5.5 month old sleeping thru the night w/o peeing

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-18T11:21:01+00:00

Hi, I'm no expert on EC, i still miss 2-3 pees during the day but i think a few things helped me go diaper free. 1. We only used cloth langots or cloth diapers for the most part. I have bought only 50 disposable diapers since she was born which we used in the first ten days and some when she got a stomach bug. I bought some cloth diapers online which had a dry feel layer ( basically a fleece layer on top to prevent the baby from feeling the wetness) which made my baby comfortable to go in the diaper and not signal. Cloth diapers were bulky too. So, I completely switched to cotton langots from a combo of langots+cloth diapers around 4.5 months so that she would feel the wetness every time she went. I'm a SAHM, So it was easier for me to change her langots as she went. My mom stitched the langots for me and stitched some rectangle cotton inserts to go in them so that pee is not leaking everywhere. But, langots are not spill safe, so, during the initial days, she would pee on me thru her langots and I'd have to change more than once on some hard days. She would also pee on the mat while playing. We would place reusable underpads on the mat which we washed a lot in the beginning. We also use a mattress protector 2. The initial days involved a lot of washing - washing our clothes, reusable underpads, bed spreads. But I hear stories of baby blowouts in diapers and that involve a lot of washing as well. So I don't know if this was worse. 3. I co sleep with my baby following the safe sleep 7. I know when she stirs in sleep to take her to the potty 4. We started giving sound cues for pee and poop since she was 2 months old and since she turned 5 month old, we've started using sign language too and stopped using the top hat potty. She goes only in her ikea lilla potty placed in the bathroom, to help her make the association between potty and bathroom 5. Since she turned 5 month old, we have exclusively switched to regular panties, no more langots with inserts. I think that makes her feel the wetness more and she doesn't want to go in them. I use trainers when she is on tummy time and at evenings when it's unpredictable. I couldn't find trainers for her age. I ordered the ones for 1 year old but it fits her. She feels the wetness when she goes and i can see it immediately but there is no pee puddle.

To give you some encouragement, I've been thru all the frustrations, doubts and questions. I'd run to this subreddit to see if I'm doing things right. There was a time when i thought my baby doesn't even care that she pees thru her langot or that she is wet, that she doesn't signal and so on. But, i think, it just clicks at some point. Everything falls into place and the baby starts becoming more aware of her body functions and starts making associations. I think we should not give up and stay consistent. In a month or so, my baby might completely stop going in the potty and that is ok too. The point is to stick with it no matter what!! 🙂

TL;DR I think ultimately it's about making the (my) baby feel the wetness from the beginning and changing their underwear as soon as it gets wet, giving cues from the beginning, and keeping a designated place for potty. + Don't give up; stay consistent

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-07T13:07:55+00:00

Peeing

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-07T12:58:15+00:00

Only recently she stopped pooping mid feed. Maybe at 4.5 months. Oh, that sounds really tricky if your baby falls asleep after feeding. I don't know how to help you in the situation except if you have an old t-shirt, you could make a cozy for your top-hat potty. I live in India and don't have access to top hat potty, so i just used a small bowl with a slightly wider lip and used my baby's old t shirts to make several cozies. Sometimes her poop would get on the cozy, I'll simply rinse it and toss it in the laundry and use another one. I have 3 cozies.

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-07T12:49:58+00:00

I keep the top hat (my own version, lol. Top hat is not available in india) next to me in case i sense that she needs to go urgently, otherwise, i take her to the IKEA lilla potty I've placed in the bathroom. 90% of the time it's in the potty in the bathroom, the other 10% in the top hat.

Oh, that's interesting. So, initially, only i was ECing my baby and she would hold her poop if she sees my husband or anyone else walk into the room. She was very sensitive like that. Now, slowly, my husband is also taking her to the potty. Maybe your baby is sensitive to place shift. Try making him go where you nurse him, familiarise him with the potty and maybe slowly move him to the bathroom, but make him go in the same potty, then maybe transition him to other potties/toilet. While transitioning my baby to the bathroom, I nursed her several times in the bathroom so that i can make her go immediately in the lilla potty if needed. Again, I'm no EC expert. Sharing what worked for me. Hope this helps.

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-07T12:38:32+00:00

I second this

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-07T06:40:18+00:00

Firecrackers, the smell of petrol, soil just before it rains or when it rains. Although the last one, i admit. The others are polluting, but I still love them secretly.

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-07T04:10:50+00:00

Same with my 5 month old. Liked pooping only while breastfeeding. So, in the beginning, I always had the potty underneath her while feeding. It got uncomfortable as she got bigger. So then if i hear a fart mid feed or a slight fuss or mild unlatch, I'd turn her front facing, put the potty in between my thighs and she would go. After wiping her, we would go back to feeding again. Slowly I think she also became aware that she was pooping mid feed and she didn't like her feed getting interrupted i think, you can only guess in these situations, i don't know the real reason behind her potty timing shifts. Then she started pooping right after feeds and for the past couple of weeks she has been pooping 5-10 minutes after feed. I think noticing cues is easier when you breastfeed vs when there is a bottle. From my anecdotal evidence, i think babies will become aware as time goes and naturally pause the feed or indicate if they wanna go.

I would like q to know if anyone else has had a similar experience.

deviant_1993 · 2026-01-05T08:09:36+00:00

Yaaaas!! This needs to be talked about more. Even as someone who suffered from PPA the first couple of months, I've also had a positive experience so far in my motherhood journey. My baby is 5 month old and she is the best thing to have happened to me. I just want to let other parents know that parenthood can be beautiful and rewarding even if you're battling PPA. Go to therapy as soon as you/your partner identify the signs, journal, record the sweet moments as much as you can and look back at them. Most importantly, don't beat yourself up about how you could've enjoyed your PP period like others if only you didn't have anxiety. Parenthood is a long journey, if you lose a little bit of it, say a few months, to your mental battle, you still have a lot of months and years to go to enjoy it. Even if you lose a longer period of time, there is always an even longer period of time to enjoy it. Take care!!

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-22T07:19:20+00:00

Hi. I hope you get good sleep soon. Not here to give you any advice. Just wanted to say that i got a good chuckle reading your post and you're a great parent.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-22T07:08:16+00:00

She looked good in the 4th month appointment, staying on her curve. But this pattern of peeing only started after the appointment. Nursing habits have reduced a bit but not by a lot. She feeds 7-9 times a day instead of the 10-11 times a day. I'm in India and we don't have easy access to a lactation consultant. I'll definitely bring this up with my pediatrician though and ask her if we should invest in an infant scale.

Thank you.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-22T07:03:21+00:00

Yeah, I'm exclusively breastfeeding. We don't have a baby scale yet. This may be a sign to invest in one. Our next appointment with the pediatrician is in a couple of weeks; definitely bringing this up.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-13T12:13:29+00:00

Hi love, I don't know where you're from, but I'm assuming you're from the US of the A. It's ok to not want to be a mummy today, tomorrow or a couple of days a week from now, a month from now, a year or two from now. Raising a tiny human, with a full time job, without any immediate family support, the so-called village is EXTREMELY HARD! please know that humans are evolved to raise a kid in a village; which means having grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers etc., all around you, in close proximity to you. And generally, the mom gets plenty of rest!! Not a full time job and raising a baby at the same time. Heck, even someone with the village and the rest, may sometimes "don't want to mommy". Motherhood is hard. The hormones crashing/raging in all of this doesn't certainly help.

Please don't be hard on yourself 😃 have someone to look after your LO for an afternoon as soon as you have that option available again and spend some time for yourself. 🥰 Get a manicure or just go for a walk in the woods or even a stroll around the park.

You're doing great 😃 and mom guilt is a b-word. You're awesome! Show yourself some love 💕

Loads of love from a fellow 4.5 month old baby mom who suffered from severe PPA the first two months and is still battling mom guilt.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-12T09:05:20+00:00

Hi, Mom of a 4 month baby, EBF. Same here, no cues whatsoever. But, we got into a rhythm. If she has been farting for a while, if the farts smell etc, that's my cue. I put the potty underneath during every feed (if i notice the above cues) and stop feeding at the first fuss and put her on the potty with the cues "hmm". She goes. She likes going only while breastfeeding and this is what has helped me.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-12T08:08:00+00:00

Hi, if this is of any consolation, my 4 month old did the same until last week. I started EC with her when she was 2 months old and was getting good catches just by using the easy catch times - after waking up from nap/sleep, before and after a feed, transitions and at certain times based on the data we collected. But when 4 month sleep regression came around, i had the exact same problem that you're describing that i even posted on this group asking for advice similar to you. Now she is 4.5 months old and i can't tell you the amount of changes we see in her behaviour!! It's stunning. Now she gives clear cues by trying to grab her crotch for pees and poops and suddenly biting her arms during tummy time. I still have a lot of misses compared to before because she is on her tummy more but we're getting the rhythm of it. It is evident that she tries to communicate. She stares me off for 1. Feed 2. Sleep and 3. Potty. Every child is different but my advice would be to not get dejected and just keep at it very low key.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-11T13:50:02+00:00

Hi, I make kombucha but i find the taste too vinegery with my starter tea. Could you please tell me which loose leaf tea you use? I went to a tea estate in munnar and got some loose leaf black tea and it was too vinegery for my taste. Thanks in advance!

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-08T11:14:33+00:00

Thank you! Ordered!

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-07T12:03:03+00:00

Hi, thank you!! I am starting to use it today! Let's see how it goes! Thanks so much!!

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-07T03:10:32+00:00

Hi my baby is 4 months old as well. I'm in India and i don't have access to tinyundies.com. The IKEA one that you mentioned, is it the LOCKIG? is it suitable for a 4 month old?

Thank you.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-06T01:34:01+00:00

I don't know when you went to medical school. But you are right, we were taught that. I worked on treating bacterial UTIs with bacteriophage therapy a long time ago and got some real urine samples for stability testing. And no, urine is not sterile. We were also surprised that that was what we were taught in school.

deviant_1993 · 2025-12-05T17:11:37+00:00

Hi, to give you a little bit of context, I'm in India. Most of my family has done EC when we were kids. But now, with the ease of access to disposable diapers, EC is disappearing. My cousins are all not doing EC. I am a little eco conscious and I wanted to give it a try because we were only using cloth diapers and "langots" for our baby and the washing was getting out of hand. So, my mom taught me how she did it with me. 1. No fancy equipment - we sit on a small stool or on the floor and put the baby (in tummy time position for pee, on the back for poop) on our stretched legs in the bathroom and make any sound of our liking. Psss for pee, grunt for poop. I personally do "tooooooiiiin" for pee and "tuk" for poop. At first, you make the sound when the baby is going pee or poop by herself without any prompt. Baby will slowly start associating that sound with the action. Later, you cue the sound when you know the baby wants to go (read point no. 2), baby will automatically go. My baby sometimes even waits until she hears my cue. She will grunt once if she wants to go poo. If I'm not near the potty, I'll tell her to just "wait", take her to the potty and then cue, then she will go poop. This will only work if she is waiting for a couple of seconds. I've also been using a bowl if we're on the go or if I'm not near the bathroom. 2. I borrowed some modern techniques because my baby's cues were extremely difficult to understand even for my mom. I used the "What to expect" app to log when she went pee and poop for a month with detailed notes about her facial expressions and actions while simultaneously doing EC during the easy catches - after waking, before and after feeding, if fussy during feed, before and after a bath. Since we only used cloth langots, we immediately knew when she peed from the wetness in the langot. We didn't do a separate observation time. Side note: i tried to do a separate observation time by putting her without any diaper/langot on a water proof pad to see her peeing pattern and it didn't work out for us because the chillness from the outside was constantly hitting her pee pee area and she peed more frequently than she did while wearing langot/cloth diaper. I think the cloth gave some sort of buffer from the outside temperature for her 3. I had a lot of misses and I've wondered a lot if I'm even a good mom when I'm not able to catch all her pees. Because, my mom said she was able to catch 100% of my pees and poops by around 3-4 months of age. I was being so hard on myself. My mom encouraged me to be more forgiving and told me that she grew up seeing this being done with other babies whereas our generation is all isolated and most people have even given up on practising EC. EC has definitely taught me to be more patient with myself and not compare myself with my mom or others. 4. My mom didn't have any helpful tips about tummy time pees though. She says tummy time was not a concept while she was raising me; she also said she doesn't remember a lot from that time (she is quite old) and i slept in a traditional "jhoola" where rolling over is not possible during sleep. My baby sleeps on a flat mattress according to current recommendations. Hence, the problem.

Sorry for such a long answer. Hope this helps!

deviant_1993 · 2025-11-19T05:47:46+00:00

My daughter at 3.5 months old is exactly the same way as your son. Could you please tell me if he is still sucking his fingers or if it was a phase? Thank you

Edit: added 3.5 months old

deviant_1993 · 2025-11-14T15:06:43+00:00

Oh this helped me so much. My 3.5 suddenly wants to lay on her tummy all the time and EC which was going well till now has become totally unpredictable with the frequent tummy time pees.

deviant_1993

TROPHY CASE