Getting around while PT'ing

Let me begin by saying that we have taken a very gradual kid-lead approach to PT'ing and that something seems to have clicked over the last weekend so they have both been accident-free the whole morning at home and at daycare for a few days. Yay! Of course, they are still in diapers for naps and night-time. Now, I am wondering about the next steps.

One logical next step would be to put them in undies first thing in the morning on daycare days. So far they are in diapers until we arrive at daycare and we change them back into diapers for the trip home. The commute either way is a 15 minute walk and a car-drive of 30-45 minutes depending on traffic, split equally between being stuck in rush-hour traffic and the freeway, so stopping to go PT is nearly impossible. I am pretty certain that they cannot make it for an hour without going PT yet (at least not after breakfast - I do not want to limit their milk and water, they are really thirsty in the mornings) and I am afraid of discouraging them with accidents, not to speak of the mess of soaked car seats. How do you handle commutes, longer drives?

One other logical step would be to take them for outings close to home in undies. But undressing them to go PT "in the bushes" if we are in the park, going for a walk in the woods etc. is a pain in winter, probably takes too long and I am not sure whether they would actually go in the cold without a potty. I do not want to put them back in diapers too much but they need to get fresh air and exercise. Do I ask them if they want a diaper or undies for the outing? They have done so in the Late afternoon/evening when they were tired and that was fine by me, they realized they were done with paying attention for the day and did not want any accidents. Any other ideas?

 

My suggestion would be to have them go before you leave and put them in underwear. They sell special pads for car seats that you can buy just in case of an accident.

 

They sell travel potties, but I just bring along one of our regular ones we used for training. (The kind with the bowl to empty underneath and the lid that closes to become a stool.) I leave it in the back of the trunk and keep plastic bags, wipes, lysol wipes, and purell in the car. When we go some place like the park or zoo, I'd make them use it before we got out of the car. They just sit in the back of the SUV with the trunk closed, and they get all the privacy they need. I hate public restrooms, especially the outdoor ones at the park or zoo. It also came in handy on our 12 hour drive to the Outer Banks last summer. I really had no desire to take them into rest stop bathrooms either. I'm not looking forward to they days when they become too big for this system!

 

When I pt'ed the boys, I bought the travel potty. It is one that doubles as a stand alone toilet, or as a seat on top of the toilet. Love love love it! It has not left my car since. It's perfect for those sani can occasions, or driving alone and not wanting to take all the kids inside a rest stop do one can use the bathroom.

The boys would go potty before leaving the house. We arrived at our destination, and they peed again. When we were done, we went back to the car, and they used the toilet again. The toilet came with bags as well. Lifesaver. I also bought the seat protectors, but only used them once or twice. They just didn't need them. Good luck!

 

How do you feel about pull ups? We used them a lot when the girls were first learning to go when we went out of the house. I called them panties & treated them like panties & that seemed to avoid confusion in our case. It honestly wasn't long though till I had the confidence to let them wear panties all the time. You get a good feel pretty quickly about their pottying rhythms & how often they need to go/how long they can hold it.

 

Like the PP's said, a travel potty is key. It's the best $20 I ever spent. I wouldn't keep changing them to diapers then to underwear, back and forth. Keep them in underwear. I used the plastic pants instead of pull ups with all 4 of my kids with great success. They will FEEL the wetness. That's what you want. I would take them to the potty before you leave day care or go on an errand. If you run out to the store, take them to the bathroom when you get there. It's going to take you longer but personally, I think putting diapers on them during the day (with the exception of nap and bedtime) is just confusing them. Accidents happen and they're really not that big of a deal. Have extra clothes and underwear on hand.

 

Thank you for all your ideas! I think I will try pull-ups first with undies underneath, just to contain any accidents. I have them at home because I bought them for PT'ing but had not figured out why I needed them. A potty in the car is also on my list.

 

When our boys were around 2 years old one DS had a pretty bad blowout in his car seat. And it was SUCH a pain to remove the cover (we had to essentially uninstall the car seat to get the cover off and wash it). After that I bought these. I know I will be very thankful to have them when our boys are at the stage of wearing underwear and traveling!