what to do in these situations?

[PeanutJuice]

37 weeks pregnant with my first and been daydreaming of some parenting scenarios. Can you let me know what you do in these situations?

Out in public and need the loo, how do you go in a cubicle with buggy in tow?

Paying for petrol, leave baby in locked car or bring them in with you?

toilet one...go to end cubicle, park buggy, leave door open...no one is likely to see you.

Some mother and baby rooms have toilets, some don't.

I have raised three children to 18 and never once seen a single person remove their child from the car to pay for petrol. Mind you I am very very good at Petrol Bingo...which means 999/1000 dh gets that joy. :o

I use mother and baby toilets or disabled. John Lewis have fab facilities! For petrol I go to tesco and pay at pump

Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy and motherhood!

Disabled toilet for buggy (most have baby change in there)

I don't drive but I would leave baby in car and pay if the queue was short. If it was long I would probably wait until the queue was shorter

Petrol - baby normally stays in the car. Why lug a baby over a petrol forecourt?

Loos - in most places now you have an accessible loo, which is both the disabled and the baby change, so you can go in there. Otherwise I'd use the pram to block me into the end loo in a queue. Or if it's a busy place with only two loos, say, I've asked someone nice a few back in the queue to keep an eye on the pram and then peed at the speed of light, but I did hear someone on here say that was putting too much pressure on the person watching...

I agree, John Lewis have good facilities. Also M&S, Debenhams & Mothercare.
I've only had to fill up on petrol a couple of times but I've either paid at the pump or waited until DP was with me so he could wait in car with the baby.
Such small tasks can become huge challenges with a baby!!!x

Lots of big shopping centres have family toilets or baby change facilities with toilets where you can fit a pram. You will get to know quickly where's good and where to avoid.

I always lock dc's in the car when paying for petrol or preferably pay at pump.

I didn't think about these things until ds 1 was well and truely here and I was out on my own for the first time so you're already winning!

1. Ask friends with babies the best places to pee, those parent and baby cubicles with loos in your local area. I plan my stroll around town near these. Same with cafes etc that are buggy/feeding friendly.
2. I tend to keep the car full. Top up when she's not in car or dh there too. No pay at pump around.

Baby change
Pay at pump

Usually use accessible / disabled toilet. I once left the pram outside the door while I weed and I could hear him the whole time and was lightening fast. I didn't like it though.

I don't buy petrol! My husband does it when he uses the car (more than I do). If I did I'd find out which petrol stations had pay at the pump. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the baby in the car and I wouldn't want to lug them into the petrol station either.

Good luck with the new baby :)

Hmm I always take the baby (now toddler) in when buying petrol. Pay at pump is easiest if baby is sleeping, otherwise I used to schlep the car seat in with me (bloody heavy though).

Toilet, same as many others - choose furthest cubicle from the door, leave door open and park pram in door. Ideally strategically time peeing to before you leave home and wait til your return though! Costa/Starbucks are good as normally just one large loo.

Depends on the area sometimes take baby and toddler into the cubical with me and leave the pram outside other times I leave in the pram. Very few baby change tables and no family bathrooms in places near me so for nappy changes I take my own change mat and use it in the sink area but change the kid standing (them) when possible. Have done it with the kid in the pram if really stuck.

Always leave them in the car to pay for petrol.

Thank you everyone, very useful!
Are there any other awkward situations you find or have found yourself in?
(So I can prepare!)

Not particularly awkward but it can be a bit of a struggle if you've ordered food/drink in a cafe and then have to take it and push the pram to your table. However, you get to know the places where the lovely staff help you out and carry the drink for you. I'm eternally grateful to these people!

Never order food that requires you use both hands to eat! I'm a big fan of penne pasta dishes (easily stabbed) and burgers so if you need to hold/feed/whatever the baby you can!

You'll find your own way before you know it

I'm in London and I found John Lewis and galleries/museums the best places for loo/cuppa/breastfeeding in public, especially in the early days - theses places are full of people doing the same and are very set up for them.
Stairs at stations - very rare I didn't have someone offer to help me.

Don't ever order soup with a bfing newborn, it is impossible to eat soup over their head if you suddenly need to feed them!

The more annoying thing than toilets is learning where all the lifts and ramps are, particularly for train stations that you might use regularly. So much of London (and the wider world) is inaccessible which you don't realise until it directly affects you.

I know some people will disagree but if it's quite I would use the disabled toilet. If it's busy though I wouldn't! Petrol I would leave them in the car ONLY if you can see them from the queue.

haha in many places the 'disabled' loo is the accessible loo for anyone who needs it (and often has the baby change unit in it). So someone with a newborn and a buggy is perfectly entitled to use it, I would have thought.

Worst thing that ever happens to me was DS throwing up spectacularly in his buggy I immediately got him out then realised we were both covers in sick and I had to push he buggy to the loo while he dripped puke on the floor and try to dodge people, it only happened once again but that time I left him in ran to the loo it was quicker all round. This also goes for home if the are in no danger of choking leave them in the sick until you get a towel or something it's actually quicker and easier than picking them up.

I moved to a new area when I was pregnant so had no idea where any public toilets were, let alone ones I could get a pram in. I spent some time on my maternity leave (before DD was born) wandering around checking things out.

With cafes etc, I have found a lovely one with comfy sofas & table service so just go there all the time which makes things a lot easier. It's worth paying extra for that IMO!

I'd recommend always carrying at least one change of clothes for your baby in their change bag, & probably a clean top for yourself!

Oh and if you ever get the train, ask a station-person to get the access-ramp for you & tell you which bit of the train had the buggy space. Some trains only have one carriage that has a designated space. I found this out the hard way

I use a sling so can't answer the buggy/toilet one. But I always use pay at the pump for petrol.

In my experience if you want to avoid an awkward moment always always always take your change bag with you everywhere. I made the mistake of thinking i was just nipping into docs for a quick appointment with DS & he was only changed 10 minutes before so we'd be okay without lugging a big change bag in too. WRONG! He shit everywhere right before the doctor called us in & I had nothing for changing him - I felt like an awful mother.