Held & Heard: Infant potty training, elimination communication & postpartum motherhood

Heather Medlin, Ready From Birth
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Held and Heard is a podcast for mothers who believe their babies are communicating from the very beginning—and that motherhood was never meant to be done alone. Hosted by Heather Medlin, mother of three and founder of Ready From Birth, this show explores elimination communication (EC), infant potty training, and the deeper postpartum journey of learning to listen—to your baby, your body, and your intuition. You’ll hear conversations about: - Baby-led toilet learning from birth - Understanding your baby’s signals - Practicing EC in real life (while working, using diapers, and staying sane) - Navigating doubt, resistance, and confidence as a new mother This is not about perfection or pressure. It’s about communication, connection, and remembering what you already know. If you’re pregnant, postpartum, EC-curious, or already practicing—this is a place to land, exhale, and feel less alone.

  1. 4d ago

    037 / 5 Ways to Get Your Husband on Board With Elimination Communication

    You're ready to start elimination communication with your baby, but there's just one problem: how do you get your husband on board with EC when he doesn’t believe it actually works? In this episode of Held and Heard, I'm sharing five practical ways to help your husband understand the benefits of elimination communication and become an active participant in your baby's early potty learning journey. We'll also explore research on early toilet training, assisted infant toileting, and the benefits of introducing the potty before 12 months. Whether you're pregnant and considering EC from birth, navigating newborn diaper changes, or already practicing part-time elimination communication with your baby, this episode will encourage you to approach your husband's skepticism with confidence, patience, and practical strategies. Because sometimes the most convincing argument isn't what you say. It's what your baby can already do. 📢Join the Community Listening Circle — November 6th! Are you the only mom you know who's pottying her baby? Come connect with other moms practicing elimination communication at our FREE live Community Listening Circle on Friday, November 6, at 1:00 PM Eastern. Bring your questions, share your wins, talk through your challenges, and find encouragement from moms who understand your journey. Save your seat  Ready to Show Your Husband What's Possible? Sometimes all it takes is one successful potty catch to turn a skeptic into a believer. That's why I created First Catch Weekend, a simple, beginner-friendly introduction to elimination communication that helps you recognize your baby's potty signals and experience your first catch. You'll receive three practical emails over one weekend, with step-by-step instructions to help you get started, even if you're a busy working mom or your baby has only ever worn diapers. Join First Catch Weekend Research & References Mentioned in This Episode For the research-minded parents who want to explore the evidence behind elimination communication, early potty training, and infant toilet learning: Jia-ting Yu et al, Frontiers in Pediatrics, January 2023. “Delayed elimination communication is a crucial factor in disposable diaper dependence in Chinese preschool-aged children.” Ping Chao Xu et al, Scientific Reports, June 2021. “Delayed elimination communication on the prevalence of children's bladder and bowel dysfunction” Sears, Maccoby, and Levin, Patterns of Child Rearing. Row, Peterson and Co., 1957. Table IV:1, p. 109.  Kiddoo, Darcie. Canadian Medical Association Journal, March 2012. “Toilet training children: when to start and how to train.” Keywords: Elimination communication (EC), Baby potty training, Early potty training, Potty training with your husband, Infant potty training   ******* 🗓️Your First Catch Weekend Just learning about Elimination Communication? Seeing is believing, try it with your baby and discover what’s possible with the First Catch Weekend, sign up by Fridays at 5pm to be included!    🧭The Born Ready Course (for babies 0-12 months) Know that EC is for you? Get it right from the beginning without the guesswork, start with the Born Ready course and get my complete, stage-by-stage process from birth to toilet independence by ONE, no matter when you’re starting.   🐥Ditch the Diapers (for babies 10-18 months) Starting with a mobile baby? Already pottying your baby successfully, but wondering how to finish the journey? If your baby is cruising or walking, they’re ready to potty independently. Ditch the Diapers shows you how to get there.   💌 DM Heather on Instagram @readyfrombirth.ec or email hello@readyfrombirth.com to connect!

  2. Oct 26

    036 / Can Your Baby Really Be Potty Trained by 18 Months? The Evidence for Early Potty Training

    Can your baby really be potty trained by 18 months—or is that simply too early? If you’ve been researching early potty training, baby potty training, or wondering when to start potty training your toddler, you’ve probably heard some version of: “Wait until they’re ready.” But what if our definition of “ready” has changed? In this episode, I’m digging into historical and current potty training data to look at how dramatically the age of toilet training has shifted over the last several generations—and whether babies themselves have actually become less capable. I’ll also take you into real life with my own 18-month-old: what potty independence looks like at home, at Montessori school, running errands, and even when accidents happen. Plus, I’m sharing the story of another mama who didn't begin elimination communication until 9–10 months and is already seeing remarkable progress at 14 months. If you have a baby or young toddler and you've wondered whether early potty training is actually possible, this episode will give you a very different picture of what your child may already be capable of. Ready to help your mobile baby move toward toilet independence? Ditch the Diapers walks you through exactly how to start with a crawling, cruising, or walking baby. Click here to get started. 📌And don't forget! If you are already practicing EC with your baby, you're invited to join me for a FREE Community Listening Circle on Friday, November 6th at 1pm ET.  You might be the only one in your mom group whose diaper bag includes a potty, but you're definitely not alone. This is your space to share the journey. Save your seat! Keywords: early potty training, baby potty training, 18 month old, toddler development, potty training readiness ******* 💡Just learning about Elimination Communication? Discover the basics with my free Quick Start Guide to EC for babies 0-12 months.    🧭The Born Ready Course (for babies 0-12 months) Know that EC is for you? Get it right from the beginning without the guesswork, start with the Born Ready course and get my complete, stage-by-stage process from birth to toilet independence by ONE, no matter when you’re starting.   🐥Ditch the Diapers (for babies 10-18 months) Starting with a mobile baby? Already pottying your baby successfully, but wondering how to finish the journey? If your baby is cruising or walking, they’re ready to potty independently. Ditch the Diapers shows you how to get there.   💌 DM Heather on Instagram @readyfrombirth.ec or email hello@readyfrombirth.com to connect!

  3. Oct 19

    035 / How to Get Your Baby Out of Diapers...in a THIRD of the Time

    Is there a way to get your baby out of diapers faster than waiting for conventional potty training “readiness” and an ultra stressful three-day weekend?  In this episode of Held and Heard, we’ll question some of our most basic assumptions about babies, diapers, and potty training—and look at what might change when we approach these everyday parts of motherhood with more intention. We’ll talk about what previous generations may have understood that modern parenting culture has forgotten, why the timeline we’ve come to accept for potty training isn’t necessarily inevitable, and the biblical motherhood principle that totally transformed my potty training strategy after three babies of my own.  If you’re pregnant, caring for a newborn, navigating the early postpartum months, or simply wondering whether potty training really has to be as difficult as everyone says it is, press play. Because there’s one simple shift that can completely change the way you think about your baby and diapers—and once you see it, you’ll never look back. Keywords: newborn, postpartum, biblical motherhood, potty training, pregnant moms ******* 💡Just learning about Elimination Communication? Discover the basics with my free Quick Start Guide to EC for babies 0-12 months.    🧭The Born Ready Course (for babies 0-12 months) Know that EC is for you? Get it right from the beginning without the guesswork, join the Born Ready course and get my complete, stage-by-stage process from birth to toilet independence by ONE, no matter when you’re starting.   🐥Ditch the Diapers (for babies 10-18 months) Already pottying your baby successfully, but wondering how to finish the journey and Ditch the Diapers? If your baby is cruising or walking, they’re ready to potty independently. Ditch the Diapers shows you how to get there.    💌 DM Heather on Instagram @readyfrombirth.ec or email hello@readyfrombirth.com to connect!

  4. Oct 12

    034 / Positive Natural Home Birth Story: Overcoming Fear for the Birth You Desire with Dr. Cindy Tahhan

    If you want a positive natural home birth, how can you overcome the fears you might have grown up with to experience the birth you desire and believe is possible?  In this episode of Held and Heard, I sit down with naturopathic doctor and Rewire for Birth co-founder Dr. Cindy Tahhan to hear the story behind her two incredibly positive natural home births. Cindy didn't grow up assuming she would give birth at home. In fact, even after becoming a naturopathic doctor, much of what she had learned about birth still followed the conventional model. Then she watched two highly trained medical professionals choose home birth for their own family. It made her wonder: What do they know that I don't? That question began a much deeper journey into physiological birth, the nervous system, intuition, fear, surrender, and what can happen when we learn to work with our bodies instead of assuming they're something we need to control. We talk about how to prepare your nervous system for birth, why surrender matters, the role your birth environment can play in physiological labor, how to recognize fears and beliefs you've absorbed about childbirth, and why Cindy believes we should prepare for the birth we desire without attaching our worth or success to a particular outcome. If you’re hoping or preparing for a natural unmedicated home birth, Cindy’s positive birth stories are exactly the encouragement you need.    Learn more from Dr. Cindy Tahhan: Visit CindyTahhan.com or find the Rewire for Birth podcast to learn more about Cindy's work around birth preparation, nervous system regulation, and motherhood. And if Cindy's story about elimination communication made you wonder what your baby might already be trying to tell you, you can learn more about my work right here on Held & Heard ;) Connect with Cindy on Instagram @drcindytahhan    Keywords: positive birth stories, natural home birth, free birth, midwives, matrescence, unmedicated birth   ******* 💡Just learning about Elimination Communication? Discover the basics with my free Quick Start Guide to EC for babies 0-12 months.    🧭The Born Ready Course (for babies 0-12 months) Know that EC is for you? Get it right from the beginning without the guesswork, join the Born Ready course and get my complete, stage-by-stage process from birth to toilet independence by ONE, no matter when you’re starting.   🐥Ditch the Diapers (for babies 10-18 months) Already pottying your baby successfully, but wondering how to finish the journey and Ditch the Diapers? If your baby is cruising or walking, they’re ready to potty independently. Ditch the Diapers shows you how to get there.    💌 DM Heather on Instagram @readyfrombirth.ec or email hello@readyfrombirth.com to connect!

  5. Oct 5

    033 / Why Does Matrescence Change Us? How God is Using Your Early Motherhood

    Why does early motherhood change you so deeply? You’ve probably heard the word matrescence—the profound physical, emotional, neurological, and identity transformation that happens when a woman becomes a mother. But what if there’s more to this transformation than biology? In this episode of Held and Heard, Heather explores a question she’s been asking about her own journey through motherhood: What if God is using early motherhood to shape us for His purpose? From pregnancy and birth to breastfeeding, sleepless nights, toddlerhood, and all the ordinary, exhausting work of caring for a child, motherhood has a way of confronting our need for control and teaching us things we might never have chosen to learn on our own. Heather explores the connection between matrescence, Christian motherhood, sanctification, and spiritual growth, looking at how early motherhood can cultivate the six central traits that our children - and God - require of us.  Looking for the Fix the Fuss workshop? It's being rescheduled - but you can still join me for a FREE Community Listening Circle on Friday November 6th at 1pm ET.  If you're practicing EC with your baby, this is your space to share the journey. Save your seat! Topics covered: matrescence, early motherhood, postpartum motherhood, Christian motherhood, motherhood and faith, sanctification, becoming more like Jesus, spiritual growth, motherhood transformation, pregnancy and motherhood, postpartum identity, conscious parenting, infant potty learning, elimination communication.

  6. Sep 28

    032 / Pregnancy Isn't a Project: How High-Achieving Moms Can Prepare for Birth & Motherhood

    If you're the kind of woman who researches everything, makes the list, gets organized, and likes to feel prepared before a big life change… pregnancy can turn into one very big project. And motherhood doesn't exactly cooperate with project management. In this episode, I'm joined by Nina Spears, founder of Baby Chick and author of The Baby Chick Guide to Positive Pregnancy, to talk about what high-achieving women actually need to prepare for as they enter motherhood. Nina has spent more than 15 years supporting women through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and early parenthood—as a baby planner, birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, and perinatal educator. She has attended more than 350 births and works with the exact kind of woman who is used to being capable, prepared, and in control. We talk about why preparing for birth is only part of the preparation you need, why postpartum deserves far more attention during pregnancy, how the invisible mental load begins long before your baby arrives, and why so many capable women find themselves completely overwhelmed once they're suddenly responsible for another human being. We also get into the uncomfortable reality of what happens when birth doesn't go according to plan—and what it can look like to prepare deeply while still leaving room for the things you simply cannot control. If you're pregnant and already making lists, reading the books, researching your options, and trying to make sure you do everything "right," I think you'll especially want to hear this conversation. Because preparing for motherhood isn't just about knowing more. It's about becoming the mother who can meet what actually comes. ............. Connect with Nina Spears on Instagram @thebabychick Prepare for pregnancy and postpartum at baby-chick.com and grab your copy of The Baby Chick Guide to Positive Pregnancy today!

  7. Sep 21

    031 / The Secret To Potty Training Before One? You Already Have It.

    Can you really potty train a baby before one? If you're practicing elimination communication (EC), you may already know that babies can communicate their need to eliminate long before conventional potty training says they're “ready.” But what happens when your baby is using the potty successfully at home and suddenly refuses when someone else is caring for them? In this episode of Held & Heard, Heather shares a recent experience with her 17-month-old while visiting family—and what the experience revealed about elimination communication, potty training before one, baby potty signals, and the difference between following your baby's communication and simply putting them on the potty according to a schedule. If you've been doing EC and wondering whether you're relying too much on timing, struggling to recognize your baby's signals, or wondering whether it's still worth continuing when your baby spends much of the day in diapers or daycare, this conversation is for you. Heather Medlin is a mother of three, infant potty learning educator, and founder of Ready From Birth. She teaches elimination communication and early potty learning from birth through toilet independence, with an emphasis on listening to your baby's communication rather than waiting for conventional “potty training readiness.” Get started the right way with the Born Ready course, and put your baby in control of potty time with Ditch the Diapers.  Learn more about infant potty learning, elimination communication, and potty training before one at readyfrombirth.com.

  8. Sep 14

    030 / Your Baby Is Ready to Potty Train—Even If They Can’t Walk or Talk Yet

    When should you start potty training your baby? Most parents are told to wait for “potty training readiness”—usually somewhere in the toddler years, when their child can walk to the bathroom, communicate that they need to go, handle clothing independently, and physically use the toilet. But what if we’ve confused being ready to START potty training with being able to do the entire process independently? Potty training isn't actually just one skill, it's a collection of over 40 different skills that must be independently mastered - and are best learned over time.  What if everything you thought you knew about when to potty train your child - is actually making it HARDER to potty train instead of easier? In this episode, I’m breaking down the foundational skills behind potty training mastery and explaining why toilet learning can begin long before your baby can walk or talk. We’ll talk about: When you can actually start potty training The difference between potty training readiness and toilet independence Why walking and talking aren’t prerequisites for beginning How babies communicate the need to pee or poop before they can speak The role of interoception and the brain-body connection in potty learning How elimination communication (EC) allows babies to build these skills gradually Why my experience potty training my first child at 26 months was completely different from starting EC with my younger two at birth If you’re been feeling like your baby might be ready long before "they say" she is, this episode is for you. Pregnant or starting with a newborn? Born Ready walks you through exactly how to begin elimination communication and build these skills from the start. Already practicing EC, but your baby is still wearing diapers? Ditch the Diapers shows you how to make the shift from you being responsible for pottying your baby to helping your baby take over the process themselves. Because the goal isn’t for you to get better and better at pottying your baby. The goal is toilet independence.

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About

Held and Heard is a podcast for mothers who believe their babies are communicating from the very beginning—and that motherhood was never meant to be done alone. Hosted by Heather Medlin, mother of three and founder of Ready From Birth, this show explores elimination communication (EC), infant potty training, and the deeper postpartum journey of learning to listen—to your baby, your body, and your intuition. You’ll hear conversations about: - Baby-led toilet learning from birth - Understanding your baby’s signals - Practicing EC in real life (while working, using diapers, and staying sane) - Navigating doubt, resistance, and confidence as a new mother This is not about perfection or pressure. It’s about communication, connection, and remembering what you already know. If you’re pregnant, postpartum, EC-curious, or already practicing—this is a place to land, exhale, and feel less alone.

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