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Original poster

Help -- first flight with baby on Monday - what about the poo?!

14 replies

K7 · 27/01/2006 13:31

Taking our five-month-old on holiday for the first time on Monday and we have an 8.00am flight. Which means she's going to have her daily clear-out mid-flight. Where do you change babies on planes? The travel agent told me to do it on my lap. Sorry to sound lame but I'm not sure I've got enough pairs of hands to wipe a bottom, hold her feet, keep her head balanced, etc... How do people manage? Any tips gratefully received!

OP posts:

Lonelymum · 27/01/2006 13:32

We changed our 2 yo with difficulty in the toilets - there is a sort of table you can use. But this was a 747 going to Australia. Don't know about smaller planes.

HandbagAddiction · 27/01/2006 14:16

Changing a 5-month old will be easy as they'er still quite small. all plane loos have a baby change table in them - you just never notice it's there unless you've actually got a baby!

Just one tip from me - having been there myself. Ensure you have multiple changing of clothes with you for your baby and take a set with you into the loo. DD at 6 months did a clear out and due to how she had been resting / sleeping on me, the offending poo had gone everywhere...you know the type of thing...one of those that goes up the back and escapes around the legs! Ended up having to do a complete change and wash neck to toe!!!

1980cat · 27/01/2006 14:25

Had to changed Dd with during a easy jet flight. They had a very small changing table on the toilets but it wasn't too bad also had to change her on my knee in the toilets on another flight but it's easy enough. I'd have a pratice tonight

hornbag · 27/01/2006 14:28

You'll be fine with a 5 m baby. Its when they're an 18m wriggling bag of eels that its fun! Had that experience in a tiny toilet cubicle on a plane to tenerife. The fold down changing table leaves little room for you to squeeze in but you'll manage.

Dinosaur · 27/01/2006 14:31

My tip - get everything ready before you start - get the wipes out of the packet, have a nappy sack open and ready to drop messy wipes in.

Are you travelling alone or will you have anyone with you - if the latter, then they can hold something!

SoupDragon · 27/01/2006 15:29

Don't take a huge change bag! Have a small pouch with everything in.

lapsedrunner · 27/01/2006 15:53

If you are lucky enough to have a spare seat beside you you can easily use that for changing.

Original poster

K7 · 27/01/2006 16:35

Ooh thanks for all the tips. Feeling a bit more confident now. And yes, have a DH with me, although he's a little poo-shy. Points well made about small changing bag and ready-to-go accessories!

OP posts:

dizzy34 · 27/01/2006 23:39

Wish id have thought about the spare clothes for me as well as ds2. He has special needs and vommited getting on the flight (thomas cook) were brill, then he had diaroreah and covered me, the chair and a bit of the floor on the way to the toilet (he was 1.5yrs at the time), changed him and wiped myself and guess what..........i didnt learn............he did it again on the way home. Moral of the story? You bet....i now travel with a suit case for hand luggage LOL

JanH · 28/01/2006 00:09

The suitcase for handluggage sounds like an excellent idea...we flew from NY to SF with DD1 when she was 11 months old. She vomited in the neighbour's car on the way to JFK, so I changed her at the airport (where we discovered that DH had forgotten to bring her buggy ) into the single spare babygro in her nappy bag, and she continued to vomit, in a bodysuit, intermittently for the entire 5-hour flight. (She smiled brilliantly in between though and all the surrounding passengers thought she was fab!) And then when we landed in SF, all our luggage - including her clean clothes - went on to Honolulu. Oh it was such fun!

Take loads of changes of clothing and loads of wipes and loads of nappies and be ready for anything!!!

Nadene · 30/01/2006 08:07

I flew to Aus when mine was 7 weeks and am about to go again this week. I changed her in the skycot which definitely easier than using the change table in the loos. But I was sternly told by the hostesses not to use the skycot - to use the loos only. I guess this is because they don't want to offend other passengers with the smell. I didn't follow their rules because it was so easy to just use the skycot and she was only doing sweet smelling breastmilk poos anyway, but I guess I'll have to now as she does smelly ones. I would like anyone else's advice on whether they think it's rude to subject people to the smell?? I wouldn't think they would be that offended!

bobbybobbobbingalong · 30/01/2006 08:24

Having seen that they don't change the sheets in the skycots even if the passenger changes (for instance at Singapore if flight is going on to Sydney) then yes, I would think changing a nappy in a sky cot was a bit grim.

Definitely the toilets.

Carmenere · 30/01/2006 08:30

They would be offended Nadene, and rightly so. As mum's we have a far closer realtionship with poo than most people and while it may not bother some people there are plenty of people on a long-haul whose stomachs would be turned at a smell that may not bother you. I'm with the hostess on this one, sorry.

FairyMum · 30/01/2006 08:31

I normally change in the toilets, but have also changed at the back of plane if no passengers around, during the night etc. Just put the baby on the floor and changed super-quick.

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