What do you do when you're out and about?

[stayinhomewithmy6]

First of all, I wasn't planning on EC'ing... until today. DD is 7 weeks old and has been in diapers since birth. I have been familiar with the idea of EC for many, many years, but always assumed that it would be too much work. With my DS, who is now 2, I always suspected that when he woke up at night, it was because he had to pee, not actually because he had to eat, but I never acted on it. Now, with DD, I've been thinking the same thing, so at 2am last night, on a whim, I decided to hold her over the little potty and see what happened. I held her there, and I said "pssss" and much to my surprise, she peed! I did it again with her when she woke up at 6, and 7, and now, at bedtime, we have had about 10 pee catches and 1 poop catch today (that was her only poop today)! I seriously can't believe it. Is it really this easy? I have been trying to watch for cues, but also found that if I do it about every 25 minutes, it results in a lot of successes. She has had a few wet diapers, especially when she was sleeping because I am not to keen on the idea of waking a sleeping baby when I think she should have to pee. We are lucky that most days we don't have to leave the house, but I'm looking ahead to tomorrow and my kids have soccer games that we will be going to. What should I do when we're there? Should I just ignore it for a few hours and make her go in her diaper? Should I take the Little Potty with me? Should I take her into the porta potty they have there and hold her over it ? This is the very beginning of soccer season. We will be doing this 3 days a week until June, so I need to figure it out! WWYD?

[fleacyt]

I put my DS over sinks!!! Sometimes he oversprays an dI just wipe around :P

[stayinhomewithmy6]

What if there isn't a sink? There are no sinks at the soccer field, just port-a-potties with hand sanitizer dispensers. Should I look for a hidden spot to hold her over the grass, assuming it's warm enough? Maybe I'm worrying about it too much. It's possible that she'll fall asleep in the carrier and I won't want to wake her up anyway.

[2DaneMama]

Originally Posted by stayinhomewithmy6 I seriously can't believe it. Is it really this easy?

Originally Posted by stayinhomewithmy6 What should I do when we're there? Should I just ignore it for a few hours and make her go in her diaper? Should I take the Little Potty with me? Should I take her into the porta potty they have there and hold her over it ?

Yay for successes!! Yep, for the most part it's "that easy." Although some days will have many more misses and sometimes it can be frustrating, if you take the attitude that every "catch" is just a bonus, and misses aren't "failures," it's really easy and fun.

I don't think there's necessarily a "right" answer here. I sometimes hold DD over a toilet or sink when we're out. Today, for the first time, I just held her over the pavement right outside the car (we were at the dog park, so I figured there's dog pee everywhere, so baby pee won't hurt). I'd have no problem holding her over the grass or dirt in a discrete place. I haven't carried her little potty with us yet, but have thought about it. Many, many times I just don't worry about it and she pees in her diapers (not her favorite, btw, but sometimes its when we're in the car driving).

Someone, I think it was here but maybe on another site, carries a little "EC kit" with them when they're out. It consisted basically of a little plastic container to hold baby over, a jar with lid to pour the pee in, and some paper towels or prefolds to wipe the "potty" container with. Everything fit inside the potty container and it had a lid. I think some people also just take put a prefold in a wet bag and hold baby over that.

Just have fun with it and don't worry too much.

[stayinhomewithmy6]

Thanks for the encouragement and the info! I think I am just feeling unprepared, because this came on kind of suddenly. Normally, I like to have a plan, read books, do my research, you know! So far today, we are up to 4 pee catches. We missed a poop, but oh well! She pees so much, now I can see evidence in the Little Potty of why she was leaking through every diaper I've ever tried on her. I love that she drifts off to sleep so peacefully now. I had been thinking that she was fighting sleep, but now I know the true reason was because she had to potty! I'm sure that babies are so relieved when their parents finally figure this stuff out, lol. And to think it took me 6 babies to figure this out... that's just embarrassing, haha! I think I'm going to take the Little Potty and some prefolds for drying it out, might even try to find a second one to leave in the van. I have always had to pack 10 diapers and 3 or 4 outfit changes for a day visiting family or friends because she would leak so often. This will certainly be easier than that!

[poopstermomma]

Yay for starting EC! It IS this easy!

I do the prefold in a wetbag trick, under the potette plus. If I am expecting a poop, I bring a plastic bag to line the potette with, and then tie it up like I see people do with dog poop!

[dumaine]

Congratulations and welcome to the world of EC! My experience was somewhat like yours. I usually read about something to death before implementing it, but I started reading about it, ordered a book, but then the next morning I tried it for the first time and shazam (!) my DS went in a little old wipes box! I was also amazed at how easy and natural it is. Of course, there are times when it is hard though. I guess not hard, just frustrating because when they are achieving certain milestones or get to certain ages, they often go through times where they refuse to go on a potty. It is difficult since it was so easy at other times and you know they know how to do it. Those times, creativity is key.

But anyway, I EC'd a lot while out and about. I don't think I ever had to use a port-o-potty. I usually just walked to an out of the way place if there was no bathroom around and EC'd behind a tree for example. I never carried around a potty. I did have a plastic bag though in case I thought DS had 'a chance poo'. I would put that under his booty so I wouldn't leave any poo on the ground if he happened to go number two.

Ideally, I would try to potty your DD before you leave the house. Then again maybe take a walk at the field if you sense she has to go and then once before you leave by the parking lot if there are trees around. If it is just too awkward at the soccer field though, don't sweat it. I think many babies 'get it' that sometimes they just have to go in a diaper. For example, I babysat my nephew and another child and I EC'd them even though their parents did not. They would know to go in a potty for me, even though I didn't babysit more than once a week usually. She will just come to understand then when and where's of it all! Have fun!

[NooneeWilga]

Here is a pic of the portable EC kit that I used with my daughter. I called it a VPPS - "very portable potty system"! The sunglasses are for an indication of scale!!

You can read a description of it here.

[SeaChellsRun]

That's awesome you got so many catches your first day!

I would be so nervous holding DD over a portapotty! And... yuck! I would walk back to the car and have a pottying station set up in the back.

Love the VPPS! Thanks for sharing

[Tweedledum]

Originally Posted by SeaChellsRun I would be so nervous holding DD over a portapotty! And... yuck! I would walk back to the car and have a pottying station set up in the back.

I was just going to say. Under NO conditions would I hold my child over a portapotty! I pack a BBLP in the trunk of my car for such occasions. I just soak and scoop up any contents with a paper towel, and bag it up to deal with later on. Disinfect the potty with vinegar spray and wipe down with another paper towel, and we're good to go. Yes, I use paper towels.