what's the etiqueete for using someone else's changing stuff?

[mogwai]

...someone used my changing mat and wipes in the kitchen today and put her baby's bare (dirty) bottom onto it without wiping it down afterwards.

Was it rude of me to clean it and spray it with Dettol while she was still in the room?

euch!

rarely does it get p[ooed in. but my kids often have broken skin so have to extra careful with poo and bathwater. they get another wash under the shower if it happens.

Fisil, as a dettox person, yes, when my children (mainly ds3) pooed in the bath, I did empty the bath and then clean the place where he pooed with dettox. But I didn't bother if it was just a wee (just as well as he wee'd in every bath he took for about two years). Also - and get this for a confession - i do on occasions enjoy a good wee myself when showering. I figure the water will wash the wee away pretty well.

Oh and I sit down on public loos unless they look suspect and I have no other choice but to use them, in which case I hover, but don't find that easy. I agree, you are more likely to pick up germs from holding door handles or taps then you are from sitting on a public toilet seat. Sometimes I push doors open, deliberately not using the handle!

If people sat properly on public loo seats (they are called seats after all) then they wouldn't get wet in the first place. Sit down like a good girl and don't make a mess!

Honestly, the only parts of you in contact with the seat are your buttocks... and I don't know of any STIs that are buttock-transmissable.

The splash on loo seats is from the flush (ie clean water). If it's yellow then it's wee!

Misdee when DD was 11 months she fell down the stairs and ended up in the children's ward overnight for observation. By this time she had spent several hours in the A&E waiting room and was hungry. I managed to make her some toast in the ward kitchen and sat her down on the floor of the ward to eat it. There was genuinely nowhere else except the cot and I couldn't let her eat toast in there because of the crumbs. Eventually a nurse turned up with a high chair.

My Mum always taught me to hover but I can't be bothered and do the same as so eloquently described by QoQ. The only things that bother me about public toilets are DS holding on to the toilet seat (although he usually stands up now thankfully) and both kids insisting on playing with the sanitary disposal unit. DS knows that only ladies are supposed to touch it but still messes with it as does DD. Grrr.

I'm not obsessed by cleanliness, but do carry a little spray bottle which I top up with antibac liquid. plus a length of kitchen roll to lay ds1 on.

On two occasions, after using a communal change area, ds2 and I got a horrendous vomiting and you know what bug - hit us both in a few hours, depite me washing hands as usual etc.

Won't take any chances anymore and can't wait until ds2 is out of nappies!

Yes but then Puff you have the minefield of them sitting on public toilets and holding on to the seat etc. When DS was younger I used to lift him onto the toilet, then he got stroppy, now he can stand up which is the advantage of having boys.

I once saw someone, whilst out, get out some disinfenctant hand wipey stuff which they obviously carried around with them for such purposes - wipe their hands with that before bottle feeding her 6 month old ! why ?

I use a wet wipe if a mess is made - if its good enough for my baby's bum its good enough to clean a changing mat. I do cringe a bit tho when dd grips a public toilet seat with both hands to balance. Old habits i guess.

At a park once, i saw a mum constantly pick up her sons football to wipe it with a wet wipe and kept telling him the climbing frame had "germs on it. How many times do i have to tell you about germs?????" i did feel a bit sorry for the kid.

Bozza, I'm planning to buy child size surgical gloves for such eventualities

blimey what a lot of replies!

You grubby lot

Ho hum, call me a stickler for hygiene! I don't go in for antibac stuff usually...what with those crafty bugs building up resistances to everything, but I'm afraid it's dettox spray when rogue bottoms are using my changing mat. I think ~I got away with it - I was spraying the whole worktop at the time.

(Why the kitchen? I didn't banish her there! We have a kitchen/family room with a changing station)

flipping heck i can't believe how many replies this has generated. I can't remember the last time i used a changing mat. I change mine on my lap, thats what comes of having 4 kids i guess my friends all first time mums are so envious that i can change them so quickly and easily on my lap by the time they have taken theirs upstairs changed them come back down, my ds has been playing for 5 mins.

I have never had a baby changing station - whats the point?

Can i employ you to change my DS longway - he is an effing nightmare to change at the mo. HE rolls and wriggles and puts his hands and feetin the poo and grabs the dirty nappy and rolls on his tummy and arches his back and no amount of distraction helps. He is 7 mths ffs!

changing stations - I have one upstairs and one downstairs. I'm just no good at jiggling her on my lap while I wash and change her. And it keeps all the stuff nice and tidy cos I quite like tidy....that's the point of 'em

but those ones with baths concealed in them? Never seen how that would work really

what's a "rogue bottom" mogwai?

We had a changing station downstairs with a bath in it.

It was very good. I had twins and also my back was quite sore at the time so it was ideal as I didn't have to bend over on my knees to bath or change them

We also didn't have cental heating (were about to move house so didn't have it put inso it was a lot warmer downstairs for bathing!!

how did you fill it up Annie Bear? I have looked at these things in M&P and wondered how you go about getting the whole thing sorted out if it's in a nursery...just wondering

A rogue bottom is one that's dirty and doesn't belong to me

We had it downstairs in our livivng room!!

Ok, didn't go with the decor!! But saved me from bending down all the time!

Has a plug in it and I think we must have put some jugs of water in, then unplug and it had a tube so the water ran down it and into a bucket or whatever you held underneath!

Have to admit, left that for DH to do!!

I don't remember ever thinking it was too much hard work or fuss. It was so convienent and had storage space underneath.

Got mine from Toys R US , it was a lot cheaper. Not as nice a pattern as Mamas and Papas but did the job, then we sold it afterwards!

If its going to be in your nursery, you would just fill some jugs from the bathroom!