Recently I bought the 2-in-1 Potette Plus travel potty to keep in my minivan. The seat folds up fairly small and flatish, and has it's own carrying baggie. I'll probably use the seat mostly for when I can't find a restroom quick enough, but of course it's perfect for traveling - no matter how long the trip. With Summer here, everybody travels more - I plan to make a few trips too!
I found the price of the travel potty ($16) to be very reasonable and it works great. The plus model doubles as a toilet trainer seat, which I haven't used and really don't plan to. I probably should've just bought the regular seat for $10 instead. Still, the seat is well-made and sturdy. Just make sure you snap the legs in place before your child sits on it.
The seat comes with 3 little bags. They have a small absorbent pad inside each bag. On Amazon, a 10-pack of refills is $5. Now to me, that's pretty expensive - especially when you consider how many you'd need to buy for a single trip!
So, I bought a 60-pack of Evenflo breast pads for less than $5 and gathered a bunch of used Wal-Mart plastic bags. I pre-loaded a dozen bags (don't forget to check for holes!) with 2 breast pads each (you might be able to get away with using just one), and stuck them in the back of my van with the potty seat. I keep cheap flushable wipes back there too.
The homemade bags work perfectly! Make sure you tie the bag tightly and then throw it in the nearest trash can when you're done. Simple and cheap!
Here's a picture of the seat in the back of my van rigged with the Wal-Mart bag/breast pad combo:
Below is a picture of the seat with the refills made to fit it. Can you see the absorbent pad in the bag? I haven't tried the refills yet, since I wanted to see if the Wal-Mart bag/breast pad combo would work first, but from the Amazon reviews they appear to do their job. But they are so expensive!
I like that I can put the seat in the back of my van and not worry about yucky spills. Serenity can also get on and off the potty with a little more privacy too. Although, when the back of my van is full of stuff, it's really not that big of a deal to position the seat next to the van so no one can see Serenity getting on and off the potty.
I think this this is an excellent seat to keep in your car for traveling or long trips around town. It doesn't matter if your toddler is just learning to potty or a pro - or maybe you don't like public restrooms (lets face it, some of them can be pretty nasty), when the time comes - you'll be glad you have this seat in your trunk!
Have fun!!
I made Serenity's Halloween outfit using ZozoBugBaby's The Candy Shoppe Skirt and Tee pattern.
