to think baby change cubicles are not there for extended mum-changing?

[Porcelain]

I go to a weekly baby swim session with DS who is 3 months old. He's the youngest there, there are 2 who are a bit bigger, and sitting unaided, the rest of the group are all toddlers who are walking confidently.

The swimming pool only has 3 cubicles in the change rooms with baby change tables. I am sure this is more than enough for standard swim session. I try to get there a bit early, so I can get in and out of the cubicle quickly, organise our stuff in the locker etc. I usually get out of the pool a bit early as DS has less staying power, and I try to be to be as quick as possible although I have to change myself in there, as there is nowhere else to put the baby! (no room for buggies and the floor is wet tiles)

Last week I came out early, but when I came out of the shower with DS, all 3 baby-change cubicles were occupied. I could see little feet on the floor (the doors are high, I wasn't lying on the floor stalking people, that would be wierd) and it was clear all 3 were occupied by mothers with toddlers. One was standing by the door, apparently waiting for his mother to get dressed.

Now I have never had a toddler, I don't know if there is some secret thing I don't understand. I can see that you might want to change their nappy on the table, and use the nappy bin, you might even want to dress them on the table I suppose (but isn't it easier with them standing?) I have no idea though, why it is necessary to occupy the cubicle beyond that when you know people with young babies are waiting. Me and DS, along with another mum and baby were waiting in wet towels getting cold. I ended up taking DS into a normal cubicle for a feed, and it took 15 minutes for the first of the todder mums to emerge. I'm so glad DS is such a milk monster as I doubt he would have had the patience otherwise.

I'm not really sure whether I should say something to the mums, or the pool staff. I was considering asking them if they could move a freestanding table from the communal change room (it's used by a school group at that time, so closed to the public) so that I could at least dry and dress the baby in the open area.

AIBU to think that the mothers of the older children could be using a standard cubicle, or at least dressing their child then moving to a standard cubicle?

Toddlers run away. Babies don't.

When my ds was a toddler I would have used them to prevent him running off and causing havoc.

guarantee sorry

FUck me, I didn't even read the full OP.

You want them to get their toddlers dressed, then move out in their wet swimming costumes with all their stuff and their (possibly bolting) toddler to vacate the area so you don't have to bend over to dress your baby.

What happens if you are out and have to change your baby's nappy on the floor at someone's house? Or do you just refuse to take your baby out anywhere without a changing table?

YABU and nuts! - No one in their right mind would half dress a toddler (as in the nappy you find acceptable) then move them, themself, and all the crap they're carrying to another smaller area to continue to dress toddler and themselves! Is that seriously what you are expecting?

Just for fun, remember this thread when your pfb is about 18months, and give your little idea a whirl - hahaha, wish i could be there!

I go every week with DD2 11 weeks old no changing tables and just lay her on the floor with towels no big deal really much easier than when my DD1 was a toddler.

Porcelain, but did they know others needed them? Did you knock on the door, or call out to let them know you were waiting?

I think, when you have a toddler yourself you will understand.

Babies don't move when you put them down.

You could change and dress your baby on a towel on the floor.

Think you are being PFB. and YABU

I am actually gobsmacked that you and this other mother left your babies wet and cold wrapped in towels for FIFTEEN minutes rather than just making do with what was there and getting them warm and dry ASAP.

Why did you do that?

OK fair enough IABU, like you point out, this is my first kid, I'm clearly still lacking some cunning mum skills because I find this difficult.

BBF, I was only asking whether there was an alternative FFS, you don't need to keep coming up with new things to have a go at me for.

Of course I change him on the floor at people's houses, I carry a travel mat in my change bag, but I haven't been taking it to the pool as I had other stuff to carry. The floor there is very wet, too wet to put a towel down, it would just soak through, but I see that I could work with it.

Clearly I get the message and will have to find my way to work around it, thanks for the suggestions, and for putting my mind at rest. Hopefully when DS is bigger I will know my shit a bit better and can help other mums in a friendly fashion....

YANU for all the reasons detailed above by others.

You are at a baby/toddler swim group at a pool with 3 family changing rooms. Someone is going to have to wait.

I always carried a change mat in my change bag when mine were babies. Far easier to change a baby in a normal, single cubicle than it is to squeeze in there with a toddler. Mat on floor, baby on mat. Been there, done it. Not much choice but to use a family one now though, can't get into a sincgle one with a 4 year old and a 2 year old!

You could start being friendly to other mums by recognising that toddlers are hard work too and having a small baby doesn't make you more important than anybody els.

I'd say go for baby changed on bench, then put on floor in towel, or I have put them in buggy then got changed with the door open before.

I would minimise what you need to take with you. When mine were babies I took one medium sized towel and shared it with baby, travel changing mat in case I needed to use the floor, baby swimsuit, baby swim nappy, one clean nappy, a few wipes in the swim nappy in case dirty when I got them changed,my swimsuit. I used to change into my swimsuit before we got there. keys, purse you don't need anything else.

If you don't want to carry a bulky change mat around you can get little fold out travelling changing mats to use - or I had a change bag with a flap that folded out to be a mat. No need for a changing table.

because BBF, I am not as awesome as you, and because baby was hungry, so my first choice was to feed him rather than try to work around the change thing, the cubicle freed up as we finished. (before you ask, if a cubicle was free I would have changed him quickly, then fed him)

I don't often get to take my DS's swimming (lack of hands/eyes to watch all 3 of them).

However - given my experience of

Changing baby after bath v changing toddler after bath

I agree that toddler changing is much harder. God I remember the days that getting DS3 dried and dressed after a bath took 3 minutes (5 at a push). These days.....we're lucky if we've got as a far as putting his nappy for for bed in the space of 10 minutes - let alone got clothes on him.

Porcelain have you mastered the across lap nappy change yet? (I learnt from our CM) This would also work post swim with a young baby - you sit, towel over your lap, baby on towel, quick dry, nappy on, then dress them. Then you can put change mat & towel on floor to lay baby on while you dress. Not perfect but might beat waiting.

The pool I took DD to for baby swimming had a communal Mum & kids room with showers, tables etc all in one largish room with a play pen to pop the little ones in while the Mums got dressed - very good idea.

Do the normal changing cubicles not have a bench/seat in them. Every cubicle in every swimming pool I've been to has. When DD was a baby I used to lie her on those and change her, probably with a changing mat underneath or maybe a towel. There weren't changing tables or family/baby cubicles back then. I never had a problem. Just use the bench.

The easiest thing to do it to carry your baby into the swimming in their car seat. Then you can leave them in it till you get your cossie on and then get them ready for swimming.

Coming out, do the reverse - get baby ready on your knee (wrap your towel round you) and then plonk them in the car seat while you get ready.

Problem solved!

is your car seat one of the ones you can detach and carry in with you? You could then leave your LO in that. When DS was small that was what I did and now we tend to wheel the buggy in and I sit him that while I get changed (or he could sit on the bench as he is old enough now). I think other posters are being unnecessarily harsh actaully - You are perhaps overracting a bit but most of us do when our firstborns are little and we have no other perspective. It feel like a logistical nightmare and well done for doing what is really a fairly adventurous thing with such a little one (and I know plenty of mums who wouldn't have tried swimming or much else at such a young age). Just make sure LO is in a big fluffy towel and you should be ok.

Thanks FMM, I might practice that. He's a big baby though, he's in 6-9 month clothes and quite strong, so he doesn't fit all that well lying on my lap, and sitting he needs support, one hand is ok for a brief bit, but then he flails and it takes 2 to catch him! He also inchworms on the change mat, so he can shoot himself backwards quite fast. Like I said, I need better skills or more arms!

Still doesn't help with getting me dressed, but it's a start.

I think I must be a wicked mother because I took my 4 month old swimming once and it was so awful I never did it again. We both ended up in tears. There was alot of competitive swimming lesson-ing going on within my NCT group - hauling tiny babies off to germy old swimming pools so you can shiver and get stressed because they are badly arranged and you are trapped with other peoples kids. Just so you can tell everyone how marvellous you are because you took your baby swimming. Yuck. My tips:

1. Wait until child is 3 then they can have swimming lessons unaccompanied so you can have a coffee/spend time with the baby while you watch them.

1. Find a nice outdoor pool and go there when its hot and sunny - that really is fun.

1. If you have a partner/DH make him take the children at the weekend for quality time (ha).

These tips have really worked for me

In one class I did mums did rush to get the baby cubicles then the ones that missed out sat and whinged and I did rush too, then I moved to another day class and it was much more laid back and people let those that felt they needed them more get them first, it was a much more pleasant atmosphere and actually made you think about who needed it the most.

FWIW I do not use them with a standing toddler as I can get by without. I do use them at the mo as am 38 weeks pregnant and humungous and I used them when DS was a baby as I had a problem that caused me a lot of pain and limited mobility (people I didn't know might not have been able to tell). I think you need to trust people use them if they need to.

Two ladies that did a lane swim at the same time did use to reguarly use them and that did cheese me off, especially as they threw talcolm powder everywhere too!

you must be able to get a pushchair into the changing area somewhere? Then leave it outside the door if in the small changing room, get baby dressed, leave door open and dress yourself. Et Viola!

BTW don't speak to the other mums at swimming about it. They will hate you.......

Well if you are talking about nappy changing places, surely no one should be getting their baby/child dried & dressed in there?