The Olive Garden, Langley

April from Maple Ridge had this to say about the Olive Garden in Langley:

The Olive Garden in Langley has a change table in their washroom as well as neat little sling holders for carseats!!  They provided a parking spot for my stroller and my daughter was able to chill in her car seat at our table (at table height) while my mom and I enjoyed lunch.

Thanks April. Keep them coming!

The Bay, Coquitlam Center

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Bay at Coquitlam Centre has a gender neutral family room located on the second floor. It wasn't the cleanest washroom I've ever seen but there was ample room to change my son not only on the wall hanging change table but also on the counter tops. There was also a large enough washroom for mom and baby to fit into with a stroller or mom and a toddler who needs to be watched.

So I'm back at it...

After visiting a Delta Suites hotel in Vancouver and finding out to my dismay that they didn't have ONE single washroom with a change table I decided that I had to share it and re-start my blog. I find it completely ridiculous that a large hotel chain like the Delta would not have a place to change a baby. Not only did the front desk associate not seem at all concerned, she proceeded to recommend that I walk an extra five blocks to a competing hotel that may or may not have a change table. Ridiculous if you ask me!

My other review is of Cat's Social House on Granville Island. Now I know this restaurant doesn't scream baby friendly and isn't the normal haunt of families but you would think that being located on a tourist meca like the island might make them want to put in a change table. I was left to try to change my son in a very small crevice between two sinks, his poor little head repeatedly bumping into the soap dispenser.

Better late than never..

So I've fallen a bit behind on updating my blog. It's been a busy few weeks. So to get you up to date here are a few more recommendations/criticisms:

Earls - Port Coquitlam

Very accomodating in terms of being stroller friendly and highchair friendly but I was shocked at the change table situation. I took my son to the washroom to change him and after a quick look didn't see a change table out in the open. I then assumed it would be in the handicapped washroon which was occupied so I waited. A few minutes later, a staff member emerged and when asked if there was a change table in that stall she said no. Upon finding this out I just changed my son by the sinks which was made more difficult by the fact that there really wasn't that much room. Upon going back to the washroom later I noticed that there was in fact a table in the handicapped stall but it wasn't a change table. It was an actual TABLE!! No edges for security, no straps. Just a plain old table. Not very safe if you ask me and a sorry excuse for a change table.

Blenz - Pitt Meadows

I've ranted about Blenz before and I'll do it again. No highchairs, no change table. The highchairs I can get over but the change table situation is ridiculous seeing as how they have not one, not two, but THREE individual washrooms. Seriously. Can you not install at least one change table? So I had to use my stroller as a change table much to the annoyed glances of the two girls working behind the counter. Oh well.

Sorry again for the delay. As always feel free to send your recommendations to babyfriendlyrecommendations@gmail.com. There are only so many places I can go to so the more feedback the better!

Sui Sha Ya, Coquitlam

Great all you can eat sushi but not so great when it comes to being baby friendly. Definitely not stroller friendly. We had our little guy in his carseat thankfully because it would have been very difficult to navigate his stroller due to all the serving staff running around and the very narrow pathways. I did see a little one in a highchair but it looked kind of awkward and in the way which probably wouldn't be very relaxing for parents. Not sure about the change table as my little guy slept the entire lunch. Any input?

Opa Souvlaki, Pitt Meadows

Definitely stroller friendly and only somewhat highchair friendly. I say that because they only had one stroller and one booster seat so if there was another family already using it we would have been out of luck. Not sure about the change table situation. Anyone ever used one at OPA?

A thanks and a friendly reminder

Thanks to all my fellow moms that have provided some great recommendations. Keep them coming! You can email them to me at babyfriendlyrecommendations@gmail.com.

IKEA and the Vancouver Aquarium

Christina from Coquitlam had these great tidbits to pass along:

Have you guys seen the kids potty at Ikea? It's on the lower level by the lockers. Jack still needs to use his potty seat to sit on it but it's lower to the ground.

Vancouver Aquarium has a GREAT kids area and bathroom. The only bad part there is the hand dryers. They have some super fancy dyson ones which sound like an airplane landing in the bathroom. NOT good for the little babies as it scares the sh*t out of them!

Thanks Christina!

Zellers & Old Navy - Coquitlam Centre

Sabine from Coquitlam passed along the following great recommendations:

Zellers at Coquitlam Centre has family-friendly change rooms. Old Navy does too!

Thanks Sabine!

Kingfishers - Maple Ridge

Located near the old Fort Langley ferry site in Maple Ridge, I was pleasantly surprised how baby friendly Kingfishers Waterfront Bar and Grill. They have a pub side which is limited to people over 19 and a restaurant side which is family friendly. We sat outside on the patio and the server gladly brought us a highchair out to use. There was plenty of room to place the carseat as well. They also have a change table in the handicapped washroom but it also seems to be where they store the highchairs which I found a bit strange. It was a bit awkward to hold my son, move the highchairs and open the change table all at the same time. All in all though a yes for the baby friendly list.

Joey's - Burnaby (aka Joey Tomatoes)

I was at Joey's or Joey Tomatoes as it used to be called on Wednesday night for a rehearsal dinner. I didn't have my son with me so I wasn't paying all that much attention to the baby friendlyness of the restaurant. I did notice that they had change tables in the washroom. I'm not so sure about highchairs. Anyone?

Silvercity Coquitlam (and all Silvercities for that matter!)

So I'm sure most moms are already aware that Silvercity Coquitlam is very baby friendly. Not only do they offer Stars and Strollers movies where you can go to a movie and not worry about getting dirty looks from other people if your little one starts crying or screaming (so nice!), they also have change tables in the washrooms. I'm not sure if there are highchairs or not in the food court sort of area. Any input on this would be great! Depending on which Silvercity you go to they also put out a change table during the Stars and Strollers movie either in the hallway area or right in the theatre itself. I believe they provide free wipes, lotion samples and diapers as well which is a nice bonus. Definitely worth checking out especially if the rainy weather keeps up. I just saw Babies yesterday at Stars and Strollers and it was really well done.

The Green House, Maple Ridge

This cute little restaurant at 224th and Dewdney Trunk Road in Maple Ridge is very baby friendly. They had highchairs, plenty of room to accomodate my stroller and a change table in the handicapped accessible washroom.

Tim Hortons, IKEA, JJ Bean, Starbucks, Little Nest, Metrotown

Keiko from Vancouver passed along the following great feedback:

Hola! I just wanted to add that I noticed that Tim Horton's have highchairs.
and let's not forget IKEA! i just went there the other day with another mom and they have a family room, baby station at the restaurant with bottle warmers, highchairs, and even bibs! it's pretty awesome.

let me think...JJ Bean has change tables in their washrooms but no highchairs.
Starbuck's on Granville and 64th had a really nice highchair...
Little Nest on Commercial Drive is totally baby and kid friendly too!
Metrotown has that food court that is baby friendly. they have a station with a sink and etc. There's also a family room as well.

Thanks Keiko.

Montana's, Coquitlam Centre

Although I didn't get a chance to check out the washrooms for a change table, Montana's appears to be pretty baby friendly. They had plenty of highchairs and there was more than enough room to park my stroller next to the booth. The host even went out of his way to seat us somewhere that would be accomdating to the stroller. On a side note the tables are covered in brown paper and there are crayons out which would be a great way to entertain toddlers while you wait for your meal.

Earls - not baby friendly

Jen from Port Moody had this to say about Earls and I have to agree with her:

I find most places are equipped with basic baby essentials....but one place really stands out to me for the opposite reason: EARL'S! I have been to multiple Earl's locations that do not have change tables. Enormous bathrooms. Huge handicapped stalls. No change tables. I understand that babies are not their primary customer group, but come on....they have high chairs! I used to go there for lunch sometimes, but after having to leave the restaurant to change my son in the car on a below-freezing afternoon....no more!

Thanks Jen!

Milestones - Coquitlam

I just got back from a great lunch at the Milestones in Coquitlam. They are definitely baby friendly in the change table department. The only drawback was that the lock on the door of the family bathroom was broken so I wouldn't recommend using the toilet since anyone could walk in. As for highchairs they have the standard wooden ones which are great for older kids but not so great for little guys like mine who are still pretty small and skinny. I have a premie so my little guy is on the smaller side. Someone should design highchairs for premies. I didn't use it because I was worried he would slip through it. Also they didn't come up level with the table. The waiter offered to stack the highchairs which surprised me because I wouldn't think that would be all that safe.

Cactus Club Park Royal & Park Royal Mall

Nicole in West Vancouver sent along the following recommendations:

Cactus Club Park Royal - not all that stroller friendly, hard to manueveor. I took DD when she was about 2 months and then again at 4 months, so no input on the high chair part, but they were able to give us a big table on the patio both times so I was able to wheel my stroller right up to the table. SO - as far as changing goes - the first time, I went into the fancy bathroom and did not see anything, so I awkwardly changed her on this fancy leather chair which was NOT baby friendly! The second time I went I discovered that the change table is in the handicapped stall and it matches the rest of the fancy bathroom - who knew they made stainless steel change tables, rather cold, but I always use the cover that came with my diaper bag. I wish I had known about this bathroom when I came the first time. I think the staff could do a better job of informing you of the facilities!!

PARK ROYAL MALL - VERY stroller and baby friendly. Elevators are easy to find and they have ramps everywhere, so very nice with the stroller. They have lots of high chairs in the food court and they have a family room with a toilet, change table and a comfy chair if you wish to nurse. The family room was great as I go often with my husband and one of us can change DD while the other goes to the bathroom.

Thanks Nicole!

Best Buy, Coquitlam, Change Table & Stroller friendly

The hubby and I did some long weekend shopping and I can now add Best Buy in Coquitlam to my baby friendly list. Located at 1135 Pinetree Way, Best Buy is very stroller friendly and definitely change table friendly.

On a side note Kabuki Sushi in Pitt Meadows on Harris Road is not baby friendly. We went there for a late lunch and they didn't have highchairs or change tables.

So I had an inspiration...

...that it would makes things a whole lot easier if I also included comprehensive lists of all the places that are change table friendly, highchair friendly and stroller friendly as tabs at the top of the site. This way all of the information is in one place to save everyone from having to scroll through all the blog posts. You should also be able to search my posts using the Search box on the left hand side of the blog. Let me know if you can think of anything else that would make things easier. I'm open to suggestions!

And so the reporting begins....

My goal is to report on baby friendly establishments individually to make searching the site easier. I will label each post with the name of the business, its location and whether its stroller, highchair or change table friendly. I'm new to this blogging thing so I'm sure as I go along I'll find easier ways to set up the site. Bear with me in the meantime. But for the sake of playing catch-up I've resorted to putting together a mish-mash list of locations. Here you go...

Starbucks - So far neither of the locations I've been to seem to have highchairs. They do however have change tables which is great but I'm really surprised about the highchairs especially seeing as how plenty of moms and mom groups go to Starbucks.

White Spot - VERY VERY VERY baby friendly. They have highchairs, change tables and the whole shebang. It is also very easy to navigate a stroller through the aisles and I've been able to park my stroller at the end of tables and/or booths quite easily even though I usually just park my son in his carseat on the bench or chair next to me.

Blenz - The only Blenz I've observed is the one at Waterfront Center in Vancouver and funny enough it's the one that gave me the inspiration for this blog. To my surprise it didn't have a change table. I ended having to change my very cranky son on the security guard's desk. Not an ideal situation at all and probably not all that hygienic!

Shoe Warehouse in Sunwood Square, Coquitlam - So not stroller friendly at all! I could barely squeeze my stroller down the aisles and when I did I kept knocking things over. I ended up leaving and going back to shop when I didn't have my son with me which seems really unnecessary and a waste of my already limited time.

Pho T & T Vietnamese Noodle Soup Restaurant, Port Coquitlam - They have high chairs but no change table which I found odd because there was more than enough room in the restroom to install one. The highchairs aren't the most secure looking ones either. It's essentially a bucket with holes for the legs. Not sure I would trust them.

Welcome to Baby Friendly BC

Are you tired of going into the coffee shop around the corner with a cranky hungry baby in tow only to realize that they don't have any highchairs? Ever struggled to find a clean place to change a wet diaper when a change table isn't readily available? Ever had to navigate a stroller through crowded aisles all the while trying not to knock things over?

As a new mom I know I have and that's why I've started this blog. I hope to make these parental headaches a thing of the past. Providing a directory of local BC businesses that are and aren't change table, stroller and/or highchair friendly, this blog aims to make the everyday hectic and sometimes even stressful task of heading out with baby a little bit easier. Now you can check before you even leave the comfort of your home to see if your destination is baby friendly or not and plan accordingly.

I would love your input and recommendations on establishments that are baby friendly or aren't. Just send me a note with the name and location of the business and whether or not it is change table friendly, stroller friendly or highchair friendly to annajeanetteblack@gmail.com. If you have a little story to go with it that would be great as well! If you have suggestions for new categories of "baby friendlyness" please let me know as well. Thanks in advance!