Potty Training - Arlington,TX

Sounds like TONS of unnecessary work for the parents, if you ask me! I say, let a baby be a baby, don't be in a hurry to make them grow up.

I have posted on early potty training before. I'm cutting and pasting some of my old posts. Please forgive the use of s/he since they were in response to other moms.
I do agree with the other moms who say that it's the parents being trained and not the kid. But, isn't that what we all do as parents? We read our kids clues on tiredness, hunger, illness, etc? Reading potty clues is just another facet.

I have been ECing my son since 11 months. He is mostly potty trained at 2.5 yrs old. More info on EC at www.diaperfreebaby.org and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IPTLateStarters/
If you want to try, start easy. As other people mentioned you can do it before bath. Or do a step further, take her when you have to go pee. Or, add another step, pee after waking up. Or, sit on the potty after meals.
Also, just heads up that you may think that you are done potty training and then she will be teething and start having accidents. Other developmental milestones will cause them to have accidents too. (This is what I've read from the yahoo group.)
I disagree with the others who say to wait until 3. You are "diaper-training" your child.

I've been doing Elimination Communication part time with my 2 yr old since he was 11 months. I know his pee and poop patterns pretty well that I can put him on the potty when I know he needs to go. It's better than having a smooshed poop diaper that you have to wipe up when your nose is only about 3 feet away from the poop. And, if you are ever stressed doing EC, step back and put the diapers back on. It's not supposed to be stressful. Also, you don't have to do it all the time; we do it part time.

This is a good book to get you started:
http://www.thediaperfreebaby.com/
You might be able to get it at the library.

We did what I called "slacker EC" with our youngest son, and it really wasn't any problem. He had very obvious poop signals from about 6 months on, and went at the same time most days, so it was simple to make the potty available when he needed to go. And it was a whole lot less time-consuming than changing poopy diapers! We'd catch pee several times a day, but he wore a diaper almost all the time, so it was no big deal if we didn't get to the potty.

He decided to be done with diapers and potty full time at about 22 months, with no drama or "training" necessary. It was a definite success in my book, and certainly worth the minimal time investment.

Yes, you can, and its actually very common in some cultures. Russians, for instance, typically train before the first birthday. (My husband is Russian, and my in-laws are somewhat scandalized that I wait until 2 or 2.5 to train my kids.) I also have an American friend who started training when her baby was just 3 months. It is more about training the parent to recognize when the baby will go (though the baby does need to learn to be most comfortable going on the potty). In my opinion, it is too much work for to do something that can be more easily accomplished later, but I know other people who are very pleased with their decision to train early.

never heard of it - and can't imagine that... if they can't walk what is the point anyway...

I have not done it but read some literature. It appears that you more are recognizing signs that the baby will eliminate and then making sure that happens over the toilet. Seems like a very green option and will save a lot of diapers. Also these children may be more in tune with when they need to go (not used to just using a diaper and getting used to the discomfort) so they likely toilet train for real much earlier. Kind of like cloth diapered babies.