OT-underwear or pullups wwyd

[LWatson]

We are moving in a week from Tx (on the tx/nm border) to Tn. Our oldest has been potty trained for about a year now, but still has accidents in his sleep. We are driving about 8hrs a day for 3 days w/ some breaks. The thing is there are stretches in TX that there are few exits to get off to go potty. Plus he sleeps in the car on longer trips. I know he will want to wear big boy underwear, but I'm kind of nervous about it. I dont know what we would do if he peed in his car seat since it would be the only one we have for him and because we wont have a washer to wash it. So would you do pullups in the car or underwear? Oh and I should probably mention we let him wear underwear on a 2hr plane ride and he fell asleep and peed in the seat (we cleaned it and let the FAs know and we switched out the seat bottoms so nobody had to sit in it).

 

[Maggie'sMom]

First of all, pack a potty seat in the car so if he has to go and you aren't near a place with a restroom, you have an alternative for him. Or maybe he be willing to stand on the side of the road and pee without a potty? I have a girl so we didn't really have that option.

Secondly, for the carseat, use one of the crib sized waterproof pads, the kind that holds something like 12 cups of liquid. Put that in the seat before you put him in. That way, if he has an accident, you just pull the pad off and the seat is still dry.

 

[LWatson]

please forgive me because my brain isnt working today...but how would i strap him in if I have the crib thing on? I'm not sure I know what you are talking about, we just put plastic matress covers over their mattress when they were in cribs. Again please forgive me as my brain isnt working right now (we have an inspection today one tomorrow and packing the rest of the week...so my head is all over).

 

[MichelleinMaine]

If he'll wear the Pullups, I'd go that route. (I've had one young child who got a tummy bug on a flight home from HI and another who got so excited on a road trip he "forgot" he had to use a potty. Rental car, too- lovely!)

If not, I'd do something like the PP suggested. When mine were PTing, I took a small waterproof lap pad and put it on top of the seat. Change of clothes and some big ziplocs for wet stuff if needed.

ETA- I forgot too, I cut slits in the waterproof pad to make it go around the straps. (The lap pads are about the size of the seat bottom- maybe 20" square? Smaller than a crib sized one.)

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Here's a link to what I had in mind: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3368919

You can also get disposable pads which would probably be even better. You would need to cut a slit or two so the pad doesn't bunch up around the straps. And you could probably cut one of the large pads in half and still have it large enough to cover the portions of the seat which might get wet.

 

[tam626]

I think I'd just do the pull ups, that way if he goes while he;'s sleeping, he won't wake up all wet. I had to do this on our cruise for my son because he got food poisoning & had diarrhea. After he was well again, he did fine using the potty again.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Does he wear pull ups at night now? If so, I'd probably present it as, we know you're going to be sleeping, so let's put them on now. If not, I don't know that I'd reintroduce pull ups to a child who hasn't worn them for a year.

If you decide not to do them the Chux type thing under him sounds like a good idea -- it's a pad, that's pretty similar to a flat piece of diaper material. You could just put it under his butt, and it would catch most of it -- you'd still have to change his clothes of course.

 

[mjkacmom]

I put my twins in pullups when I was flying alone with them, when they were 3. They had no problem with it, and although they weren't needed, there were some close calls!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Pulls ups over the underwear. Less regression as he will know if he is wet but way less trouble if he has an accident. Pack a potty and stop often for breaks as well.