[MittensKittens]

So my toddler has recently become "potty trained": when we are at home, she wears underwear and goes potty, without any accidents. But whenever we go out somewhere, she still wears a diaper. It's pretty cold out and I would hate for her to have a potty accident in this weather. I really want to ditch the diaper though.

Can I ask what your experiences are with such situation? How did you rid yourself of the final diaper? My daughter doesn't yet go potty on the big toilet. Did you bring the potty with you to the mall etc, or what were your solutions? All tips are really appreciated!

 

[johnnagrrl]

I didn't take Jake (2.5) out in undies until he was going on the big potty, with a potty seat, the travel kind. Boys are a little easier, if he has to pee, it's no biggie to stand him up on my feet and face him towards the toilet. But, for poops, I carry around a little portable seat (potette plus is the one I use) and he'll go with that, no problem.

In the beginning, I did what you are doing though, diaper/pull up while we're out, and undies at home. But, every weekend, while my husband was home, we would keep him in undies when we were out. That way, if he had to go, one of us could just grab him and run to the bathroom and the other could stay with our stuff (cart, purse, etc.). Now, he's all trained (except night and nap) and he hasn't worn a pull up in about 2-3 months. I do always have one with me, just in case we are still out at naptime, in case he falls asleep in the car, but so far, we've been pretty lucky. Also, I know you probably know this, but make sure you have an extra pair of undies and pants at all times!!!

 

[suga'lamb]

my daughter is 2 1/2 and potty trained for several months. at home she has a potty and also a ring that sits atop the toilet; she uses both equally. once she was proficient at home, and clearly able to hold it several hours and during nap, we just went with it and she went out in underwear. i never took a potty or ring out with us, she is comfortable enough to be held under her arms on a big toilet, and she loves peeing outdoors "like a squirrel." if your kid will go for it, i highly recommend learning to pee outdoors- it has saved dd's pants many a time and i'm not ashamed to say i'll have her drop trou anywhere anytime. for the first several weeks she had a few accidents a week, but then she realized it was a much bigger deal to get her clothes all changed than to just use the toilet, and she's been fine ever since. well, as long as i leave her alone about it- the more i remind her, insist she try to go, the more she resists and ends up holding it waaaay too long, grimacing, dancing and grabbing her crotch.

good luck!- molly

 

[columbusmomma]

With DS we did bring his potty with us at times. He did have a small fear of the loud flushing of public toilets and with a van it was easy to do! I'll never forget the look of determination on his face the first time he pooped in his potty on a vacation. It was easy to dispose of since we were at a rest area, lol!! With cases like yours I would use a diaper but he didn't "revert" to peeing in it.

 

[azmomtoone]

DS does not wear diapers at all anymore; from the start when we got rid of diapers at home we also did without them when out....it's only been a week for us.....since we're already used to having a diaper bag, we bring that along still, it just has extra undies (gerber trainers in our case) and pants instead of diapers; we have a portable potty in the car but so far he hasn't used it, he uses a little potty at home but he's used the regular toilets out with no problem.... I don't have a travel insert for him but want to get one, just so he'll be more comfortable. The one time DH tried to take him and get him to use the urinal though, DS had no clue what it was and had an accident then (DH said the toilets were too dirty, by the time we'd walked to the Subway next door, he'd wet his pants a little already; but he still pottied there too!)

:

I'd say, just go for it....go without, bring some extra clothes along to change just in case (I'd bet at first, since she's used to potty at home / diaper out, there'll be some accidents until she realizes she needs to ask to potty when out too.) And give her lots of opportunities, before leaving home, when you get to each store etc.

 

[tankgirl73]

A couple suggestions...

Have you checked her diaper when you're out? Is she staying dry or still peeing while travelling? We did EC with DD so it's a bit different, but even as young as 5mo we found that she hardly EVER peed her pants while out and about, whereas misses at home were quite common.

Does she tell you at home fairly reliably when she has to pee or is it mostly from your prompting? If she's reliable in communicating her need to pee, you can PROBABLY trust her when you're out too.

If you're nervous about misses, try cloth training pants instead of diapers. We still did that for long car trips when we knew we wouldn't be able to stop for potty breaks (she still rarely wet them, but we were glad they were there for those occasions when she couldn't wait!)

Now that DD is a 'graduate' she's in undies full-time. When we go out, I bring a change of pants and undies 'just in case'. I make sure she has a chance to pee before we leave, and about every hour or so I make sure to ask her if she needs a potty break -- often it will just be behind the car door in the parking lot lol... but most of the time she just says "no" heh.

You can start getting her used to using the big toilet, she doesn't have to be able to sit on it by herself. There are lots of ways to do it. Hold her in your arms, "classic" style (as it's called in EC since that's what's done in traditional societies around the world) -- your hands under her thighs or knees, her facing away from you, her head and back resting against your chest or tummy (depending on your height and height of the loo lol), hold her legs spread apart so she's in a bit of a squat. We use this for holding her over a big toilet, or for outdoor pees. Or even over the sink lol, but that was more when she was tiny...

You can also sit backwards on the toilet yourself, and hold her between your legs. I can't do this one, I don't fit lol... but it works for many.

Or just have her sit on the seat backwards, holding her for support of course, but many toddlers find this more secure than sitting forwards.

And of course she can always sit forwards, with you holding her torso or under the arms, if she's comfortable with this.

Try these different things at home first to get used to them (for BOTH of you lol) then try them when you're out.

 

[eepster]

Giving up going out in diapers is just going to be a leap of faith. You won't know if it will work till you try. Just bring plenty of spare clothes.

We started with one of those fold up seats the goes over a toilet, but soon it just seemed like too much trouble to try to dig it out, unfold it, and put it on the potty while a toddler tried to hold it in and touched evverything in a public bathroom. Now I just hold DS while he is going, his balance is improving. DS is tiny and started PL young, I would say he has been sitting on full sized public tiolets since he was around 20 mo and 19 lbs. I just held on tight so he wouldn't fall in.

 

[MittensKittens]

Thanks for your answers! I was already thinking about buying some of those training pants (basically just undies with some kind of plastic cover, right?). My daughter generally stays dry when we go out, although she does pee sometimes - it depends how long we are out. When we are at home, she doesn't ask to use the potty as such, she just takes off her pants and says "potty, potty", and then uses it.

I think she feels shy about saying she needs to go potty in front of other people, and then prefers to use the diaper. I would go out with her in underwear, but I am worried about the cold and having to change her outside when she has an accident. And when I say cold, I mean white Christmas kinda cold

.

tankgirl73 - it's a great idea top get her to get used to the "big toilet" first - I will definitely try out the things you suggested!

 

[MittensKittens]

Oh, and something else... Is it realistic to expect a regression when my daughter's little brother is born (anytime now)? Many mainstream websites seem to suggest so, but I don't think she wants to go back to going in her diaper...