A woman has sparked a debate after banning her husband from using the bathroom on a plane.
She explained she was travelling on a three-and-a-half hour flight with her husband and their two children, aged two and three months. The woman claimed her husband, who uses the bathroom more than the average person, left her on a flight for a “good while” nursing their youngest while simultaneously trying to stop her toddler from throwing a tantrum.
She told Reddit: “We were unable to buy seats together so I was in the middle aisle with the baby and he was across the aisle from me with the aisle seat and the toddler in the middle.”
The woman continued: “About an hour into the flight, my husband gets up to pee while I’m nursing the baby and as soon as he leaves the toddler crawls over to me. I try to get the toddler to sit on my lap but he causes the baby to stop eating so the baby is crying on me while I’m trying to hold the toddler and not disrupt the two people I’m sitting next to.
“Plus my husband got stuck behind the beverage cart so he could grab the toddler for 20 minutes.”
She added: “Later, my husband gets up to pee again while I’m feeding the baby and the same thing happens of trying to feed the baby with a toddler on my lap. Ending up with a crying baby and a toddler in one middle seat.”
The woman admitted to seeking the help of a pelvic floor therapist, mainly due to concerns about her husband’s frequent bathroom visits. She claims to have recommended physical therapy for her spouse in order to help combat his toilet issues.
However, her partner won’t budge. She added: “He says he doesn’t need help and blames it on drinking lots of water. He does work a full-time job in an office and goes hours without peeing when he has back-to-back calls so he’s capable of holding it. He’s never peed himself or had an accident. He did go to the urologist this year who ruled out any prostate, or cancer.”
In a further bid for cooperation, she said: “I told my husband how hard it was to balance both boys and asked if he can just hold his pee. So many times I have to pee when I’m watching the boys but hold it until the timing is better. He said he can’t.
“Next, I asked if he could ask me before he pees and goes when the baby isn’t nursing and I have two hands. He said no and he should be able to pee when he has to go. We have a full summer of flying ahead of us including a few international trips and I’m worried.”
One user suggested a tough-love approach, stating: “Hand him both kids. Take twenty minutes to yourself elsewhere. Do this every time he abandons you for a ‘medical need’ he refused to get handled, and let him know it will continue until he sees a doctor and gets treatment or develops an iota of courtesy. This is something I had to threaten my husband with early in our marriage, and turned out it saved his life.”
Another user said: “Unfortunately this sounds like a case of poor planning on your and your husband’s part regarding seating, and having already known your husband frequently uses the bathroom. For your international flights, choose seats together, and next to a restroom. Also, talk to him about drinking less a bit before and during the flight.”
