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They used the food tray as a baby changing table - so I got the pilot involved

"We were seated next to the bathrooms, which had change tables - and where I went to vomit once the smell hit me."

Man throws tantrum over crying baby on plane

Another day, another story about a baby on a plane, and its entitled parents.

But one that's just hit the internet this week has been, ahem, resoundingly pooh-pooh'd.

That's because it involves a baby on a plane, its entitled parents... and multiple crappy nappies.

Nevertheless, it's a triumphant story of what women can achieve when placed in truly sh*tty situations.

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RELATED: I had to swap from my booked plane seat for a baby

"I had to throw up when the smell hit me"

Writing on Reddit, the woman, 28, asked if she'd been unreasonable to tell the baby's parents to "stop changing their baby in the middle of the plane, and inadvertently bringing it to the attention of the flight crew?"

That sentence is enough to get anyone to agree with her, but she then made the effort to explain how things transpired.

She was seated behind the couple and their infant. The baby cried a lot, so she didn't get sleep, but that wasn't her issue.

"I know flights are scary and stressful for infants and there was nothing anyone could do about that," she said.

Instead, the fellow passenger was utterly appalled by "the couple changing their baby's extremely stinky number-two diaper right in the middle of their seats — using the mum's food tray as a changing table."

The parents did this, even though their rows were apparently right by the restrooms.

"I confirmed [they] had baby-changing tables when I had to go back there to throw up after the smell hit me.

"I didn't say anything the first time, but the second time... I asked if they could please go use the plane bathroom instead of exposing everyone on the plane to the smell."

The mother was not happy.

You may be desensitized to the smell of your baby's poop but no one else is. Source: iStock
You may be desensitized to the smell of your baby's poop but no one else is. Source: iStock

RELATED: Dad’s hack to get out of changing a crappy nappy

"The pilot made an announcement"

"She went off on me and said I had no idea how stressful it is to travel with an infant, which is true — I don't have kids," the woman wrote.

The flight attendant who noticed the fracas then said the parents should, "only use the bathrooms to change their baby."

To confirm this, "a few minutes later the pilot made an announcement that all nappy changing needed to be done in the bathrooms."

Almost a thousand commenters expressed their thoughts on the post.

Some cited safety reasons: "A changing table [in a plane's restroom] has a buckle. Imagine if there was unexpected turbulence."

While some noted it was challenging to change a nappy in the tiny space, they admitted it was "necessary for the sake of the entire plane."

Hundreds also claimed the practice of using the tray table was unsanitary, with one saying, "Imagine being the next person in that seat, eating a snack, and the tray table hadn't been wiped down."

This story was published in May and updated in August 2023.

Originally published as They used the food tray as a baby changing table - so I got the pilot involved

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/they-used-the-food-tray-as-a-baby-changing-table-so-i-got-the-pilot-involved/news-story/86a4d6740501aead93c645465a72d64b