and I know I've done a bloody stupid thing but - changing a wet nappy in public

[booradley]

I feel so stupid and I know I'm in the wrong but I changed DD nappy in the cafe area of a farm park today. It was 4.30 and there was no-one around, the nearest people were sitting 15 feet away and the baby changing station was occupied. I knew that it was just a wet one and that she had on dungarees so no part of her body or the used nappy would touch the table so I changed her.
A member of staff came up to me late and said that a doctor had seen me do it and he is going to report the park to the dept of health.
I know the staff member was freaked out but when I asked what this would mean she said they would probably get closed down.

I know its a bloody stupid thing to have done and I feel a complete mug but does anyone have any idea what's going to happen?
I figured the best scenario would be a get a snotty letter from park telling me off but the worst, well I have a vivid imagination and I'm thinking all kinds of stuff - does anyone have any ideas.

ps - yes I know it was a bloody stupid thing to do.

harefield have no changing facilites that i have found. have never changed dd3 on a table.

i used to go to the disabled loo and lay a mat on the floor and change her there.

rivewn iis there a national campaign to get suitable alrger tables and changing facilities installed in disabled toilets?

i remember it being a PITA when dd2 at 1year old needed her nappy changing and she was the same weight as 3year olds and the pull down tables didnt go up to her weight limit. i imagine for most people caring for a disabled person, laying them on a floor is not an option due to weigth and lifting etc.

how tall is she currently?

i know a lady who makes baby items, and am sure she can get the length done for you.

email me and will see what i can do. djmisdee hotmail com

obviously lifting her down and back up is still an issue, but a good mat might make things a bit easier.

her website here

she makes things made to measure exactly, so she should be able to help. am sure she can come up with soemthing to help you. i got a stayput blanket from her, which is fab, she says she makes bigger ones for wheelchair users, they have velcro ties on them so they dont slip off under the wheels, and footpockets as well.

be warned, some things are a bit pricey, but everything is fab quality.

I don?t use baby changing facilities, purely because:

A) They always have the changing mat so that if something falls off (usually the sude cream) it goes straight down the loo.
b) If I need to go at same time I have to put dd on floor
c) If I need to wash my hands dd is again on the floor.
d) they always smell and the changing mats are always dirty and uncared for.

However I went to a pub today and in the changing area there was a seat attached to the wall away from the toiled, that you could strap a child into so you could go to toilet and wash your hands etc. What an ingenious idea, I have never seen it before. And what a good excuse for going to the pub.

Riven I have the same problem as you - DD2 is 4, in nappies, disabled (but can stand luckily) and we are buggered when we go anywhere as baby change facilities aren't suitable and toilet floors are disgusting. I am NOT laying her down on the floor in puddles of other people's wee to change her.

So I have changed her all over the place, I've never been challenged yet but am wondering how we will manage as she gets bigger or more aware and so more privacy is an issue. I usually do it in the car (big boot that she can lay across!) but if we're out for the day we don't want to trek all the way back to the car.

And as for changing any child that is over 6 months in an aircraft toilet - yeah right!! Have you seen how tiny the changing "table" is?? Even my dinky little 13 month old was hanging off each end. So I changed her on my seat on my travel changing mat.

riven,
I don't know if you've heard of a Radar key that you can purchase for under a tenner at your local council that will allow you access to locked disabled toilets.
Trust me though no easy task when they're older [sal is 19 and cannot stand/walk] We've only just managed to get Adult changing bed in our local brand new swimming pool...public loos...NIGHTMARE ...sorry for jumping in on post

You have to buy a radar key , good god what is this country coming to?????

outrageous that a radar key has to be paid for.
Riven - there's clearly a long way to go to bring facilities for people with a disability up to scratch. However, I'm sure that where facilities ARE available, you use them out of respect for your dd and others. A lot of posters are missing the point that the OP DID have a changing facility which she chose not to use, which i think is a very odd thing to do, and smacks of a sense of self importance that she couldnt be arsed to wait a few minutes.

findtheriver, self importance or just a lack of thought?

Possibly, but it's quite a lack of thought to note that yes, there is a baby changing facility and then go right ahead and change your baby's nappy on a cafe table!! I've got to be honest, if I was a customer, or indeed the proprietor, I would have thought what a silly cow, just show a little patience and wait!!
I don't believe for a moment the nonsense about the doctor and reporting to dept of health, but I DO think it's an odd thing to do. It wasnt as if she hadnt noticed a baby changing station is it?

i agree with that, tho the thing about the doctor and reporting the cafe seems too OTT to believe.... I think in her shoes i would have realised i was being wound up, but would also realise that they had every right to be annoyed,

I have a 3.7yo dd who can't walk and is in nappies and a hefty 16mo ds and I find many baby changing facilities are inadequate for either.

Riven - we may have the biceps but what we really need is more political muscle.

I hate toilet floors so, if the car boot isn't handy, with discretion in mind we also change dd in all kinds of public places and we're guilty of doing it in cafes and on plane seats.

When we moved from Oz to UK 2yrs ago I was shocked at how few baby changing places are available here and how awful many of them are.......

iota are you mad?

booradley, for the future learn to change the nappy on your lap(outside maybe!). In fact it always amazes me that more do not change their baby on their lap, its easier than a dirty floor or table.
Upon saying that, good luck and best wishes.

oh and I have shorter legs than my 4'10 dd

whose nappy I have not changed in yrs as she is 13 and dry. but, I do change my 8yr old ds nappy regularly and always on my lap.

What bollocks! Unless it was a 2 yr old I see no problem with discretely changing a baby's nappy in the cafe. I used my pram to change my kids as it was clean and toilet changing tables aren't!