to have taken my baby into an outpatients waiting room?

[FannysYourAunt]

DH had an appointment at the ENT department of our nearest hospital, around an hour away from us.

He doesnt drive so I picked him up from work and took him to the hospital with our dd, 12 months. When we got there the waiting room was packed full so we took a seat. Dd is very ahem, vocal at the minute so was doing a LOT of loud babbling, not crying or shouting just baby chatter.

The amount of dirty looks and tuts I got were unbelieveable, I could help but wished I had stayed in the car.

Was I being unreasonable.. Is it the done thing notto take young babies to these places or was these people being grumpy?

Grateful for any replies as DH has a few of these appointments in the near future..

[HollyBerryBush]

Depends how ill people are waiting. Ill or worried people do not want to be disturbed, just left alone with their own thoughts.

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

If they were feeling ill they were probably feeling anxious or irritable.

I'd wait elsewhere if you can.

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

Can he get a taxi home so you can just drop him off. Hospital waiting room isn't much fun for a baby or a mother who has to endure dirty looks

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

ENT as in ears, nose and throat?

Anyone with ear problems will hear her a thousand times louder than you do. Anyone seriously ill will hate being disturbed, even by an adorable baby. They want time with their own thoughts.

I'd drop him off in the future, or get him to get a taxi or train.

[HollyBerryBush]

Baby may not be crying but babbling - both yours and hers - would sadly drive me to distraction, if I was wanting quiet time.

Really, treat a waiting room like a you would a library, unless its paediatrics of course

[TwinkleTits]

It may have been the 'ears' part of the ENT to blame.

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

There may be a play area and normally a cafe somewhere else in the hospital, if your 1yo is anything like mine have been it will be easier to wait there in the future.

Sorry if they were grumpy, but they may well have been in pain.

[PrincessScrumpy]

Dh took me to hospital and waited with me (for 3 hours) with our 10mo twins. There was no phone reception so he needed to know when I'd gone in so he could plan collecting me and dd1 from school, plus I was nervous. Clearly i'm selfish as I didn't give 2 hoots what others thought... I needed dh there and there are very few people confident enough to baby sit 10 month old twins (I have found). Do whatever you need to do and makes your life easier. Babies cry (unless you DH is having treatment for migraines! ;)

[PrincessScrumpy]

Do people really go to hospital expecting peace and quiet?

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

Admirable honesty there, Princess

[Iggi101]

I have had ear problems in the past that resulted in all sounds being muffled, so during my trips to ENT I wouldn't have been very disturbed by your wee one! I think you encountered an unusual group, I usually find people keen to talk to my baby (or to tell me about their grandchildren) in waiting rooms. Still, I wouldn't bring him if I'd any choice.

[FannysYourAunt]

Thanks everyone for your opinions.

Think I will find the cafe next time and wait there instead, was our first time there today, wasnt expecting the waiting room to be so big and busy.

[DragonPaws]

I suffer from an inner ear problem and have real difficulty with loud noises. For me, loud noises causes agonising pain, dizziness and vertigo to the extent that I would struggle to stay in the same room as I would feel so ill. ENT generally take 3 months for an appointment so leaving isnt an option. It also could take me some time (i.e. days) to recover.

Having said that a baby babbling wouldnt cause this, but if your baby shrieked, even occassionally, it would be agony for me.

As it is an ENT waiting room -with people with ear problems - and it isnt your appointment, taking your baby to the cafe may be a better idea and your DH can meet you there when he is finished.

[FannysYourAunt]

Thanks for your input DragonPaws, looking back it was probably insensitive of me to take her in, she can be quite loud.

Glad I posted because it helps to see different perspectives, and issues I woulnt have necessarily thought of myself.

[Oldraver]

FFS with the 'get a taxis'. If the journey by car is an hour away, a taxi would cost a fortune...and lets not forget the DH may of been in pain himself.

Ignore the grumpy looks, its a hospital, they are busy and noisy, not akin to a library. I would probably find where the peadiactrics waiting room is as they tend to have decent facilities

[Sirzy]

I think sitting in the cafe, or walking around the grounds is the best idea if at all possible.

[Delayingtactic]

Or go to fracture clinic - there's always a child play area there!

[AuntieMaggie]

I think in that situation as you noticed there were a lot of people that were disturbed by your dd I would've gone to the cafe to get out of their way. Some people's pain may have been made worse by the noise (unfortunately ent is all about the head so this is a real possibility) and others may have been waiting for worrying results so a bit stressed iyswim.

I've been an ent patient 4 times... the last time I had a serious ear infection in both ears which we think I picked up on my 3rd visit so the other thing to consider is that some of these people may have illnesses you don't want your dd to pick up.

[apostropheuse]

I have to say I agree with most of the posters on this thread. Next time perhaps take the baby for a walk round the grounds while your DH is waiting for his appointment. It can be very frightening waiting in hospital waiting rooms, particularly if you're going in to hear the results of tests. The people waiting probably just wanted a bit of quiet.

In saying all of that, if someone absolutely has to take a baby to the hospital because they have an appointment themselves, and cannot find childcare, then I think it's entirely appropriate to have a baby in the waiting room. That would be beyond the person's control.

[andubelievedthat]

If people want/insist? on silence they can go private,its a public place,they cannot be so ill if a child's natter bugs them!

[Sirzy]

ye coz everyone can afford to go private can't they.

Is it really unreasonable for someone in a clinic dealing with ear complaints to not want to listen to a baby who the mother admits can be quite loud? If you think they are being unreasonable I can only assume you have never had any problems with your ears!

[LouiseSmith]

I would say they are unreasonable. Your child is a baby, not a toddler. You can hardly control it.
xx

[ShadowStorm]

I think that it's best to wait elsewhere with the baby if possible - say in the hospital cafe, or have a walk around the hospital grounds. Or possibly the paediatric waiting room, if the receptionists there are okay with that. Paediatric waiting rooms usually have toys / play areas in the waiting room for the kids.

Having said that though, ENT departments do give appointments to babies - DS had to have an extra hearing test in the ENT department at our local hospital when he was about 8 months old - so having a noisy baby in the waiting room is sometimes unavoidable, even if it does upset other patients.

[TheRabbitCatcher]

I attended outpatients once a month for about 6 months and always took my little baby along in the sling. I was pretty poorly and needed to see my gastroenterologist. It has never occurred to me that I (or she)may have offended anyone.

YANBU

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

Tbh I think its ridiculous to expect silence in any public place. Maybe a library is an exception but the ones near me arent that quiet.

Your DD had as much right to be there as anyone else. And your DH had the right to have his family with him.

I though we had moved away from the "children should be seen not heard" way of thinking.