Changing tables should be mandatory

So this weekend my cousin Kim came in town from Tampa. She was in town for a friend’s birthday party, and so she and her friends and her friend’s little one-year-old boy came over to our house for mimosas and then we all walked up the street to this little restaurant to have lunch. The restaurant is a nice place, though I must say it thinks it’s nicer than it is. For instance, they put white table cloths on all the tables, but the clientele is mostly made up of families from what I’ve seen, and the dress code is quite casual.

So we’re all sitting at the table and have just finished eating; Kim’s friend is telling a story. I have Bryleigh in my lap, and all of a sudden I feel it. Wetness. All over me. Without even thinking I blurt out something along the lines, “Oh my goodness!” When asked by my tablemates what the problem is, I reply, “Bryleigh’s had an accident. I don’t know if it’s pee or poop, but it’s all over both of us! Kim hands me a (cloth) napkin, which I shove under Bryleighboo’s bootie, then I grab the diaper bag and rush to the bathroom.

No changing table. It should be a law for all restaurants to have them! I have to pull out my little pad, which thankfully is very thick and cushioned, and balance Bryleigh on the counter, halfway in one sink. Thankfully, the wetness I felt was just pee. She’d pooped her diaper, and then peed in it, but because of the poop, the pee ran out. It still required an entire outfit change. My cousin came in as I was changing her and helped balance the baby while apologizing to the (thankfully sympathetic) other patrons who were trying to wash their hands after using the facilities.

Luckily the crisis was averted. We got Bryleighboo changed and happy again in no time! It was just the first time that I’d ever had one of those incidents in public. I’m sure it won’t be last either.

On a side note, I left the soiled napkin on the counter in the bathroom. Does that make me a bad person? It seemed wrong to throw it away or take it with me, but it seemed gross to take it back to the table, too. Yet I didn’t want to give it to the wait staff and tell them that I’d use it to stop pee and poop! I really think the best thing would have been to throw it away… Oh well. Next time I eat there, I will be eying the napkins suspiciously.