These parents potty-trained their NEWBORN, because apparently that’s a thing

Let’s face it — who likes changing diapers?! Whether it’s your baby or someone else’s, we could all probably think of a thousand other things we’d rather do. So, to solve this issue, these parents potty-trained their NEWBORN, reported Cosmopolitan. Yup, apparently, that’s a thing.

Of course, aside from not having to change diapers, there are benefits to doing so — like less landfill waste. Hence, doctor parents Jeffrey Bender, MD, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, and Rosemary She, MD, a pathologist/ microbiologist at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, decided to potty-train their newborn.

What is this seemingly miraculous technique?! It’s called “elimination communication,” aka “natural infant hygiene.”

According to WebMD, saying bye to diapers is a form of potty training. It “relies on a parent's ability to read and recognize the signs that their infant needs to eliminate — much as they would if their child was tired or hungry. Signs of impending bowel movement or urination can include facial expression, grunting, and bearing down."

Plus, it could help with interaction between parents and babies, as well as prevent diaper-related issues, like diaper rash, WebMD states. However, some people feel an infant’s muscles are not developed enough yet to be toilet-trained so young, before the age of two.

As for Dr. Bender and Dr. She, they co-authored an editorial on their diaper-less experience in the medical journal Pediatrics.

“When we were planning to have our third child, we made a conscious decision to not use disposable diapers, they wrote. “We felt sheepish that we had already contributed 2 children’s worth of diapers to our nation’s landfills. Unfortunately, washing and drying cloth diapers could triple the amount of work for us. Further, exchanging disposable diapers for energy- and water-consuming laundering was not an environmentally guilt-free option. How did we as humans take care of children before disposable diapers? Researching this question, we soon learned about elimination communication (EC)…

Of course, potty training infants is a case-by-case, baby-to-baby basis, and the doctor pair does not suggest it’s right for everyone. Meanwhile, we’re still blown away that it’s even a possibility. Riiiight?!