Potty training - back in nappies after 2 months being dry

[Nutgirl]

Hoping someone can offer some advice. DS2 aged 2 yrs 9 months has been successfully potty trained in terms of wee for nearly 2 months. He won't poo on a toilet or potty but we have got to the stage where he asks for his poo pants (pull up) does his business and we change him, put him back in pants and carry on with our day. Or he does it in his nighttime nappy before I go into him in the morning. But I really thought he had cracked wee, he takes himself to potty at home, tells me he needs a wee and has good bladder control. Hardly any accidents. But on Friday we went out for the day and he didn't like / was scared of the toilets at the place we went to and refused to wee. Held it in most of the day even though we put him in a pullup and by time we got home he was screaming saying it hurt when he tried to go. I took him to the dr and she said he didn't have a UTI but had got a bit sore on the tip due to holding it in. Gave us some antibiotic cream and said to give calpol, lots of fluids etc. He was fine Fri eve and even did his first ever poo on the toilet! Really thought we had turned a corner but all day yesterday he wet himself. Kept saying it hurt and refusing to wee on loo then peeing everywhere when he got off. His willy isn't visibly sore anymore (still using the cream) & I think the only reason it hurts is because he is stopping and starting and withholding which can make it sting.

We are going away for the week tomorrow and there will be lots of trips out with strange toilets etc and we are out for the day today meeting up with family. We asked him to have a wee before we set off (long journey) & he willingly sat on potty but did his thing of doing a tiny bit then stopping saying it hurt. After 15 mins of him sat on potty crying and refusing to wee we have put a nappy on him as we were late and needed to get going. Plus we know it's not good psychologically to have him crying on a potty! We thought he wouldn't want to wear a nappy bit he looked really relieved when we got it.

So I guess I'm asking what you would do? Feels such a shame to go back to nappies as he has been dry for 2 months including at nursery. But we can't have this trauma next week on holiday everytime he needs a wee! I am confident he doesn't have an infection as he is weeing pain free in the nappy, he's just got it in his head that it will hurt weeing on a potty and then he stops himself which makes it worse...

Thanks for reading, know this is long!

Personally I would revert to nappies for the holiday, but then straight back into pants as soon as you get home.

I would find a potty he's happy with and cart it everywhere (even if it looks a bit silly!).
Give him a load of diluted juice and see if he'll wee on the potty.

I'd put him back in nappies if that's what he's happy with. Seems like it's all got really stressful for him. If he's weeing in nappies fine, that will help break the association that weeing is painful for him (as that seems to be happening on the toilet for whatever reason).

He'll probably choose to go back into pants of his own accord when he's ready and at least you know he can do it with no accidents, etc. Don't make a big deal of the nappies.
When you get back from holiday, you can ask him 'nappies or pants?' and go with what he says, don't try and persuade him into pants as that can make them stressed over it and sometimes a bit stubborn if they think you want them in pants!

If they feel it's genuinely up to them, it can often make it much less stressful for them and make them much happier about doing it.

I didn't bother with a potty with mine as it meant no transition from potty to toilet and made toilets out of the house easier as they were always used to a toilet. Not sure if he'd be happy to just use the toilet at home if he's already used to a potty but might be worth a try when you get back from holiday.