Bachelor alum Bekah Martinez swears that her newborn son Ernest is already using the potty at just 9 weeks old. Some people are calling shenanigans on her claim, but elimination communication is actually a real thing. In a series of Instagram Stories, she explained that she decided to give it a try and was seeing there may be some credibility to the claims that the process actually works. For most of us, the idea of putting a newborn who can’t even support their own head on a potty and training them to go seems farfetched, but for some families, it works.
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The process is new for Bekah, but she's willing to try.
In her Instagram Stories, she was talking about getting stains out of Ernest’s bedding and clothing. She then shared a photo of Ernest nursing while sitting on top of a teeny potty.
"Also, on the subject of diapers … elimination communication is wild. Never really tried it with the other two kids, but I've sat Ernest on a little potty about a dozen times after he wakes up and every single time, he's peed immediately and usually poops too," she wrote over the photo, which was captured by Today.
She shared her surprise that elimination communication is actually working.
"I always thought it was just coincidence when I hear people talking about getting their infant to go on a potty. But no — idk how to explain it but it's like he knows — right away when I undress him and put the little potty underneath he starts going," she shared.
She's had a pretty solid potty training plan but is invested in trying something new.
Bekah shared one follower's speculation that it was the cold from the potty that made him go and not an inherent understanding that he needs to go. She also shared another follower’s comment speculating that diapers make it harder to potty train when it’s time.
"We've potty trained the other kids around 22 months because it's our personal goal to have them out of diapers by 2, but we're super curious to see if Ernest is out of diapers earlier if we keep this up," she explained.
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What is elimination communication?
Elimination communication is a potty-training method based on the belief that babies will tell their parents when they need to go — even if they're not speaking yet. Once a parent learns their cues, they put them on a potty and make either a whistling or hissing sound. As the little ones become accustomed to the process, the sound will trigger the need to pee or poop on demand. Elimination communication makes diapers more of a backup plan than a necessity.
It’s not very common here in the United States, but it is more prevalent in parts of Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Some of her followers called the process 'weird.'
Naturally, Bekah got some negative comments and backlash for announcing her adoption of the practice.
When she was told that putting her newborn on a potty was "weird and abusive," Bekah snapped back, saying that people in other countries who practice elimination communication "probably think it's 'weird and abusive' that we let kids sit in their own pee and poop for 3-4 years."
Fair enough!
