Diaper changing in the seat - Ick
#16
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Baloney the claim that the lavs are too small. A completely bogus claim. If you are inclined to take an infant in diapers on a plane, we all should assume you have mastered the changing routine and are considerate enough of others not to do in on a seat (unless you do it on your couch at home...which we all doubt).
'mastering' the routine of changing a diaper. It's difficult to do it on steady ground with a squirming toddler, forget a plane lav!
I am not saying the mom was right or wrong, but if she used a changing pad, cleaned the seat with wipes and properly secured the diaper, it shouldn't be an issue. People strip down to their undies and change at their seats, haven't they mastered the act??? Can't they change in the lav??
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jun 17, 2019 at 12:12 pm Reason: discuss the issues; not the poster(s)
#17
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#18
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#19
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#20
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I've changed my daughter in several airplane lavatories, it can be done but you do have to be very on the ball as, iirc, there are no straps to secure the kid to the table.
#21
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Oh sure, I have changed a lap infant's wet diaper on my lap in UA seats, both Y and J.
This is a low-odor maneuver; the hygiene and risks are similar to changing the infant in a restaurant's dining/seating area.
This maneuver requires steely-eyed-missile-man skills -- even if you do everything right, there are still about two seconds of a loose-fire-hose situation. We happen to know that our infant has had a 0% failure rate in that situation with one exception when he was 3 days old, but your mileage may vary! Proceed with caution! If you wouldn't change the infant on your couch in a pinch, you shouldn't be trying it on a plane.
I always, always, always prefer the changing table -- no matter how cramped. It's possible to clean that area with enough wipes, and no one is going to try to eat off of any surface in there. AFAIK every UA aircraft in service now has at least one lav with a changing table. This was not always the case -- not too long ago some 757s lacked a changing table, but I think they have been retrofitted or retired (see Changing an Infant on a UA 757).
But the lap change is a fallback plan when the pilot has deployed the seatbelt sign for a long time (2+ hours) and when there are baby comfort/health risks; or in the more rare case when every changing-table lav is inop.
I will not lap-change a poop. It takes too much open-butt time to clean up and apply diaper cream. I will let our lap infant sit in his own poop for hours on a plane. Sorry, kid; but now you know what I feel like when we're parked in the LAX penalty box for an hour...
This is a low-odor maneuver; the hygiene and risks are similar to changing the infant in a restaurant's dining/seating area.
This maneuver requires steely-eyed-missile-man skills -- even if you do everything right, there are still about two seconds of a loose-fire-hose situation. We happen to know that our infant has had a 0% failure rate in that situation with one exception when he was 3 days old, but your mileage may vary! Proceed with caution! If you wouldn't change the infant on your couch in a pinch, you shouldn't be trying it on a plane.
I always, always, always prefer the changing table -- no matter how cramped. It's possible to clean that area with enough wipes, and no one is going to try to eat off of any surface in there. AFAIK every UA aircraft in service now has at least one lav with a changing table. This was not always the case -- not too long ago some 757s lacked a changing table, but I think they have been retrofitted or retired (see Changing an Infant on a UA 757).
But the lap change is a fallback plan when the pilot has deployed the seatbelt sign for a long time (2+ hours) and when there are baby comfort/health risks; or in the more rare case when every changing-table lav is inop.
I will not lap-change a poop. It takes too much open-butt time to clean up and apply diaper cream. I will let our lap infant sit in his own poop for hours on a plane. Sorry, kid; but now you know what I feel like when we're parked in the LAX penalty box for an hour...
#23
Join Date: Aug 2009
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Changing a diaper that hasn't been pooped in at the seat, as long as there's an absorbent leakproof pad underneath the baby in case of an accident, isn't really that much of an issue. Lavatory changing tables are really quite small - I couldn't put my 20 month old toddler on one now, and she's fairly small for her age. (I don't really worry about her having an accident during a diaper change - she's learned to pee only when a diaper is on, apparently, even while sleeping. Next step, potty training.) We got lucky on our last international trip (just a couple of weeks ago) - she waited til the layover at Frankfurt to poop. I wasn't looking forward to trying a diaper change in the lav otherwise.
#24
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Fortunately the kids are out of diapers now, but I would venture to say I've changed over 1,000 diapers on a coach at home.
Three boys, 3+ years, at least a few diapers a day...easily over 1,000 diapers on a coach. I'm not hauling a kid upstairs into a room with a changing table just to change a diaper.
If you've never changed a diaper on a coach, I'm suspecting you've not changed a lot of diapers.
Three boys, 3+ years, at least a few diapers a day...easily over 1,000 diapers on a coach. I'm not hauling a kid upstairs into a room with a changing table just to change a diaper.
If you've never changed a diaper on a coach, I'm suspecting you've not changed a lot of diapers.
#25
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Baloney the claim that the lavs are too small. A completely bogus claim. If you are inclined to take an infant in diapers on a plane, we all should assume you have mastered the changing routine and are considerate enough of others not to do in on a seat (unless you do it on your couch at home...which we all doubt).
And that's the thing about parenting... you just do what you have to do at a certain point. You're not going to leave a kid sitting in their own urine / feces screaming and getting a diaper rash any longer than you really have to. If that means changing a kid on a sidewalk, on the floor, in the back of a car or on the seat of a plane, at a certain point you're just going to get on with it. Because the alternative is usually worse.
#26
Join Date: Sep 2009
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I'm going to suggest not filming some other person's child during a diaper change unless you want a visit from a not-so-friendly law enforcement agent who will be deeply interested in the contents of your phone and computer.
Last edited by HoustonConsultant; Jun 17, 2019 at 1:09 pm
#27
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Edit to add. Come to think about it, it's a public place, so I wonder what law I'd be breaking. I think a good chance the cop would ask the parent why they didn't take the kid somewhere private if they didn't want anyone to see.
Last edited by chavala; Jun 17, 2019 at 1:05 pm
#28
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Thanks for the advice, I'll take my chances. My guess is the parent will stop and take their poopy kid into the lav where it belongs. And then I'll delete it before the coppers come : )
Edit to add. Come to think about it, it's a public place, so I wonder what law I'd be breaking. I think a good chance the cop would ask the parent why they didn't take the kid somewhere private if they didn't want anyone to see.
Edit to add. Come to think about it, it's a public place, so I wonder what law I'd be breaking. I think a good chance the cop would ask the parent why they didn't take the kid somewhere private if they didn't want anyone to see.
#29
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I don't even like fully clothed, nice smelling kids near me LOL
#30
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You won't be dealing with Barney Fife in that instance.