mom2scouts Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I took the kids to the zoo today and we decided to have lunch. The main outdoor seating area was full with groups on field trips, so we found some tables off to the side on a little patio. Just as we started to eat, a woman a few tables away put her baby ON the table and changed the babies diaper. My son said, "Ewwww, can't she change her baby in the bathroom?" The bathroom was nearby and it did have changing tables. The woman didn't have any other children with her, so it wasn't like she needed to drag other children into the bathroom. Maybe she thought she was being discreet because she wasn't in the main eating area? When she was done changing the baby, she sat down to nurse and left the dirty diaper sitting on the table. Yuck. No, just no. Do not change your baby in an eating area and especially not on the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 gross. imagine how unsanitary things must be in her home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I was once rather shocked at an acquaintance's home when her dh proceeded to change the baby on the kitchen counter. Diapers don't belong in food areas IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Would now be a good time to share the story of the time I was at a theme park and saw a family pour a big pile of katsup directly on the outdoor table so everyone could dip the large order of fries they were sharing into it. Gag. If she didn't want to use the changing tables, she could have at least found an out of the way piece of grass away from the eating area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Beyond gross! Food and bodily waste do. not. mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I wouldn't do it, but I always assume that outdoor tables are very dirty anyway. Seagulls don't use changing tables. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Laura has a point, but still, eww. Babies should get changed where everyone else has those things taken care of ... the bathroom. Even with a bunch of kids close together, that's where I managed to change all of mine, even with 3 in diapers. Now, nursing, on the other hand ... the eating area is a great place to do that. Everyone else eats there, babies should be able to eat there, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I would have used the ground instead of the table. I don't think the OP was objecting to nursing at the table, but at leaving the dirty diaper sitting there while using the table as a feeding place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jentancalann Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 outside, if it wasn't poopy, i'd have totally done it at the table, but on my lap. On the table was a bad call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Ewww ... people who are not accustomed to babies do not want to see your baby being changed, it's completely unhygenic, and you should do it where there's a nice sink with soap so you can wash up. Poop and/or pee and food do not mix. Yuck. Public tables are gross. Public bathrooms are gross. At least in the bathroom, you get a chance to wash up and you aren't ruining someone else's meal. ETA - I have no problem with nursing in a restaurant or wherever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Why would you change a diaper in that public of an area???? Nursing I can see, you see people eat so what's wrong with a baby eating but you don't "see" people going to the bathroom.. That's just wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I've changed my baby on a table before, but only when there weren't any changing tables or available grass. I agree, it's disgusting, but you'd be surprised how many off-the-highway food joints have no changing table, and no, I will not put my baby on an off-the-highway bathroom floor. I always apologize to the waitress, "I'm sorry but you don't have anywhere else for me to do this..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Yeah, unless the bathroom was nonexistent, or completely disgusting, that would have been a better place than on a table. If she didn't want to use the restroom for whatever reason, why not walk away from people (and tables) and change the baby elsewhere? Maybe in the stroller off to the side? In her lap if it just HAD to be there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I see this thread title and I think, "What's wrong with your current baby?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I see this thread title and I think, "What's wrong with your current baby?" :lol: Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 I see this thread title and I think, "What's wrong with your current baby?" :lol: My current "baby" is six, but there's nothing wrong with her! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Okay, I just snorted at the tag on this thread! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I'm always amazed at the people who say "just change the baby on your lap". I have to put my little one in a figure 4 with my legs to keep him from flipping all over the place! He is the squirmiest little one I have ever seen, and unbelievably strong for his age (not quite 9 months now). Does everyone else have nice, sedate babies who love diaper changes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 It wouldn't be so bad if she used a seat instead of the top of the table, still gross but not as bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I've changed my baby on a table before, but only when there weren't any changing tables or available grass. I agree, it's disgusting, but you'd be surprised how many off-the-highway food joints have no changing table, and no, I will not put my baby on an off-the-highway bathroom floor. I always apologize to the waitress, "I'm sorry but you don't have anywhere else for me to do this..." I'm sorry but I don't generally think it is the owner's job to provide a changing table. A lot of these things are courtesy to the customer but I don't think they have to be provided. I have changed my kids many times in restrooms without changing tables. In a lot of other countries most of their bathrooms don't have changing tables and they seem to manage just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Meh, it's a baby....it's an outdoor picnic table.....it wouldn't freak me out. And this is coming from someone who is usually a germaphobe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Does everyone else have nice, sedate babies who love diaper changes? My boys needed two adults and a double stroller just to change one squirming baby. Besides I am petite and my oldest was a big size baby. Hubby's lap might work but we never tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I thought you were supposed to do all dirty-diaper changes at Starbucks? :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Sorry it is an outdoor table at a zoo. Bird droppings and other things have been on the table. A disposable diaper (I am assuming that is what it was) is moisture proof (she did not say it was leaking). You lay the baby down place a clean diaper under him and take the old one off...no bottom touches the table. Personally I am more grossed out she did not use a blanket to lay the baby on but just laid him on the dirty table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I would have used the ground instead of the table. I don't think the OP was objecting to nursing at the table, but at leaving the dirty diaper sitting there while using the table as a feeding place. I would've used the ground, but I have no problem at all with changing a baby on an outside picnic table. Maybe the mother had back or other physical issues and couldn't kneel. I said it before, and I'll say it again--changing baby diapers doesn't bother me. I'm not sure why, but it just doesn't. I don't find this gross or repulsive. The other day I saw high school "kids" place a dead squirrel on the MacDonald's table. When they left, I alerted the manager and asked them to clean the table. He came out, did a perfunctory swish with a wet rag, and walked off. In terms of hygiene, public tables, be it in a coffee shop or outside, *are* full of germs. Changing a diaper on one doesn't make the situation any worse. If anything, I bet most moms changing their babies on a table would wipe the table with their wet wipes, before and after the changing. This is already a huge improvement over the table's previous condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I'd do it on the bench attached, but not on the table itself. As far as needing to wash, and so needing to use a place with a sink, I think a diaper wipe and some handsanitizer would be ok for mom's hands. I mean, she probably doesn't actually touch anything yucky. And honestly, I don't think of a baby's "privacy." Maybe I should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 Meh, it's a baby....it's an outdoor picnic table.....it wouldn't freak me out. And this is coming from someone who is usually a germaphobe. I have five children and I've changed a lot of diapers. It was just that we were in the middle of eating our lunch as were all the other people in the area. We specifically picked a table that had seen being wiped down just seconds before because we know the tables can get dirty. We just didn't enjoy seeing a dirty diaper while munching on our hamburgers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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