Potty training road trip help?

[lactatinggirl]

DD (26 months) is potty training. She's doing really well IMO. Never accidents when bare bummed, occasional accident with underwear, still in diapers for nap and bedtime. We're driving 7 hours South for a wedding and I'm not sure if I should have her in diapers or undies.

She's had accidents in the car seat in the past, but only a few times. She easily goes 3 or more hours without needing to potty. At the same time though, it would suck if she had an accident in the car seat and had to sit there for another 5 hours. My mom says she'll constantly tell me she needs to pee in order to get out of the car.

On top of this, we had a funeral to go to a couple weekends ago and I had her in a diaper out of convenience. I could DEFINITELY tell the next few days. Totally set her back for a bit there. Not a huge deal or anything, but I would really prefer to not predispose her to accidents for the whole vacation.

[motherhendoula]

Last time i had to potty train someone was ...well it was last century for sure!  So forgive me if this apparatus is no longer used...but i routinely made the 8 hr. trip across NY state when my older kids were little - for my daughter i brought a whole potty with us - so we could pull off the road, find a shady hidden spot  OFF the thruway and she could go....bring wet ones to wipe her off and clean out the potty seat - that way you wont have to hit every truck stop on your way!   -

if your car is big enough you can set it up inside the car - if i recall correctly this is what my daughter preferred. 

[jenninjapan]

My friend told me about the wonders of the paper cup.  She had a son though and not too sure how well it would work with a girl, but good if you are in a pinch.  You could also just have her pee ON a diaper, rather than IN one. 

[lactatinggirl]

We actually do have a little potty. That's the one she prefers. We generally take it around with us. Only recently have we tried a seat on the potty. She won't even do it if there's no little seat.

[bellydance2290]

When we drove 10 hrs with our daughter who had just recently potty trained, we just brought her potty along with us in case we needed to stop and put diapers on when we knew she would sleep.  She had never had an accident in the car though.  Can you try talking to her - tell her about the trip, that she will need to hold her potty but that you will stop when she had to go.  You could even give her the option of wearing a diaper. I would be a little concerned that if she does have an accident, that she'll then have to sit in a wet seat the rest of the trip.  Have a great trip!   

[MommaBirdie]

We've gone on a few trips (12 hours) home and back since DD has potty trained.
We put a diaper under her so if she has an accident it doesn't get on the seat.
We also stop every two hours for a potty break, even if she doesn't ask to go.
We also stop in between those two hours if she asks to go.
We keep extra clothes and panties available if she has an accident.

She only had two in the road trip we took, both we felt awful about.
One we walking to the bathroom and she couldn't hold it any longer.
The other there was no exit to get off of and she kept saying it hurt. Broke our hearts.
When we finally got off an exit she started crying "I peed, I peed".
Road trips are so hard.

My mom suggested to us that next time we should carry a small potty with us, so we only have to pull off the side of the road.

[ednkirstin]

Here's what I would recommend if you have the ability or time to do it.  I bought a Mother of Eden Overnight Undie to use for bedtime or shopping/road trips.  It's basically a cloth diaper that slides on like underwear so the kids don't know the difference.  I always found pull-ups or diapers to create huge setbacks in potty training.  With the overnight undie, you have the extra protection you need, but as far as your child is concerned, she's still wearing panties. 

[JustAMom36]

We drove 10 hours and I put my daughter in a pull up that way if she had an accident, it wouldn't be all over the seat, but because of MY overactive bladder issues, we stop frequently to use the bathroom, so every time I went, so did she.  I brought along her little potty to bring into the stall with me, because at that time, she was scared to use the big potty.  It worked out fine, and didn't "set her back" as far as training goes.