Changing nappies on a plane???

[singsong]

Just suddenly crossed my mind as taking 10 month ds on a plane next week. Just worried now about him doing one of his 'bad' nappies where it all goes up his back! (sorry for the detail). How on earth do you arrange everything and keep a wriggly baby still in one of those plane toilets?

...some of the planes have pull down chnaging beds in the toilets. however most don't.

I always took a fold up nappy changing mat and used laid little one out on the galley floor.

The air stewards hated it , but there was no-wehere else with space.

you could try doing iut on your seat if its an aisle one.what time is your flight..will he be 'due one'?..or is he not that kinda chap.
is it long haul? must say i crossed my fingers and was ok...so my advice is purely academic!

There is usually a good amount of floor-space by the doors at the back. I've used those spaces for stretching (an am generally joined by a few other passengers), for changing nappies, and for giving cooped-up toddlers somewhere to jump about for a few supervised minutes.

Keep something wonderful (eg bunch of keys, your sunglasses) in reserve that only comes out for nappy changese to try and get him to stay still.

Short haul we have been on 2 planes with no facilies on the plane and the floor near the toilets on a changing mat is the only fair place to do it.
Otherwise do the nappy change in the toilet and then dress back at your seat. Take at least 2 changes of clothes on the plane.

I think you should bag yourselves an upgrade and then change him right where you are sitting
But annoying the cabin crew by having the temerity to bring a baby on board at all is a good place to start!

haha.... [really horrible snurk type laugh emoticon}
sorry, this just reminds me of a trip we went on when ds1 was 10 minths old. travelled round pakistan and bangladesh by plane, train and car. 99% of the time was absolutely fine. but,,, on one four hour flight ds had a really disgusting diarrhoea poo. all up his backside, and down into his trousers. ended up chucking the clothes he was wearing. and used almost half a pack of wipes, as well as lots of toilet tissue.
icht. was disgusting....
hope you dont have that happen to you.

Flight is only a few hours so could be lucky. beansontoast I can't predict ds, he eats all day and also poos all day

this thread reminds me of the first time we flew with dd (now 3) to the s.of france. I think it was buzz or easyjet, one of the budget airlines with no changing facilities. She had been constipated for a few days before we flew so the hv advised prunes, suffice to say 10 mins into the journey shall we say the constipation poblem was no longer a problem - I was forced to strip and wipe (literally from top to toe) the child on the floor at the front of the plane using up my entire supply of wipes and nappy sacks to deal with clothes etc. No-one was very happy but you just have to deal with the situations! Put it this way I was glad it was just a short flight and also remember, you'll (probably) never see these people again

Have to say I have never found a plane with changing facilities (but then we have always flown budget) but I have found one or two air stewards who complained if I changed baby on seat beside me (cue furtive changing whilst trying to look as innocent as possible). In the end we did changes by me sitting on toilet seat with mat on my lap and then baby on mat. Hopefully there is no turbulence.
Def. second idea of bringing change of clothes for babe and maybe an extra shirt for yourself - though if it is just a short flight, might not be necessary.
Good luck!

Friends of mine 'shared' a nappy experience recently with almost an entire planeload of passengers. There were triplets of about 21mths seated in front of my friends. There wasn't a squeak out of them the whole trip until the plane was preparing to land in New York, when the little boy announced "Doing a poo, mummy!" And what a poo!! Apparently, it was everywhere, all over him and his car seat. Once it was safe the nanny got him out to change him on the floor and omg, people were almost passing out with the pong as it circulated through the a/c system! Meanwhile, the little one was still cheerfully informing everyone, "Big poo, done a poo!" - not that anyone needed telling.

I'd opt for the lap option if he's small enough - if not travel mat on floor and go for it!!!! You'll never see the people again and everyone will have been through it at some time or other with theirs.....if they haven't then their life is less rich than yours will be!!
I even now take off my coat and change DS's nappy (2) on the floor - if you're quick enough and have a fab helper (DD 6)with wipes and bag at the ready then nobody will notice I'm sure.
Good luck!

I used a one of the folding mats on my knee while sitting on the loo (lid down). If you have a helper just keep the door open and they can pass the stuff.

The good thing about the toilets being small is that you can have everything to hand. Plus they are different looking enough to amuse child for at least the first change plus keys or other item as suggested good idea.

The thing about changing at seat is that there is less room on lap and nowhere really to perch bag and more chance of getting mess on other things.

Take a change for self as you know if its a bad one you always get it on your self.

Maybe start changing on your knee now to get child and you used to it, then he might not be so fidgety.

Is he standing or pulling himself up on furniture?

If so why don't you buy some pull up nappies and change him stood on your seat.

I have had to change dd like this since she was 8 months old.
It might be a bit easier then having to lay him down.

As a frequent flyer I am shocked how many people suggest changing babies in the seat. Yuck! I would never inflict that on fellow travellers even if I never see them again. Don't you realise that's what makes other flyers hate us mums hate us so much when we get on planes?

I have 4 kids. I change them in the tiny space. Have also perfected hygenic way of going to loo, washing hands and changing baby without fear of baby falling off shelf (obviously not on plane as I am not a contortionist...)

Please, get real. I'd hate someone to change a pooey baby near me. It's really not a big deal.

I wanted to say that as well swedishmum but I was worried about the back lash .

I've just been to my daughters dance show where some mums talked through all the pieces there kids weren't in and let there toddlers rattle up and down the seats.

Now my kids are 5 and 8 so I suppose my tollerance for this has quickly decreased .

I believe even easy jet has a ridiculously small horizontal piece of formica covered mdf that is supossed to be the "changing mat". I try to keep a small bag for nappies, wips and cream to avoid too much fidling with a big bag in such small space. You can also store that toiletry bag in the seat pocket so you don't have to ask other passengers to move so you can access your big travel bag.

Talking about diarrea, I was so annoyed with the staff of American once. DS got some tummy bug and was covered in the stuff, DH ran to the toilet with DS while I cleaned the seat and toke out more wipes etc. Then took the stuff to the toilet but the diarrea continue so I needed to go back to my seat to get more but then the disgraceful hostess put the trolley in the middle to add more drinkd cans and I asked if she would move it 2 seats down the aley so I could just get the things and she told me: "Haven't you realised he has just asked for a coke? " in a very rude manner so I said that I had an emergency and just needed access she told me I had to wait and then spent 5 MINUTES trying to find a coke in the trolley. Meanwhile DS had completely redecorated the bathroom, I cleaned as much as I could and placed the dirty clothes in a nappy bag, when the woman saw me with it in the hand she told me I couldn't bring "that" out of the toilet as I cwould contaminate the aircraft . She told me to wait while she get me a bag (?) however she went on in serving the drinks and having more chats and after ten minutes she came back and told me that I had to wash and disinfect the toilet and seats and that she will bring me a product to do it, at that point I exploded and told her to f* the aircraft, that I had a very ill baby (who had not stopped cruying in the background while all this was going on), and if she needed the bathroom desinfected she may well starts to work because after all... that was her job!. DS blacked out a few minutes after that, we were directed to the airport clinic while we still were in the plane, yet the woman never appologised but we were sent another hostess to watch we were behaving ourselves .

Long I now, but I haven't had any opportunity to talk about this "ordeal" before, sorry..

wips? wipes!

Stitch, chicagomum and suedonim thank you for sharing your reassuring experiences
Swedishmum, no I wouldn't be keen to attempt changing ds on the seat either.
Ds is far too big to manage on my knee now, used to do it that way when he was tiny though. I think it will be the pull-ups (funny you should mention that Newbarnsleygirl but he has just started pulling himself up on furniture over the past few days since I started this thread) and having daddy standing the other side of the toilet door to pass in the extra bits as needed.
Chandra what an awful experience. Did you complain to the airline. I know having clean facilities is important but I can't believe they wanted you to disinfect the toilet and that they put this as a higher priority than the health of a baby I hope your ds recovered quickly following the flight.

Never had a poo pronblem as lottie spends life constipated and they coem out like canon balls when she goes, but for we nappys D got up and stood in asile and I changed her on seats.

Oh god ...
I have come out in a cold sweat ...
2 weeks to go before my flight from NZ to UK ON MY OWN with the children ... (DS 5 and a half yrs, DD 16 months).
That is two back to back 12 hour flights laydeeez!
IIRC most long haul aircraft have a little table thing in the toilets at the back that fold down ... not big but enough to lay the baby/toddler on for a nappy change.
I, like swedishmum would NEVER change a baby on the seat. YUK. I wouldn't want to sit on a seat where a baby had been changed and so I wouldn't do that to someone else. They don't clean all the chairs between flights you know.

Ghosty - Singapore will look after you! They'll amuse one while you take the other to the loo.

I'm off to Oz on my own with DD 2.7 in 6 weeks too Ghosty.

I've done 2 flights with DD and gastroenteritis, so am not scared by on board poo crisis but am waking up screaming 'noooooooo' in the night at the prospect of keeping DD entertained for the duration.

If poss., use the toilet. If you have a helper outside the door, pass the baby out to the helper before you flush as some children (oK mine!) hate the sucky noise. Also, if you cry about how awful it is on the plane, you might get lucky like me and be given chocolates from first class to keep you busy.