Everything is NOT fair game when changing your baby!
 

On vacation seems like any flat surface is fair game for changing a baby. I have seen babies changed in all kinds of places, from the conveyor belt at the supermarket to the diving board to the hood of a car and it's making me sick. I go on vacation for beauty and romance, not to see a dirty naked baby spreadeagled next to the buffet table.<BR><BR>What happened to manners in this country? Take your baby into the bathroom and change it where it's supposed to be changed - on the counter next to the sink - and stop ruining my vacation!

LOL~ very funny and sad but true!

<BR><BR>Oh, boy. And it's off to the races . . .

What is totally appalling are mothers who leave smelly diapers anywhere they like! Who else has gone to the ladies room in a very nice restaurant where some mom has left the baby's disgusting diaper in the trash?

I have to laugh, once while on a plane trip I got up and left my first class seat, FF at that time, When I returned there was a woman changing her baby on MY seat. A nasty stinky poopy diaper. When I asked what she was thinking of, she said that the attendant said she could go "up front" to change the diaper. I explained that the attendant probably mean the BATHROOM upfront! Bless her heart she was mortified.

Isn't that where you're supposed to leave the dirty diaper...in a trash? Are you so whiny Maxie that now, you're complaining about the contents of a trash? If you want something to whine about, why don't you look into your sad, pathetic life.

Was in an upscale Japanese place, and a couple decided to change their baby girl at the table just before they were about to leave. The baby decided to pee and it was going all over the dad's trousers, and on the floor even though the parents tried to "catch it" with their diaper.<BR><BR>A patron on their way out, kindly suggested it might be easier for one of them to take the baby and do it in the restroom. The mom said it took the 2 of them to change her, and since the baby squirms around when they change her, the baby would likely hit her head on the counter or sink.<BR><BR>My thoughts? Maybe if she whacks her head once, she'll learn to be still the next time!<BR><BR>Good grief. We had finished our meal too (by then, who hadn't?!), but it was still disgusting to see.

Thank goodness my children are past that age! It was frustrating then, however, to go somewhere and have no place to change a diaper. FedUp, unfortunately, there is usually not enough room by the sink. McDonald's was the worst! Thank goodness they've wised up and installed baby changing stations in most women's restrooms. My husband still laughs about his flight with our daughter when she was 9 months old. Diaper changing stations in the men's room at the Atlanta airport were unheard of 12 years ago. He had to resort to laying her on the floor of the waiting area.

Of course one should put the diaper in the trash in the bathroom! Where else do you suggest? There are other fun things in that trashcan too, you know. Are you upset when someone stinks up the bathroom before you go to use it? <BR><BR>I recently saw a mother changing her baby on a chaise lounge chair by the pool in an upscale resort. While I didn't think it was entirely appropriate, she was discreet. Her problem was that she was also supervising two older children in the pool and would have had to drag the whole lot of them to the bathroom with her to change that diaper. <BR><BR>Personally, I'm more offended when grown men spit.

In the first place, diaper changing is a way of life. While it certainly has no place on the table in a restaurant (I don't care how upscale or downscale), there's nothing wrong with bathrooms (and yes, the diapers belong in the trash) or outdoors if discreetly done.<BR><BR>In the second place, with the exception of S's husband on his trip to Atlanta, it seems that it's mostly women who are relegated to the fine art of diaper changing. (And no one speaks of changing stations in the MEN'S room at McDonalds.) So I propose that all men's rooms be equiped with changing stations, all changing stations taken out of ladies' rooms, and all dads required to carry Coach style executive diaper bags. Bet you'd see a quick change in attitudes!

Oh God, I HATE spitting. There is nothing more disgusted then seeing a grown man spit. Yuk

I hate spitting too! and God knows what germs are being sprayed around every time it happens!<BR>My dog gets really interested when a man spits while we are walking on the sidewalk, of course,the human spits on the sidewalk, while the dog pees in the street.

Here's a "new" concept, especially for the upscale restaurant problem - if you can afford the meal, you can surely afford a babysitter for a few hours! Leave the tiny tots at home where they, you, and your fellow diners will be happier! In relation to this, my pet peeve, childwise, is the strollers the size of a 1960 Buick that people insist on SLOWLY ambling behind in the most crowded aisle or public area they can find, and then THEY'RE annoyed when you step in front of them to get around. Again - GET A BABYSITTER!!!!!

hehe

adi, you got that right! I am sick and tired of strollers clogging up the aisles with oblivious parents wandering off. Screaming kids do not belong on airplanes or in nice restaurants, and I don't give a damn who gets offended by that! YOUR KIDS DO NOT CHARM EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET. Got that, parents? <BR><BR>How bout this one: I flew home from Paris a month ago on Air France, coach class. Sitting in the seat directly in front of me was a very LARGE woman with a large toddler, who did not have his own seat. This kid looked to be like 2-1/2, and he was BIG, and this woman obviously was too cheap to spend the $ to get him his own seat. The flight attendants were too wimpy to challenge her about the kid being in her lap for the whole flight, too. Well, it was bad enough that the kid constantly squirmed, yelled, kicked and fussed for the 5+ hours of the flight, but to add to the annoyance and ratchet the horror up a bit, he wasn't potty trained yet (and was definitely due for it). You guessed it -- this idiot woman changed the kid (who SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER) in her seat, in fact she changed him in her lap. That was a flight from hell. I will not sit next to toddlers or babies if it can be avoided on long flights, no damn way.

I too have a pet peeve about strollers. I'm glad it's not just me. I hate trying to rush down the busy sidewalks of Chicago going to work when someone is just ambling along behind a baby stroller and I can't get by. DOUBLE STROLLERS ARE THE WORST! IMHO these should be oultawed for sure. They take up the ENTIRE sidewalk. Not only can you not pass one of these, sometimes you can't even get by when your coming the other way. Think about it this way, would you walk slowly 2 or 3 people wide down the sidewalk so people couldn't get by? No so why do it with a stroller.

Ang - <BR><BR>You've told us that you work downtown and that you never walk more than 5-6 blocks - anywhere. I'm a bit puzzled by your specific complaint - I've been working downtown for many years and I rarely (if ever) see people with strollers while walking from the El to the office during rush hours - and I've worked at several different places in the downtown area.

hey Ang - I hear you! I too work in Chicago. The strollers are bad, plus the single walker who has to walk down the middle of the sidewalk, but can't seem to walk in a straight line so you never know which side to pass. But my favorite are the spitters. Twice now on my way to Union Station have been walking behind a man, trying to pass and he decides to turn his head and hack a good one onto the sidewalk, barely missing hitting me. What are they thinking???!!! That they are the only ones walking there? What was even worse was one was a gentleman in a nice three piece suit with a briefcase. Guess the window dressing means nothing.

Hmmm we must work in different areas. I work near Marshall Fields on State Street. That area is definitely more flooded with tourists than the south or west loop. Lots of places to look at in that area. Its not just in rush hour either. I walk back and forth to the Daley Center and other attorneys offices several times a day for court or depositions and I'm usually in quite a hurry. <BR><BR>Nothing wrong with strollers, its just the new "double-wides" that get me. Usually people are courteous and move to the side but with the double-wides its hard to do.

Here's one that ought to get people screaming and flaming me. Until McDonald's started putting changing platforms in the bathrooms, I would change my child's diapers on the table in the dining room. Here was a restaurant that catered to children and provided NO place to tend to their needs. (No counter in the bathroom) Since my children have outgrown the need for diapers, they have started equipping restrooms with changing facilities.<BR><BR>The neatest thing I've seen is a little fold-down seat that you can strap your toddler into in the stall while the mother uses the toilet.

To Everyone - <BR><BR>PLEASE do not take Ang's self-involved, self-important postings re: the minutiae of her daily life as a reflection of everyone in her profession. Her comments are almost always lengthy detailed commentaries about her day to day life in Chicago, and rarely, if ever, about travel - at least outside of this city.

This thread cracks me up. I am sure there are many harried, stressed moms out there who will be offended but I have to agree that BABIES have no place in nicer restaurants, regardless of the diaper issue. There are plenty of family friendly eateries out there. Yes I understand that the food maybe mediocre, but hey you decided to have a baby. Agree too that if you can afford a meal at an upscale restaurant then you can afford a sitter. There used to be a restaurant in St. Louis that had printed on their menus “we prefer not to serve children under 12”. If you were silly enough to still eat there you were seated in the basement!<BR><BR>Now the stroller issue. I am GLAD they are out getting some exercise, what with all the fat ppl on airline threads, seems like a good idea to be walking off those extra maternity pounds.

My favorite part about men who spit in public is THAT NOISE that precedes the spitting -- What is that?!? <BR><BR>Yes, baby strollers are annoying...and so too are those pesky people in wheelchairs -- they take up so much space on the sidewalks and go so slowly when I am in a hurry. Why don't they just stay home and hire someone to go out and do their shopping??

Ang - <BR><BR>The other poster is right -no one in their right mind gives a rat's rear about our schlepping back and forth to the Daley Center or to deps. Just stop - you sound awful.

Why are all these lawyers in Chicago on the fodors travel board clicking on a thread about diaper changing?

Look at the way these snotball Chicago lawyers rip each other on this board. Whatsa matter, did Ang steal your latest slip-on-a-banana peel injury case from you? Or did she just slap your sweaty hand away when you tried to grope her in the office elevator?<BR><BR>So glad I don't live anywhere near Chicago to need the sub-standard legal services of this crowd.

First, it's clear you child-haters out there are just unhappy about your lot in life. Try IVF or adoption or something. We were all in diapers once.<BR><BR>Second, to the lady who changed her kid on the McDonald's table--that's the least of our problems in those stanky joints.

It's been a while since that happened. But McD's seems to have gotten with the program and now provides changing facilities for their little customers (for the most part). (Actually I try to avoid their cardboard burgers whenever possible. Now that my children are older, if they are hungry, McD's is the last place they want to go!)

To waaah! - Yes, we were all in diapers once, but I'll bet none of us were changed on an unoccupied craps table in Las Vegas.

were you?

waah, there is a big difference between people who do not like children and people who do not like diapers. I have really never heard any parent, no matter how much they love their child, say that they love their child's diapers or the smell of the diapers (maybe some do, but I have not met them).

While you accuse parents of all these, let me just remind you that there are still parents like me who have stopped going to nice restaurants since I had my baby two years ago because I know I wouldn't be able to eat anyway, who now goes to family friendly restaurants and if my baby throws a tantrum, I take her out and would only come back in after she's settled down, and who would only change a dirty diaper in the bathroom or in my car. Yes, there are a lot of things that I couln't do now that I used to be able to do before but that's part of being a parent. Not all of us wants to incovenience others.

Do you people like anyone??? Complaining about strollers?, why dont you start bashing the elderly using canes and walkers. Hope you never get old.<BR><BR>Susan

Susan, Right on! And hope you were never a baby either!

They should call this site BITCH.COM

how about the people who sit their baby's butt on the food counter surface at fast food restaurants while they dig in their purses. TOTALLY DISCUSSTING.

Wow! I guess I should stop changing my Depends in the grocery store.

I am not really of fan of women changing diapers on a McDonald table or any restaurant table - other people will be using them during the day. It's like when women use the restroom, they pee all over the seat and leave it on the lid. By the way, many people w/o canes or strollers walk 3 in a row on sidewalks and you can't get by them either. Lack of manners seems to be a societal thing, not whether you have children or not.

Stephanie, you're just as disgusting.

I am not really a fan of having to sit in the same restaurant with Stephanie.She smells like she is wearing old diapers.She has a tan.She hates fat people.She hates NY.She hates NYers.