Babywearing and elimination communication are the two practices of affectionate parenting. But how do they work together? Meaning, is it safe to wearing a diaper free baby in your wrap or sling? You bet! These two techniques complement each other perfectly.

When I was putting my newborn in my moby wrap for the first time he was wearing a disposable diaper. Well, first time is the hardest and I was nervous and new to tying the wrap. Next time, however, I did not want a disposable in between us. I was still a little worried to get all wet even though it was summer time. So I used a prefold diaper as a safety feature.

But of course, my baby was sleeping and stayed dry all the time he was in the wrap. I learned in a couple of days that my newborn was falling asleep almost right away in the wrap. He usually slept for 30-40 minutes and would start waking and fussing. This was when I would nurse him and hold above the container. As a result, I even stopped using foldable diapers when he was in his moby wrap.

My son did not get my wrap and me wet even once! But this is just natural. The babies have a similar instinct the birds and animals have not to poop in their nests. Similarly, babies do not want to pee when all bundled up. They show signs that the time has come for elimination by fussing, changing behavior or something like that. If the parent understands the clues and provides the opportunity by holding him or her above a basin or just even taking the diaper or pants off, then the baby continues to communicate about elimination. This is what elimination communication is all about.

The problem with that was that I had to be prepared to take my son out of the wrap the moment he started fussing to give him the opportunity. So whenever I was hiking or just enjoying a walk with my baby in his wrap and with some friends and the little guy would start fussing, my friends would get all worried that it was time to go back home. I however, would stop, take the baby out and hold him above the side of the road. To my friends’ surprise he would start peeing right away and would gladly return to the wrap and fall asleep again every time.

When the cold weather started, however, I could no longer take the baby from the warmth of his wrap and undress him. So I relied on disposable diapers many times. However, a single disposable would last for at least a week since it would remain dry most of the times. I usually took my son outside after he peed. Secondly, he would object going to the wrap if he had to pee shortly. If I was patient enough and the time permitted I would wait for him to go and then dress him up for the outdoors.

Surely, every baby is different and you must adjust to the personality of your little one. But after some time it is quite easy to learn the patterns and adjust to the needs of your baby. At first it is okay to use cloth diapers as a backup or even disposable diapers during cold weather.