For those of you that are new around here, I release bonus episodes that serve a niche part of my audience. So if this content isn't what you're looking for, check out the other episode that aired this week, or join me back here next week for a conversation you don't want to miss. And like readiness for a baby is the moment they're born. They are born with sphincture control and the medical books say 18 months is when they get sphincture is such a lie. I know this from experience with my own, but also every single person who's ever been in my community knows this. They're born with sphincter control. We're not born incontinent. We're like born ready to go. And they can hold it. And if you're just, you see that poop face and you say, wait, they'll hold it to let you get the diaper off because they don't want to poop on themselves. So if you hear that and you're like, oh my gosh, I totally want to help my baby with that, then ECs for you. If you're like, oh gosh, no, I'll just use a diaper. I'm cool. Then save yourself a headache and like do early potty training, 18, 24 months.

This is Diane Bowden, and you're listening to the minimalist moms podcast.

Can you really potty train a baby from birth?

And should you?

In today's episode, we take a gentle, pressure-free look at elimination communication

with Andrea Olson, founder of Go Diaper Free and Tiny Endies.

Andrea breaks down what EC actually is and what it's not, why it's less about early potty training

and more about communication and trust, and how parents can approach it in a realistic,

flexible way. We talk all about common myths, fears, misconceptions, like whether EC has to be all

or nothing, if you're too late to start, or how this works for busy working families.

Andrea also explains why traditional ideas of potty training readiness and reward-based incentives

often miss the mark and how a more intuitive approach can support both parents and

children in the long run. I know there's likely a wide variety of you that are listening that are

skeptical and I am slash was as well. I actually told her at the beginning of the episode, convince me,

show me that this is something that people can actually do and would want to do. So I'll allow Andrea to provide the insight and allow for your opinions and perspectives to go from there. But regardless of where you stand, this is a really super interesting episode. But before we get into it, if you've been enjoying the Minimalist Mom's podcast, scroll down, hit five stars, tell me your favorite episode, your favorite guest, how the podcast has been impactful to you.

This is one of the best ways to support the show. Another great way would be if you enjoy this episode or previous one, to share it on social media or with a friend that could benefit

from the content. So I appreciate you taking these little steps of support. It means so much to me.

And with that, let's get into this conversation with Andrea.

I wanted to let listeners know here at the beginning. I think when they hear elimination,

communication, I'll obviously have you define that. But I think that I don't want listeners

here at the beginning to panic or to think that this is something that's going to necessarily require perfection or it'll happen overnight.

I just want to set the groundwork because honestly, I feel like I want you to convince me in this episode that this is actually something that can be done.

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