Would you be prepared to let your newborn go diaper-free? Hipster parenting trend sees babies potty-trained just weeks after birth (but be warned, it can get messy)

PUBLISHED: 15:17 EST, 18 April 2013 | UPDATED: 15:17 EST, 18 April 2013

A new parenting trend that sees babies as young as newborns go without diapers has been taking the U.S. by storm.

The method, known as 'elimination communication', or EC, requires infants to learn to signal when they need to use the bathroom - though the teaching method, it seems, can get quite messy.

Regardless, DNAinfo.com reports that it is becoming increasingly popular with parents looking to rein in finances and keep babies' bottoms rash-free.

Nature's call: The diaper-free method of potty training known as elimination communication is becoming increasingly popular with parents looking to rein in finances and keep babies' bottoms rash-free (stock image)

Kaitlin McGreyes from Astoria, New York, who started practicing EC with her nine-month-old son Cesar as a newborn, says she saved money by buying fewer diapers, but she got 'peed and pooped on a lot.'

In a bid to keep things clean she said: 'At two weeks old I set up a little Tupperware container near our diaper-changing station.

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'When I was nursing him, he had a big fart and I rushed him to the potty and held him over it.'

The eventual aim with EC is for parents to read their children’s body language and enable them to urinate and defecate in an appropriate place.

'In New York no one cares what you are doing. You can hold your baby to pee pretty much anywhere'

To cue the action they are advised to make 'peeing' sounds.

One of the benefits of going diaper-free for some mothers is that it eliminates the chance of a rash.

Pardis Partow, 41, from Brooklyn, New York, also decided to try EC with her one-year-old son, Parker, after he developed diaper rash.

Like Mrs McGreyes she learned that there are frequent 'misses'.

'I kept seeing him leave a trail of pee. The dog looked at me and said, "This isn’t fair. Why can he do that?"' she recalled.

Alternative method: Pardis Partow, 41, from Brooklyn, New York, decided to give her year-old son, Parker, some diaper-free time at home after he developed diaper rash

Most EC advocates do not go diaper-free 100per cent of the time, though and many choose to use cloth covers or wipes when they leave the house for convenience or during the night.

Sarah Longwell-Stevens, an early childhood educator and postpartum doula, who has been using the method with her one-year-old daughter, believes living in New York City has its advantages for EC practitioners.

Financial incentive: Kaitlin McGreyes, pictured with her husband Kelbyn, says she saved money by buying fewer diapers

'In New York no one cares what you are doing,' she said. 'You can hold your baby to pee pretty much anywhere. Especially since few people would have any idea what you are doing.'

Indeed, Marija Mikolajczak told DNAinfo that she did EC everywhere she went in Manhattan with her son, now six.

'We would get off the subway, I would take him into the toilet. [Sometimes] it was hard to find a public bathroom in New York.'

'I’ve not owned a dog in the city, but I can relate,' she said, adding that at parks and playgrounds she would find 'a little area of grass or some bushes was good.'

Fellow locals aren't impressed though. One Williamsburg mother-to-be told MailOnline: 'There is no way I’ll be doing this. I’m all for saving the environment and protecting babies from rashes, but I’m not treating my unborn like a dog!'

And a post today about the practice on FreeWilliamsburg.com generated more scathing remarks from the trendy locale's residents.

'This is disgusting,' one read. You hipsters are animals and are making Williamsburg into a pigpen [sic].'

But for Mrs McGreyes, the benefits far outweigh the negative criticism.

'I had never been so proud,' she said. 'I love that I can tell when he needs to go and have an idea of what might be bothering him.'

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Hell no, nappies all the way here! I once tried some of that nappy free time malarkey with my son and ended up scraping poo from the between the laminate floor with my fingernail in a wet wipe - never.ever.again.

- Bunbuns73 , Wakefield, UK, 19/4/2013 00:54

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Oh for crying out loud- you're not training the baby; you're training yourself!

- gobnait , this fresh hell, 19/4/2013 00:52

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I agree with cloth diapers, ecologically..but honestly, soon adults will be squatting in public..

- tangerinedream , Dry Heat, United States, 19/4/2013 00:50

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Not only is this unsanitary, but it is also cruel to subject babies to this type of degrading treatment. This isn't a trend; it is laziness and not wanting to spend time changing their baby's diaper. Some parents probably also don't want to spend money for diapers.

- Jennifer , Bimini, Bahamas, 19/4/2013 00:38

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You deserve to be covered in.....if you fall for this nonsense.

- MormontsRaven , Northern Ireland, 19/4/2013 00:24

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Ahmm...if you can afford DIAPERS, you probably shouldn't be having sex and risk getting pregnant in the first place.

- IOUNothing , Los Angeles CA, 19/4/2013 00:21

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Absolutely ridiculous! Don't think too many will become part of this stupidity.

- PM McNeely , Birmingham, 19/4/2013 00:14

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I think this is cruel.

- Mary Poppins , Over the rainbow, United Kingdom, 19/4/2013 00:12

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I have totally seen this in China! Little babies with cut out bottoms. When they needed to go the parent held it over a trashcan or shrub. I worry about how sanitary this method is, though.

- Mimi , Maryland, 19/4/2013 00:10

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What you'll have to do is make a law that states parents must attend to their child's bodily waste or be subject to fine and or imprisonment.

- Dennis , Kingford, United States, 19/4/2013 00:08

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