Share your nappy-changing challenges with Pampers and you could win a £250 John Lewis voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

We’ve been asked by Pampers to find out about the biggest challenges Mumsnetters’ have faced when changing your DCs’ nappies.

Pampers say “Have you ever left somewhere because of a wet nappy incident or cancelled a trip over fears of changing facilities? If so, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, we recently asked 1000 mums about their nappy changing nightmares and a quarter told us they have been tempted to cancel a trip for fear of a lack of changing facilities, while 36% have admitted to heading for the exit due to wet nappy incident. Not only that but 71% said that finding somewhere to change baby when they were out and about was either quite or very stressful. At Pampers, we understand that all this stress and wet nappy drama means baby’s happiness, and therefore your own, is interrupted.

As a parent, you know that there’s truly nothing more rewarding than seeing your little one uninterruptedly playing and developing. But when disrupted by the irritation of wetness, or a lengthy nappy change, their experiences are disturbed. That’s where NEW Pampers Baby-Dry Pants come in. They are easy to change and provide up to 12 hours of dryness – no other pant is drier! Simply pull them on and then, when it’s time for a change, remove by tearing away at the sides. So now you can change your baby’s nappy whilst they’re standing, bringing an end to the wriggle-wrestles on the changing mat and making negotiating changing facilities much less of a chore! This means that you and baby can enjoy uninterrupted happiness playtime, night-time, anytime!”

So, what’s the biggest nappy changing challenge you’ve faced? What has been the most difficult changing time for you? If you could invent something to help with changing, what would it be?

Share your challenging changing stories on this thread – whether funny, stressful or downright nightmarish, Pampers would love to hear about it!

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 John Lewis Voucher!

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

The worst I remember was in the depths of the country on a long drive to stay with relations for Christmas. The boot and back seat were absolutely rammed with all our stuff, and there was an incident we now describe as the poo-nami. We had to unload EVERYTHING from the boot so we could lie him down and change the nappy plus his entire outfit. If in a future life I ever design a family car there's defintely going to be some kind of pop out changing table involved!

On the way to get babies 8 week immunisations dd had an enormous poonami and it was all over her clothes and carseat. Ds who is 3 looked at it and was sick down his front. We walked into the clinic covered in sick and poo, not a pretty sight or smell. I was so embarrassed and kept saying, "We're not normally this chaotic." Hoping everyone wasn't judging me.!

I was in London with my sister and nephew and were trying to find somewhere to change his pooey nappy. We ended up round the back of some offices near the top of an underground car park driveway. Just as we had removed the nappy an automated gate started coming down - we had to grab the baby, the pram, the changing bag and all our things and run out before we got shut in. When we had moved the gate opened again - I am pretty sure there was someone watching us on cctv who did it deliberately!

We had to change a then 3 month old DS on the freezing cold floor (early Feb) of an ancient church in Rome while he writhed around in his own poo.

He then proceeded to start licking the changing mat where it had been in contact with the floor... Luckily he is now 1, so he survived, although the walking has brought with it its own unique challenges in the nappy changing arena!

My worst was a nighttime poo change. There I was in my nightie, with ds's feet in one hand, wiping, when an enormous jet of poo squirted out, hit me in the midriff, and then dripped onto my bare feet. Lovely.

I've had two problems - when baby has very runny poop and it goes all up their backs etc , I prepared for a nappy change but not s complete wardrobe change.

The second was having to change DD1s nappy in a disabled toilet where they put the fold down changing table next to the hand dryer. DD1 was absolutely terrified when it kept turning on when I was changing her and I decided I'd never go back to that restaurant again.

Explosive poos, ones that reach the back of the neck. Only post children in nappies did I discover babygros can be pulled down over the shoulders.

And toddlers that wriggle. Changing a dirty nappy with a toddler on the roll was always a memorable moment.

We took it upon ourselves to drive from London to Aberdeen with a 5 month old baby, over the course of two days.
One low point was changing DS's pooey nappy in the back of our Ford Fiesta, on my lap, in the early hours of the morning, in a petrol station car park.
Once I'd done it though, I felt like such a MUM.

DD1 would get up and run off as soon as I removed her nappy (as a toddler, not a newborn).

I've had to change DS on my lap on the loo before. He's pretty wiggly so it was a challenge.

Our changing mat is on a Welsh dresser along with our dvd collection. The nappy change is a race to see if we can get it done before all the DVDs are on the floor.

I caught DD's poo in my hands once. Her nappy was off, she was about to go in the bath, when disaster struck... DH still likes to remind me of it, I still think catching it was better than getting it on the bathmat.

It was hardest work when DD was able to crawl. Once she had her nappy off she'd be off, sometimes before I'd had a chance to clean her up. Often leaving a smelly trail behind her!

I managed to flick poo all down my front last week. Leaky poo up her back, pulled her leggings down, they got caught under her bum and so I gave them a yank and they flicked out from under her, showering me in poo.

Worst ever change was in a pub, there were no changing facilities and the floor in the toilet was wet so I changed her in the corridor outside the toilets. A woman came by and told me I was disgusting. I was so embarrassed I told my dh we had to leave. It was my first dc and she was tiny and I was still in the anxious phase.

I'd like to see changing facilities in men's toilets as well as women's. I'd like to see better changing facilities for older children with special needs or disabilities so they don't need to be changed on the floor.

I'd also like to see far better biodegradable nappies that are similar cost to standard pampers. We used reusable nappies with my first but they leaked all of the time and so we are using disposables with the second. I'm disappointed that the industry isn't doing more to combat nappy/wipe waste.

I second the idea of more changing facilities in mens toilets as well as womens.

I think the worst changing experience I had was in a Cafe Rouge where there were no baby changing facilities at all. We had to make do, but it was hugely unsatisfactory. We've also changed nappies in cars more times than I can say. The most memorable being just at the point we had to hand the car back in for car hire and the car hire man was agitating for the keys and I was desperately trying to speed change my daughter.

Changing on the floors of tiny loos in restaurants/cafes is pretty grim. I don't mind changing on the floor personally if there is actual space to do so!

I had to change dd1 in the boot of my car in December. It was freezing and the car was jam packed due to driving home for Christmas, but the service station was so vile it was the only option!

Twice I had to change dd on the floor of the women's toilets. The first time in asda when she had done a big poo when I put her in the trolley, went to the toilet area only to find no baby change. Had to just change we on the floor as it was starting to leak. Apparently having the baby change half way across the store from where the actual toilets are and no signage apart from on the door of it was a good idea.

The second time was on the floor of a pub toilet. There was only one baby change and that was situated in the disabled toilet. It was occupied and someone else was also waiting for it.

Both times I have felt inadequate and silly and like people were judging me for changing my daughter on the floor in public.

Coming back from France with a large wriggly 19m old DD, I planned to change her at the last toilets before the gate only to find the all lights had gone off, and no time to find other facilities before boarding. Had to change her on the plane, balanced precariously on the tiny fold-down triangle of changing table directly above the toilet, keeping one hand on her at all times, no spare surface to put nappy, wipes etc and barely enough room for me and the changing bag to fit in. How I managed not to drop anything in the loo I'll never know!

Geneva airport with my then 8 week old daughter was a highlight. There was one of those pull-down changing tables where one end is slightly higher than the other, but according to the picture instructions the head is supposed to go at the marginally lower end.

In my 8 weeks of parenting I'd got wise to this, so I cunningly plonked dd down the "wrong" way round. This displeased the French speaking cleaner, who remonstrated with me en francais with much gesticulating to the pictures. This was done with such force I was persuaded to swap dd round.

Unfortunately, once the nappy was removed (under the watchful gaze of Madame), dd did an enormous wee, which merrily trickled its way down both sides of the changing table towards her head, soaking her clothes and her hair in the process. In my finest French I pointed out to Madame, "Et voila. Maintenant elle est covered en le pee pee from les pieds au tete! Par ce que le tete est below le bottom!!! Donc naturellement le pee pee will flow down au tete!"

Moments later dd let rip with a wonderful shower of shit, which she continued to produce every time I thought she'd finished and went near with a wipe.

All the while Madame watched on, evidently massively unimpressed with my efforts.

Oh, and the flight was on final call.

DD2 managed to produce a poonami that soaked through her vest, top and snowsuit. I opened the changing bag to find a grand total of three wet wipes left in the packet. Somehow I managed to clean up the poo that had spread from her shoulders to her feet with only those three wipes.
Then I looked at the spare clothes in the bag - a pair of leggings 2 sizes too small and one of DD1's tops.
I have learned to check the changing bag after DH has used it.

My worst was the first time I'd gone out with ds1 on my own, DP had just gone back to work and I was secretly so pleased with myself for getting out - we went to a cafe for a coffee then ds1 started to smell so I nipped into the baby change with him.
Stripped him off and it'd had exploded out of the nappy and more came as soon as I took his nappy off, ended up with him naked and caked, his clothes covered and me practically in tears up to my elbows in it! I can laugh...now he's nearly 5

DS is 3 so changing him is a total nightmare - he runs away, resists, fights back....if there was any way to make him still and compliant, life would be much easier!

Finding somewhere sufficiently clean to change the nappy of an autistic school aged child. Floors are often filthy and changing "benches" those flimsy pull down affairs. Out at the seaside, or whatever, we've resorted to changing him between cars, but that doesn't cut it in a busy town centre with no clean facilities.