to create a spin off - do you change dirty nappies in any room other than the bathroom/nursery?

[Jackaroo]

I don't. I owned up to changing wet nappies in the bassinette on a flight, but am constantly dumbfounded by friends/relatives setting up a stall in my living room (or next to them on a seat in a coffee shop) and carry on merrily with pooey nappies, despite my offers of changing tables, wipes, sinks for hands etc etc.

Thsi was touched on briefly in the airline thread, but it really gets to me on a weekly basis, so am just wondering if IABVU, when usually I'm the most slovenly of people.

I don't think that living areas are quite the best place for changing dirty nappies for any but the tiniest of babies, unless told expressly otherwise by the room's owner.

Yeah sometimes on the living room floor.

Once in the boot of my car lol

Are we talking in your own house or in others and public?

Oh sorry do you mean in other peoples houses?

I did on my friends living room floor but I asked her where first.

In my own home I do it wherever I am, but I always ask when in others houses, and would always use a changing room in public if available.

I'll change wet nappies anywhere but pooey ones I think it's only polite to remove yourself from the general proceedings

First baby - always did in the bathroom, always on the floor (well, changing mat to be precise!) because it's safest - no chance of baby rolling/wriggling off. Washbasin on hand for wiping baby's bum (I always used plain water and cotton wool) and for hand washing straight after.

Second and third baby - at the time we had no downstairs loo, so in the interests of safety, with 3 little ones, I used to change wet nappies downstairs in the room where the kids played, and was my hands in the kitchen after. Dirty nappies, we'd all go upstairs to the bathroom and I'd hope for the two in nappies to at least coincide their poos for my convenience!!!

Wouldn't dream of using anywhere other than the bathroom in anyone else's house.

same as sparkle

Well, I suppose what people do in their own living rooms is up to them (and I'm sure more interesting things than changing nappies), but I suppose I mean in other people's houses and out in public.

Occasionally people ask if it's OK, but then proceed anyway.

E.g.:

Them: Do you mind if I change Porchetta here?
Me: Oh, do use Aardvark's changing table it will be much easier.
Them: Oh, no, this is fine...

Then why ask??????

In my own house, up to DS being one I used a changing table that was in our room. now tend to use the LR unless we have guests, then I generally take him upsatirs. At mu parenst I change hime downstairs but if anywhere else i would always ask.

tbh I would change a youngish baby anywhere. Up to 1 maybe. After that age I would go to another room.

At other people's houses I do what they do. My BF changes her son in the living room so I do too, but usually I'd take him to the bathroom. Wouldn't change him at the table of a cafe or anything. I might on a plane if the loo was inaccessible.

Pooey nappies always changed where there is access to a loo and a sink- which often leads to problems when out as so-called changing facilities often lack loos to flush the poo down. I use cloth nappies and do not want to carry poo around with me!
Occasionally people have said to me that I can change a dirty nappy in the living room/bedroom, which amazes me- like Jackaroo my standards are not that high but I don't want poo anywhere but the bathroom.

Wet nappies OTOH get changed anywhere in our house, but again only in the bathroom/changing facilities when out or at other people's houses.

My house/close friends house/relatives house - would change it wherever it was convenient. At home it was usually on the floor of the living room. I've never owned a changing table in my life. My friends usually did the same in their own homes (were CM's , so often had a little production line of dirty nappy changing across the floor!)

At the house of someone I didn't know that well, I'd ask where I could do it (and iirc would usually end up on a mat on someones bed, which always made me nervous in case of accidents) Outside, I'd use a baby changing room if there was one about, otherwise it'll be somewhere discreet (have done in in the pushchair, in the car, on my lap, on the floor in the corner)

Always in bathrooms in others houses.

As many views as there are people at the moment. I must go to bed, don't know why I started this now as it's nearly midnight, but anyway.

Oh, and just seen the bottom (arf) of Serenity's comment - I have no problem with discreet "just got to get on with it" stuff.

It's the nonchalant "oh this? this is just the prize product of my child" stuff out in 180 degree view that I find baffling.

DD is 6 monhtss and I change her in the lounge during the day and her nursery at night. I always ask where to change at other peoples houses.

I always ask the host where first and ensure that there is a mat or something to protect the carpet.

Sometimes I hold coffee mornings and would wince if friends proceeded to change their dc's dirty nappy on the carpet without a protector. I suppose I should have offered the mat before it was too late.

Re public changing, if the toilets are not accessible for some reason then we've resorted to changing ds/dd on our knees or on the floor somewhere reasonably private (yes I know public but private). However, I draw the line on dining tables.

I change my dc's nappies downstairs quite often, we have laminate floor though so it's not too risky

In other peoples houses I go upstairs to nursery / bathroom.

I think if you say "Oh I have a changing table upstairs, that might be easier" people take it as a suggestion about it being easier for them rather than a hint that you would prefer no nappies changed in your living room. So they say "No, it's ok, I'll just do it here" because they don't see it as any easier to walk all the way upstairs. If I wanted people to go upstairs to change a pooey nappy I'd say "Sorry, would you mind using the changing table in X's room? I am a bit funny about pooey nappies." I don't think many people would have a problem with that.

I have always asked where I could change DS in other peoples houses in the hope that they would offer bathroom floor and changing mat combination. Most did. Those without preschool children also offered an old towel to lie him on, on the floor.

The possibility of a small person wriggling off a changing mat and wiping their bum on the carpet was horrifying for me. Only bathroom floors and then pray that they were tiled/linoed.

As DS grew older in that period between being completely helpless but not potty trained I specifically required a loo so that he could have a wee/poo before I put the new nappy on anyway.

Interesting thread. I am expecting no. 3 after a few years of nappy free life, and to be honest I'm dreading the return to the whole business.

I have always been pretty revolted by people who change nappies (either wet or dirty) on the floor of my living room, (aren't you going to wash your hands????) but particularly since my LO's have moved on from that phase. I sincerely hope I didn't revolt someone when mine were little although I suspect I might have...

Because you get used to your own baby's poo (the revoltingness of it builds up slowly) you think that everyone else is as unworried about it as you are. I had a friend over a couple of months ago who merrily told me (over lunch) about how the consistency of her baby's poos were changing and how sad she was about it(?!) now that she was weaning her. Gross.

So please please don't change nappies in friends living rooms or elsewhere unless they have a child of a very similar age and are blase about it. Don't ask where you can change the baby just say "can I use your bathroom" and discreetly take the baby with you. Oh and please take the rubbish home with you.

My bathroom isn't big enough to change a nappy and a few friends that I have only have a shower room. I would always ask, as it is polite anyway. I always carried a travel mat and muslin with me too.

I wouldn't have wanted someone to just say can i use your bathroom at my last house as it was a rented house and the bathroom was awful, and very very cold. I would have wanted them to go somewhere nicer!!!

When DS1 & DS2 were little, I had a 1hr10min bus journey 4 times a day to get DD to school. So I was spending 4hrs40mins each day on a bus with a newborn baby and an 18mo toddler. Both in nappies. They both always seemed to poo the very minute the bus left the bus stop. I ended up learning to change them on my lap on the bus, as I figured that the 3 minutes it took me to change them was a lot less time for the other passangers to smell them than if I'd left them to go all the way to the school, and home again before reaching anywhere I could change them. Once the nappies were double wrapped in 2 nappy sacks, no-one could smell it. Plus if I'd have left them in a dirty nappy for nearlt 2 and a half hours, they would have got awful nappy rash. So answer this one then, more polite to leave them in a pooey nappy for 2 1/2 hrs, or to spend 3 mins changing them and getting rid of the smell??

In my house I did it wherever was convenient, but mostly that was the changing table.

In other people's houses if they don't have a changing table then I will only do it on the bathroom floor.

I once had a woman whip out a potty in the lounge room and proceed to get her son to do a big stinky poo while the rest of us were having coffee. No washing of hands (for either of them afterwards) and I had to make a pointed suggestion that she empty the damn thing in the toilet ASAP, as she seemed quite happy to continue with her coffee.

We had a potty in the bathroom as DS was toilet training as well, was grossed out, they have never been invited back!