4 hour car trip during potty training... what should we do?

[ourbabygirl]

So we've been potty training DD (almost 3), and though we've only been serious the last week or so, she's been doing great for about 5 days or so. We've never really had a time this summer when we've been home for 3 or more days at a time; we usually have somewhere that we need or want to go to.

We're going to a resort tomorrow that's about 4 hours away, and I'm not sure if I should just put her in a diaper for the car ride(s), her undies, or what. I bought a huge bag of pull-ups to use for pre-school this fall, too, and she won't wear them! Anyhow, I think she would be able to tell us on the trip each time she needs to go potty, and we can take her little Bjorn potty and everything, but I don't want to have to make a ton of stops. We'll definitely be stopping at least once or twice to eat and nurse the baby, possibly get gas, too, but I don't want it to be where we're stopping every half hour so she can go potty (she can go so easily here at home since we keep the potty chair in the kitchen where we spend most of our day).

Should I skip the panties for the ride & just put her in a diaper? Or put a diaper over her panties? How should I work things? I don't want her to regress, but I don't want to make her hold it & I don't know how long she even *can* hold it.

Any tips?

Thanks for your help!

[catsnkid]

Vote for diapers over panties.

[wendibird22]

Well my DD1 is 4yo and trained for over a year and we still ask her to wear a pull up for long car rides. I don't want her to have an accident if she falls asleep and I don't want her to tell us she has to go and have 50mi to the next rest stop. DD1 knows it's just there for an emergency and to tell us if she has to go (which she always does). So, I vote for diapers.

[ladysoapmaker]

I was going to suggest got potty right before you leave put her in a pull-up and stop about every hour to an hour & a half. But since she won't wear the pull-up that option is out.

With DD#2 what we did on our vacation (about 5 hours straight drive time) is we left her in undies and stopped about every 1 1/2 hours. (ie each rest area we past) This actually worked out well and we limited her fluid intake before we left. We also insist that each child goes before we leave the house. Our first rest area is about 35 minutes from the house so it develops a rhythm for all the kids and we then don't have to stop at the gas station and get food...

Jen

[JBaxter]

I was going to suggest got potty right before you leave put her in a pull-up and stop about every hour to an hour & a half. But since she won't wear the pull-up that option is out.

With DD#2 what we did on our vacation (about 5 hours straight drive time) is we left her in undies and stopped about every 1 1/2 hours. (ie each rest area we past) This actually worked out well and we limited her fluid intake before we left. We also insist that each child goes before we leave the house. Our first rest area is about 35 minutes from the house so it develops a rhythm for all the kids and we then don't have to stop at the gas station and get food...

Jen

This is what I usually do. Once we start potty training I dont use diapers at all. We do/did pull ups at night but not actual diapers

[Jeanne]

We just kept your girls in underwear but kept the kiddie potty in a car lined with a plastic bag for emergency stops. Didn't want them back in dipes or pull ups as they needed to learn to control their bladder. When they had to go, we just stopped and popped them on the kiddie potty in the back of the car. It made them feel like they were still succeeding too.

[AnnieW625]

We just did diapers or pull ups. We also keep a port a potty in the back of the car. It's easier than having to clean a car seat. DD1 is 5 and still uses it; I have no problems with that at all. She has been day trained since she was just 3, and night trained since last month (she sleeps like the dead!).

[HIU8]

ONce we started potty training we stuck with undies and if we took long car rides we stopped a lot. We did not use pullups.

[scrooks]

Timely post... I'm debating the same thing. We are going on a long car ride soon and I am debating using pull ups for DD.

[kozachka]

ONce we started potty training we stuck with undies and if we took long car rides we stopped a lot. We did not use pullups.

If you put her in a diaper, she will most likely regress. So if it were me, I'd put her in the regular underwear, put a thick towel under her (in case there is an accident) and stop often to let her use a potty in the car. We have an SUV so that was easy to do.

I flew from LA to Amsterdam, which is a ~10 hour flight, with DS when he was 23 months old and he did not have any accidents. Granted by then he'd been using a potty for months (with a lot accidents initially and then fewer and fewer), but I was still afraid that us moving to Europe and a long flight would make him regress, but nope, he did fine.