From the moment mom becomes pregnant, her perspective about everything changes. Big and small things that previously didn’t warrant a second though suddenly become important. And that includes trips to a public bathroom.
Oh yes, the public bathroom. For moms and moms to be, a source of contention. I’ve heard it said before that heels and other such uncomfortable things for women must have been designed by men, the same must hold true for the public bathroom. For you see, no woman who has ever used the facilities with a baby or child in tow would design public bathrooms with such fatal flaws as moms everywhere witness on an ongoing basis.
From those first signs of pregnancy, a new mom finds herself making more and more regular trips to the loo. At first, only the uncleanlines of said public bathrooms is an issue. But as pregnancy advances mom quickly learns that some stalls are just not designed for her growing bump. Normally slender in stature, I quickly learned that certain stalls were so short that I had to lean over the toilet to close the door behind me, and forget about it if I had to take my three year old with me!
The bathroom issue doesn’t go away when baby arrives either. No, it gets worse.
I am a firm believer that my baby goes with me everywhere, that includes out to dinner. And, as all moms will attest, it always seems that babies have the messiest diapers when you are far from home. Before I had kids I noticed changing tables here and there, but now that I am once again toting a baby who needs a changing table I am shocked when restaurants don’t accommodate moms with a changing table. This week I found myself in a messy situation at two different establishments only to discover no changing table.
The first, 4 Rivers, is a new, local, family-friendly restaurant where I counted no less than 10 babies under the age of one in the restaurant while we dinned. The second, Season 52, is a fancy restaurant, but not so fancy that they don’t provide highchairs. Plus Seasons 52 is a Darden restaurant. I should think changing tables would come standard in Darden restaurants.
So instead of a quick change in the bathroom, where did I find myself? In the parking lot, changing my baby in the back of my SUV.
At 4 Rivers I mentioned the changing table issue to two young busboys in hopes passing along the message to management. (After all it is handsdown the best BBQ joint in down, and a place we frequent.) The looks on their faces was priceless. A changing table was clearly something neither of them had considered in all their lives, and, yet in that moment, they both clearly understood its importance. Which brings me back to my first point…
Public bathrooms must be designed by men who have never taken small children into a public bathroom.
Disclosure – This is a featured post, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
…and for every establishment that does have a changing table keep in mind that there’s probably only an 80% (my made up stat based on anecdotal observation, not actual research) that they’ll also have a table in the men’s room for us dad’s.
At least some have the changing tables. Don’t remember ever having them when I had babies 27 and 34 years ago. 🙂
I agree with every word! As a pregnant mother with a little one in tow, I can’t believe how narrow some of these bathroom are. I rarely go at the supermarket but necessity called a couple of weeks ago. I could not fit into the stall and decided to go home and come back. I do think it was designed by a man…
I agree with the bathroom situation. As a mother of twins, we quickly made mental list of those establishments that do not provide a changing table or clean usable high chairs and simply cannot patronage them At this time.
I am almost amazed that changing tables are not required in bathroom stalls.