ECing out and about

[jennyvirginia]

My little one is about 11 months and we have been ECing since about 8 months. It's going great and when we are home we catch a lot. (75-100% of poops and about 50% pees) so I think we are ready to start ECing out and about. I don't really know how to go about it though. I feel a little akward about potty-ing my 11 month old in public restrooms. I have a potty ring. I just wanted to here from some others about their experiences and if anyone has tips to share. Thanks!

[flyrabbitfly]

We've always been very matter of fact about it. I don't carry any special equipment. When DS was smaller, we always peed next to the car, and if we had to go into a restroom, we peed in the sink in the in arms hold, because I don't want him touching a public toilet. If anyone was in there, I did it anyway, and nobody has ever said anything. Now he is a little bit older (15 mo) I don't potty next to the car so often, and if we do we make sure it is in a bush or something...We still potty in the public sink, or sometimes I hold him over the toilet, but not touching. We actually do best when we are out for some reason. Days we are traveling and visiting people we have no misses, and I think, is this it? Are we graduating? And then we go home...lol.

[Ma Cactus]

We actually bought DS his first pair of shoes so he could stand on the seat in public toilets when he no longer wanted to do the in-arms hold, LOL.  We sometimes use the sink, but I am not as comfortable with it as flyrabbitfly is, I usually only do it when noone is in there, or in 'family' bathrooms where its a one-seater with a sink in the room.

[heatherr30]

My 7 mo. old DS still pees every 20 minutes so I don't try to be "perfect" when we go out.  I mainly offer when the chance arises, to get him used to going in public toilets (hoping someday he'll be able to hold it longer!)  If he stays dry for a while that's an added bonus, but it doesn't often happen.  However I am often surprised that he will hold it longer when we are out than at home, probably because of being less relaxed than at home.

I am uncomfortable about pottying a crawling age baby in front of people so I avoid public spaces such as changing tables and communal sinks.  I go for the handicapped toilet or changing room if there is one where I can potty him in private.  the next best IMO is to take him into a stall and potty him, sometimes i then take him bare bottomed out of the stall and get him dressed on the changing table.  If he has on a disposable diaper I can put it on with him on my lap so sometimes being flexible with cloth/disposable while we are out helps.  when he is closer to walking I figure I'll be able to pull his pants up/ change him standing up then I can also dress him in the stall.  I also don't like it if he touches the seat with his hands, which he is starting to do... disinfectant wipes are a handy thing to have in your changing bag if this bothers you, you can disinfect the seat first.  My DS also loves washing his hands in the sink afterwards and no one has ever commented on that!

When I was PT DD there was about 6 months where she refused to sit on a toilet, so I had to bring her potty everywhere with me!  Then there was a stage where I had to carry her potty ring for a couple of months.  I felt a little silly carrying it around but she needed it.  I put it in a cloth non-see-thru bag so most people probably just thought it was my shopping. 

My only other advice would be, to start public pottying very slowly... when DS was first born there were a few situations where I was so uncomfortable with where I was pottying DS that he couldn't go, cried loudly and everyone looked at me, or even worse peed all over me after I tried to potty him.  I learned to just leave him in his diaper till we were somewhere I was comfortable.   As we get more experienced, we both get more comfortable pottying in different places.  I would say, do your first public pottying in a place where you have relative privacy (single room handicapped bathroom) so you can both figure things out.

[thursday2]

Tacking onto this thread instead of starting another - how do you hold when you are out?  At home, we have a seat reducer, and we catch 90% of poops and about 50% of pees, but he's never liked the traditional EC hold and will only pee like that if we time it perfectly (like just after a nap).  The big problem is poop - he won't poop while being held, but he definitely hates pooping in his diaper (we've part-time EC'd since birth - he's 13 months now).  Every trip we've taken with him has been to my parents (who bought him a seat reducer) or for only a night away at most, and he's held it (which isn't the healthiest, but he doesn't want to poop his pants or go while being held).  We're going away for 5 days in a couple of weeks and I'm worried he'll burst something trying to hold it the whole weekend - but not only does he hate being held, he's become a toddler and now grabs at EVERYTHING - the seat covers, the hygiene disposal, the toilet paper, tries to stick his feet in the toilet...it's incredibly frustrating since I can't even hold him still long enough to cue him.

[EchoSoul]

thursday - have you tried letting him squat himself over a diaper to do it?

Oh!! I can answer this now. :D Yesterday we took our 5 month old to a wellness visit, and I did EC. I noticed after we got inside that he was still amazingly dry from the car ride, sat there for a moment, and told my fiance I was going to take him potty. So I took him into the bathroom, which is just a family restroom, and pottied him in the sink. I chose the sink because I pottied him in the sink at home after a bath a few days ago, and didn't think pottying him in the toilet in a new place would work out since I've NEVER pottied him in the toilet. At least the sink was familiar, y'know? Then we got called in to the exam room, but I wasn't going to potty him in a sink that's used for important hygiene, so I took off his diaper(since he needed to be bare for the visit) and let him piddle on some paper towels on the bed. After he was done there and we were outside waiting to be picked up, I carried him behind the building and pottied him there.

As far as public restrooms - I try the toilet in a stall that has a changing table. If it doesn't work, and if he cries because he doesn't have to go, then nobody can look at me accusingly like I'm torturing him..

[jennyvirginia]

Thanks for the input ladies. Luckily my LO sits up pretty well so I don't have to use the sink. However, she's never used a big toilet except for when we first started ECing and I would sit her in front of me on the toilet. I think maybe I should practice at home with the potty ring to see if she takes to it. Using the stall with the baby changing table is a good idea since she can't stand on her own yet. I also got a potty ring that converts to a travel potty (with bag insert) so I can try potty-ing her elsewhere (like relatives' homes and such). I think I might try using a predictable bathroom. I know of one that is very clean and huge so it won't be crowded in a spot that we go to a couple times a week so I think I will try taking her there a couple times too...

[Ma Cactus]

Oh yeah just remembered - AVOID AUTO FLUSH TOILETS!!!!  DS got freaked by one going off when we were still trying (not the most relaxing thing!), and it was MONTHS before he would pee in a public toilet again. 

[jennyvirginia]

Thanks for reminding me about that. She will probably take longer than those toilets like and she already hates the sound of public toilets flushing.

[HawaiianBlesing]

Originally Posted by jennyvirginia 

Thanks for the input ladies. Luckily my LO sits up pretty well so I don't have to use the sink. However, she's never used a big toilet except for when we first started ECing and I would sit her in front of me on the toilet. I think maybe I should practice at home with the potty ring to see if she takes to it. Using the stall with the baby changing table is a good idea since she can't stand on her own yet. I also got a potty ring that converts to a travel potty (with bag insert) so I can try potty-ing her elsewhere (like relatives' homes and such). I think I might try using a predictable bathroom. I know of one that is very clean and huge so it won't be crowded in a spot that we go to a couple times a week so I think I will try taking her there a couple times too...

Jenny- Where did you purchase your  potty ring?  It sound really neat.

[jennyvirginia]

Originally Posted by HawaiianBlesing 

Jenny- Where did you purchase your  potty ring?  It sound really neat.

It is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Kalencom-2-in-1-Potette-Plus-Blue/dp/B0016L0MMS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314909990&sr=8-1 

The Kalencom 2-in-1 Potette Plus

I haven't tried it yet, but it was recommended to me on another board I frequent