This Mom Changed a Diaper on Someone's Living Room Floor & People Are Slamming Her
Polina Strelkova/iStockWhen you become a parent, changing diapers becomes second nature. For these experienced pros, wiping toddler butts and cleaning up blowouts is nothing, but these stink bombs can still catch non-parents off guard. That's why one anonymous user is ranting about her mom friend and how she handled the cleanup situation. And as it turns out, this actually inspired quite a bit of debate among fellow moms who all have their own takes on how things played out.
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Her friend had the nerve to change her kid's diaper in front of her - mid-sentence.
This woman starts her post with the disclaimer that she isn't a parent so she might be more sensitive to seeing someone else's poop. However, she's spent the weekend annoyed since her friend from college came over with her toddler. "Mid-pleasant catch-up it's apparent 19-month-old needs nappy changing and it's definitely solids," the anonymous user shared on Netmums. "Friend proceeds not to break conversation but whip out a very small changing mat and some wipes, etc., lay it all on the carpet and introduce fresh fecal matter into my front room."
She didn't say anything at the time, but this lady was seriously repulsed.
She explained that she was confused at first as to what was happening and tried not to be disgusted but her digestive system now has an "overpowering scent of poo accompanying it."
"I am very supportive of breastfeeding in public, etc., that just hasn't got any argument against it, why should anyone be made to eat their lunch in a toilet," she wrote. "But in the same vein — why is it acceptable to change a nappy in a living room rather than a perfectly well-equipped bathroom or even ANY other room that we are not drinking tea in?"
As a health care professional, she doesn't consider herself squeamish when it comes to people's bodily fluids, but this mom's actions came across as seriously rude to her. "I get that you are probably completely immune to your own child's effluence, but to expect others to find it as delightful seems unreasonable," she wrote.
Was she being unreasonable for still retching about the diaper change days later? Of course, people across the Internet had strong opinions about "Diapergate" and the etiquette of changing your kid's diaper in someone's home.
Some are taking her side and wouldn't change a diaper without asking the hostess first.
"As a mom, I would never do this without asking the person there where to change the baby, some friends say go ahead and change it there, others will direct me to where I can change them," one user wrote. "So I don't blame you for not being happy about changing a dirty nappy in your living room."
"I don't think it's particularly nice to have someone change a smelly nappy in the same room as you're sat having a drink/eating (even if they are happy to do it at home, that's their own choice!)," another person wrote. "The smell does have a tendency of lingering so it's only polite to ask if there's somewhere else it can be done."
"In someone else's house, especially someone who doesn't have young children, who I haven't seen for a while, I would definitely ask where to change her nappy," one user added. "It's just common courtesy."
Others think this is a non-issue and she's making a big deal over absolutely nothing.
"Changing nappies is just something that you do without even thinking about," one user pointed out.
"Whilst it's not something I would do at a friend's house, I do think you need to get a grip. You are still so upset hours later that you have decided to write a very long rambly rant about it," another person commented. "It's a baby's bum being changed, is it really that offensive?"
"OK I'm the rude friend that just changes my baby's bum," one mom admitted. "I never thought about it being 'offensive' to anyone, I mean would you want to sit in your own s--- for longer than necessary?"
Others take bigger issue with the fact that she brought breastfeeding into this ...
"Word of advice: breastfeeding and pooing are not the same thing and if you compare the two with any of your breastfeeding friends in real life, you might find yourself short of a friend," a user commented. "It's quite an offensive thing to do."
"Do you relate everything that's 'a bit off' to breastfeeding?" another asked.
More from CafeMom: Diapers: Everything Moms Need To Know
People, let's just try to remember that everyone poops – but some may be more sensitive to it than others.
"I've been that friend. Almost all my mates have little ones by now and we all just change wherever we are, no drama," another user admitted. "However I went to a pal's house who didn't, started to change my baby on the floor in the living room without even stopping conversation. Didn't even think about what I was doing, it was just automatic.
"She didn't say anything to me at the time but I overheard her telling her bf how disgusting it was later," she continued. "And I realized, yeah fair enough actually if that's not your life! So now I always ask, but it took me overhearing that to actually think about it."
