Today's link of the day: Airlines launch child-free zones
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Changing diapers on an airplane
If you're on an airplane for any length of time, you know you're
going to have to change a diaper. Our standard operating procedure is to
change baby a few minutes before boarding and then hopefully she can
hold out until we land (provided the flight is 3 hours or less).
However, we all know this isn't always possible.
I've heard different schools of thoughts on changing diapers on planes and there is a certain segment that advocates changing the baby right on the airplane seat. Let me stop you right there. Don't do it. The flight attendants won't like it (and one actually stopped me the first and only time I attempted it with a stern "No"), the other passengers will not like it, and finally, it's simply not sanitary. Remember, those planes are only cleaned in the most cursory manner between flights so any bacteria etc left behind from the diaper change will be traveling along with others long after you're gone.
The best place to change the baby is in the airplane restroom and most airlines do have changing tables. Trust me, I know it's not easy to move in one of those bathrooms, I know you have to wait in long lines sometimes because not all of the stalls on an airplane have changing tables, and I know those bathrooms are not always clean and sanitary. Still it's the most considerate and hygienic thing you can do for your fellow passengers and the best part is, you have no issues actually disposing of the diaper and wipes as the trash can is right there.
Here are some tips to make the diaper change on an airplane easier:
1. Undress baby as much as possible at your seat.
2. Take only what you need into the bathroom. Leave the diaper bag behind and carry a changing mat, a small pack of wipes, diaper rash cream, and a diaper into the bathroom. On one super long flight, we made individual baggies holding supplies for the diaper change, including disposable changing pads, and when it was time for the change, that's all we took into the bathroom. We then put the wipes, dirty diaper, and changing pad into the baggie and disposed of the whole thing right there.
3. If the wait is really long for the stall with the changing table, do ask the flight attendant if they can help you. We once waited 15 minutes and finally asked the flight attendant for help.They called up to First Class, found out the bathroom was empty, and promptly escorted us there for the diaper change.
4. Handle any change in wardrobe at your seat. It's easier and most people aren't going to get bent out of shape by seeing a baby receiving a wardrobe change.
While most airplanes do have a changing table that folds out from the wall just behind the toilet, there are a few models of aircraft that don't. United Airlines' 757-200 series of aircraft do NOT have changing tables in any of their bathrooms and it makes for a very, very uncomfortable diaper change. I put the cover down on the toilet and changed baby there. I hated every minute of it and so did she. I've flown that particular model of aircraft twice in the last two months and every time, I've dreaded the diaper change. In the most recent flight, a flight attendant offered me a blanket to lay over the toilet and while I didn't take her offer, in retrospect, I should have. I'm still looking for good ways around this situation, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!
I've heard different schools of thoughts on changing diapers on planes and there is a certain segment that advocates changing the baby right on the airplane seat. Let me stop you right there. Don't do it. The flight attendants won't like it (and one actually stopped me the first and only time I attempted it with a stern "No"), the other passengers will not like it, and finally, it's simply not sanitary. Remember, those planes are only cleaned in the most cursory manner between flights so any bacteria etc left behind from the diaper change will be traveling along with others long after you're gone.
The best place to change the baby is in the airplane restroom and most airlines do have changing tables. Trust me, I know it's not easy to move in one of those bathrooms, I know you have to wait in long lines sometimes because not all of the stalls on an airplane have changing tables, and I know those bathrooms are not always clean and sanitary. Still it's the most considerate and hygienic thing you can do for your fellow passengers and the best part is, you have no issues actually disposing of the diaper and wipes as the trash can is right there.
Here are some tips to make the diaper change on an airplane easier:
1. Undress baby as much as possible at your seat.
2. Take only what you need into the bathroom. Leave the diaper bag behind and carry a changing mat, a small pack of wipes, diaper rash cream, and a diaper into the bathroom. On one super long flight, we made individual baggies holding supplies for the diaper change, including disposable changing pads, and when it was time for the change, that's all we took into the bathroom. We then put the wipes, dirty diaper, and changing pad into the baggie and disposed of the whole thing right there.
3. If the wait is really long for the stall with the changing table, do ask the flight attendant if they can help you. We once waited 15 minutes and finally asked the flight attendant for help.They called up to First Class, found out the bathroom was empty, and promptly escorted us there for the diaper change.
4. Handle any change in wardrobe at your seat. It's easier and most people aren't going to get bent out of shape by seeing a baby receiving a wardrobe change.
While most airplanes do have a changing table that folds out from the wall just behind the toilet, there are a few models of aircraft that don't. United Airlines' 757-200 series of aircraft do NOT have changing tables in any of their bathrooms and it makes for a very, very uncomfortable diaper change. I put the cover down on the toilet and changed baby there. I hated every minute of it and so did she. I've flown that particular model of aircraft twice in the last two months and every time, I've dreaded the diaper change. In the most recent flight, a flight attendant offered me a blanket to lay over the toilet and while I didn't take her offer, in retrospect, I should have. I'm still looking for good ways around this situation, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Link of the Day
Apologies for the hiatus; I was actually traveling overseas for the last 3 weeks with the little one and of course I have gathered up plenty of information to share here. Still, as we're recovering from severe jet-lag, here's a story on absurd airline fees.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Link of the Day
If you have children (or even if you don't), at some point you'll be considering a trip to Orlando to visit Disney World. But what if Disney isn't your cup of tea? There are other things to do in Orlando as the article Going Beyond Disney in Orlando shows.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Link of the Day
The NY Times has some neat tips on how to save money on travel in 2013 and they aren't necessarily what you would expect. I especially like the tip on picking up the phone and talking to people. Recently, my husband and I booked a hotel overseas through a national travel website, but then learned we could get a cheaper rate by booking directly through the hotel. The cheaper rate even included breakfast! For other savings, check out For Traveling Savings in 2013, Go Retro.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
To grandmother's house we go
We took our first car trip to see the grandparents when baby was just shy of 8 weeks. Under normal circumstances, the drive takes about 3 hours, depending on whether we stop. We decided to take the 'usual' route as we are very aware of all the 'good' places to stop (i.e., clean bathrooms!). Traveling with a baby, however, introduced a new kink to the plan. Would the normally reliable clean bathroom stops also have changing tables? And while we're at it, how does one change a baby's diaper on one of those fold-out changing tables?
The question seems silly now in retrospect; we've changed diapers all over the world and in so many different conditions that our initial worry about how/where to change diapers on a fairly straightforward car trip seems almost nonsensical. It's just as the time we were first time parents with this teeny tiny baby and the logistics of moving from point A to point B were daunting. How do you feed a baby in a moving car if you're breast feeding? Do you stop? Do you take baby out of carseat and keep driving? Do you give a bottle even though most breastfeeding advice at that age say no, no, no?
Packing for this three hour trip took us two days. TWO DAYS. I admit to over-packing on baby's clothes (seriously, at this age the clothes are SO cute and you just want to take EVERYTHING), but everything else seems (even today) to have been reasonable for that age. Among other things, we took my Medela Pump in Style, a sound machine, and the Graco SnugRider Elite. Now these things might not seem like big items, but little things like this quickly add up and we were trying to fit all of it into the back seat of a Prius. Back before baby, the Prius seemed like an enormous upgrade from my Corolla, but we were starting to realize very quickly that babies travel with a lot of stuff and there was a reason why people upsized their vehicles big time once the kids came along.
Our trip went smoothly, almost too smoothly. We left around naptime and ignored the breastfeeding advice and gave the baby a bottle in the car and she felt promptly asleep and then proceeded to sleep all the way to the grandparents' place. The issue of diaper changes on the road was pushed to a future road trip as seriously, who wants to wake a sleeping baby? If only future trips turned out to be as easy and peaceful as this one was.
The good news is that a year after we made that trip, we've got our packing down from two days to two hours. Travel enough and you develop a rhythm or as the tired adage goes, practice makes perfect. You figure out what you really need and what you can do without and what you can improvise on the road; honestly, the lighter you can travel, the easier and better it is. The good news is babies do need less stuff to travel with as they get older; it's just that the stuff they need gets bigger (making the Prius seem even smaller!). Also, as my husband is fond of pointing out, most places we go to have stores and we can always buy the thing we forgot. Because of these factors, we've managed to whittle down on the amount of stuff we need to take. I'll talk about some of our makeshift solutions in another post, but there's one problem we haven't solved: I still overpack when it comes to baby's wardrobe.
The question seems silly now in retrospect; we've changed diapers all over the world and in so many different conditions that our initial worry about how/where to change diapers on a fairly straightforward car trip seems almost nonsensical. It's just as the time we were first time parents with this teeny tiny baby and the logistics of moving from point A to point B were daunting. How do you feed a baby in a moving car if you're breast feeding? Do you stop? Do you take baby out of carseat and keep driving? Do you give a bottle even though most breastfeeding advice at that age say no, no, no?
Packing for this three hour trip took us two days. TWO DAYS. I admit to over-packing on baby's clothes (seriously, at this age the clothes are SO cute and you just want to take EVERYTHING), but everything else seems (even today) to have been reasonable for that age. Among other things, we took my Medela Pump in Style, a sound machine, and the Graco SnugRider Elite. Now these things might not seem like big items, but little things like this quickly add up and we were trying to fit all of it into the back seat of a Prius. Back before baby, the Prius seemed like an enormous upgrade from my Corolla, but we were starting to realize very quickly that babies travel with a lot of stuff and there was a reason why people upsized their vehicles big time once the kids came along.
Our trip went smoothly, almost too smoothly. We left around naptime and ignored the breastfeeding advice and gave the baby a bottle in the car and she felt promptly asleep and then proceeded to sleep all the way to the grandparents' place. The issue of diaper changes on the road was pushed to a future road trip as seriously, who wants to wake a sleeping baby? If only future trips turned out to be as easy and peaceful as this one was.
The good news is that a year after we made that trip, we've got our packing down from two days to two hours. Travel enough and you develop a rhythm or as the tired adage goes, practice makes perfect. You figure out what you really need and what you can do without and what you can improvise on the road; honestly, the lighter you can travel, the easier and better it is. The good news is babies do need less stuff to travel with as they get older; it's just that the stuff they need gets bigger (making the Prius seem even smaller!). Also, as my husband is fond of pointing out, most places we go to have stores and we can always buy the thing we forgot. Because of these factors, we've managed to whittle down on the amount of stuff we need to take. I'll talk about some of our makeshift solutions in another post, but there's one problem we haven't solved: I still overpack when it comes to baby's wardrobe.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Traveling tips for an easier flight
This article offers 35 tips for travelers to make taking to the friendly skies a bit more friendly and easy. Only the first few tips apply to traveling with children, but there are some super good and creative ideas, submitted by 'real' travelers. I especially like the 'airline tent' idea. I'm going to have to try that one out next time we fly!
Read 35 Tips for a Successful Flight.
Read 35 Tips for a Successful Flight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)