, we used ours more before my daughter was mobile, since she does better when she can climb on and off the potty.   You might also consider getting a step stool so that your child can "mount" the toilet.  There are also brands of seat inserts that fold up for travel.  I haven’t had any success with these.

6. Split-crotch pants. Depending on the season, you may feel reluctant to have your little one running around completely bare-bottomed or just in training pants. Enter split-crotch pants, preferably made from wool, which (as noted elsewhere) is self-sanitizing and water-resistant. My second daughter often wears adorable wool split-crotch pants from EC Wear at home in the fall/winter; a cloth (or even disposable) diaper or training pants can go right on top of the pants. Makes ECing so much easier when out and about in colder weather!

7. Training pants.  Click here for Journeymama’s recommendations.