Breastfeeding in public
Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that I am a world-class prude, so one could assume with fair certainty that breastfeeding in public ranks right up at the top of the list of things I never wanted to do. Well, baby girl is just over two weeks old and my goal of never nursing her in a public place is shot.
Yesterday morning, we had to take M's dad to the airport after running an errand. We almost bailed on taking her, but she fell asleep, so I thought we'd be okay. Wrong. The second we got into the airport parking garage, she started crying. (Maybe she realizes that airports are colossally aggravating??) We popped her into her stroller, and into the Bluegrass Airport we went. I left M and his daddy in the dust as I tried to get her out of the cold ASAP. Once inside, no amount of strolling would calm her. M was busy checking his dad in for his flight, and I continued to try to calm my miserable baby. I went to the empty section of baggage claim to get her out of her stroller. Holding her helped for about three minutes. Crying commenced. We walked. Still crying. Having dressed her in the most complex newborn outfit in the history of the world, I couldn't find her butt to check her diaper, but a "smell test" revealed nothing out of the ordinary. She wouldn't take the emergency pacifier. She didn't care about being bounced or talked to. I was out of options, and I knew the time had come. M would be gone for an undetermined amount of time as he had gotten security clearance to walk his father back to the gate. Baby girl and I huddled in a corner, busted out a big blanket, popped out a boob, and went to town. Of course, it worked, but the car rental agencies are directly across from baggage claim, and I could just feel their eyes glaring. I wish I could say it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was. I suppose I'll just have to get used to it, though, as she's bound to get fussy again when I've got no other options. Luckily, I can start her on bottles in the next couple of weeks, so if I'm going to be in a "no way out" situation, I can be prepared. Maybe.
Other than that, the weekend went well. Otis is recovering from the constant houseful of people, and M and I are excited to see what life is going to be like on our own and in our normal routine. Of course, I have errands that need to be run today, so that will be a test. Can I get showered, get baby girl ready, get out of the house, get in and out of the post office, find and purchase a pair of pants that fit my post-baby butt, and run into Target all in one day? I'll let you know.
Happy Monday, peeps.
Yesterday morning, we had to take M's dad to the airport after running an errand. We almost bailed on taking her, but she fell asleep, so I thought we'd be okay. Wrong. The second we got into the airport parking garage, she started crying. (Maybe she realizes that airports are colossally aggravating??) We popped her into her stroller, and into the Bluegrass Airport we went. I left M and his daddy in the dust as I tried to get her out of the cold ASAP. Once inside, no amount of strolling would calm her. M was busy checking his dad in for his flight, and I continued to try to calm my miserable baby. I went to the empty section of baggage claim to get her out of her stroller. Holding her helped for about three minutes. Crying commenced. We walked. Still crying. Having dressed her in the most complex newborn outfit in the history of the world, I couldn't find her butt to check her diaper, but a "smell test" revealed nothing out of the ordinary. She wouldn't take the emergency pacifier. She didn't care about being bounced or talked to. I was out of options, and I knew the time had come. M would be gone for an undetermined amount of time as he had gotten security clearance to walk his father back to the gate. Baby girl and I huddled in a corner, busted out a big blanket, popped out a boob, and went to town. Of course, it worked, but the car rental agencies are directly across from baggage claim, and I could just feel their eyes glaring. I wish I could say it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was. I suppose I'll just have to get used to it, though, as she's bound to get fussy again when I've got no other options. Luckily, I can start her on bottles in the next couple of weeks, so if I'm going to be in a "no way out" situation, I can be prepared. Maybe.
Other than that, the weekend went well. Otis is recovering from the constant houseful of people, and M and I are excited to see what life is going to be like on our own and in our normal routine. Of course, I have errands that need to be run today, so that will be a test. Can I get showered, get baby girl ready, get out of the house, get in and out of the post office, find and purchase a pair of pants that fit my post-baby butt, and run into Target all in one day? I'll let you know. 
Happy Monday, peeps.
2 comments:
I totally know what you're going through! The first place I had to breastfeed in public turned out to be a restaurant, where I found out later, a sit in had occurred because the owners asked a breastfeeding mom to leave because she was disrupting the peace.
Check out www.busybabywraps.com in case public duty calls again. There are worse things, though, like pumping in a moving car on I-95! Now that was uncomfortable!
It's been a while! Your situation could never EVER top when I had a parent-teacher conference (the parents would meet with all the teachers of the student) and this one mom began breastfeeding her walking, talking two year-old RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONFERENCE. I'm sure you were very discreet.
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