An Impromptu Nappy Change!

Beware, rant alert!  I wear nappies, I know that sometimes when you want it changed, you want it changed NOW, if not sooner.  But saying that, I still believe there is a time and a place.

I have had my nappy changed on the grass in a park, in the boot of a car, and even in my pram when we were in France and there was no baby-change anywhere to be seen.  Even then, Mummy made sure everything was covered and no-one would possibly have known what we were doing.  These nappy changes happen as a last resort, when there is no other option because there is no formal changing area to hand.

Mummy and Daddy are prepared for such situations with a change mat, so I don’t need to lie on anything dirty or sharp, clean nappies, nappy bags, baby wipes, and hand gel, so once I’m clean they can make sure their hands are too.  So many nasty things are passed on through people not having clean hands after coming into contact with the ‘nappy area.’

So, here’s the gross bit.  We were out to lunch on Sunday, happily tucking in to our food, and a family came and sat down beside us.  There were several generations, including a baby boy a little bit younger than me – less than a year, I’d guess.  You’ve probably worked out where this is going by now . . .

Yes, the woman changed the baby’s nappy AT THE TABLE!  Gross, gross, gross!  She did not use any wipes and she did not use anything to wash her hands!  A lady at the table the other side asked her not to do that in the restaurant, but she just replied, “It’s only wet.”  Phew, ‘cos there was I thinking it was disgusting and not washing your hands after going to the toilet was a pretty anti-social and germ-spready kind of thing to do.  How does handling a nappy, albeit one that doesn’t have any poo in it, differ in any way?

As I said, I know sometimes there are no facilities, in which case you might need to do it in a quiet corner, or outside, but not on the table!  Where some unsuspecting person would sit down later on and eat their own lunch!  But, I know that this place does have perfectly good changing facilities, with soap and somewhere to hygienically leave the dirty nappy.

Are we just obsessively prudish and clean freaks, or is that totally unacceptable?

CB