Here is a cute video from last night. We obviously still need a lot of work on Jill's hand-mouth-eye coordination. Her depth perception could use some work as well. I just think she looks so cute when she head dives for the bottle with her crossed eyes and wide open mouth. :)
Today had a new experience for me. I took my friend Anayancy, who had a baby two weeks ago, to the WIC office to get her baby signed up. (By the way, what a great program!) Our appointment was for 9:30, and we got there at 9:15. Sounds reasonable right?
Yeah. We finally got in to see the dietician (How weird. Blogger prefers the spelling dietitian. I just checked, and it is listed first in the dictionary, but I still prefer dietician.) at 11:05. So, we had been waiting there for almost two hours.
Well, you know what happens in my life every two hours. Yup. Feed Jill. So, thus far in my life as a mom, I have breastfeed in various places: the car, other people's houses, the mother's lounge at church, etc. I have never done it in a public place before, public like a waiting room. Well, I couldn't go to the car and miss our turn, because I had to translate for Anayancy. (Wow, I wish I remembered more of my Spanish.) And I remembered one of my friends telling me that she had checked and it is not against the law to breastfeed in a public place in Ohio. (I wonder if there are states where it is. Anyone know? I should not live there.) :) So, I summoned my courage and breastfeed Jill. I didn't expose myself in any way, just slipped her under my shirt pretty much and then covered her head and myself with a burp cloth (today would be the one day I don't have a blanket in the diaper bag).
I had looked around and no other babies were nursing, but Jill was crying and hungry, and what's a mom to do?
Before I finished though, Anayancy had to nurse Santiago (which translates into James somehow. Interesting.), and another mom across the room was nursing as well. So, I had some comrades in the end. :)
Then I looked up and saw a huge, huge (or ginormous, if you will, which is apparently official. It's in the dictionary now.) banner. I have no idea how I missed it before, but there it was, larger than any of the signs that I hadn't missed. It pronounced that I was in a "Breastfeeding Friendly Zone."
So, I guess I wasn't as brave as I thought.
But still it was a milestone for me. I was way outside of my comfort zone, and I survived and Jill was happy.
Have you breastfeed in any bizarre places? Closets? Parks? Oh. I guess I have haha had Jill nurse in the outdoors before. When we were moving from our old apartment, it was full of cleaning fumes, so I didn't want to go inside with Jill. So, my sister and I sat on the bench outside of my neighbor's apartment, and Jill nursed there on the balcony of the second floor level. That was an interesting experience as well.
As a mom, you've got to do what you've got to do though. But still, I feel like I grew a bit as a mother today. And there wasn't much else I could do except not feed Jill, which obviously would not work for her. You can't reason with a baby. :)
Today had a new experience for me. I took my friend Anayancy, who had a baby two weeks ago, to the WIC office to get her baby signed up. (By the way, what a great program!) Our appointment was for 9:30, and we got there at 9:15. Sounds reasonable right?
Yeah. We finally got in to see the dietician (How weird. Blogger prefers the spelling dietitian. I just checked, and it is listed first in the dictionary, but I still prefer dietician.) at 11:05. So, we had been waiting there for almost two hours.
Well, you know what happens in my life every two hours. Yup. Feed Jill. So, thus far in my life as a mom, I have breastfeed in various places: the car, other people's houses, the mother's lounge at church, etc. I have never done it in a public place before, public like a waiting room. Well, I couldn't go to the car and miss our turn, because I had to translate for Anayancy. (Wow, I wish I remembered more of my Spanish.) And I remembered one of my friends telling me that she had checked and it is not against the law to breastfeed in a public place in Ohio. (I wonder if there are states where it is. Anyone know? I should not live there.) :) So, I summoned my courage and breastfeed Jill. I didn't expose myself in any way, just slipped her under my shirt pretty much and then covered her head and myself with a burp cloth (today would be the one day I don't have a blanket in the diaper bag).
I had looked around and no other babies were nursing, but Jill was crying and hungry, and what's a mom to do?
Before I finished though, Anayancy had to nurse Santiago (which translates into James somehow. Interesting.), and another mom across the room was nursing as well. So, I had some comrades in the end. :)
Then I looked up and saw a huge, huge (or ginormous, if you will, which is apparently official. It's in the dictionary now.) banner. I have no idea how I missed it before, but there it was, larger than any of the signs that I hadn't missed. It pronounced that I was in a "Breastfeeding Friendly Zone."
So, I guess I wasn't as brave as I thought.
But still it was a milestone for me. I was way outside of my comfort zone, and I survived and Jill was happy.
Have you breastfeed in any bizarre places? Closets? Parks? Oh. I guess I have haha had Jill nurse in the outdoors before. When we were moving from our old apartment, it was full of cleaning fumes, so I didn't want to go inside with Jill. So, my sister and I sat on the bench outside of my neighbor's apartment, and Jill nursed there on the balcony of the second floor level. That was an interesting experience as well.
As a mom, you've got to do what you've got to do though. But still, I feel like I grew a bit as a mother today. And there wasn't much else I could do except not feed Jill, which obviously would not work for her. You can't reason with a baby. :)
Mims, you're so cute! I love you!
ReplyDeleteI had to feed Aidan in a Walmart when he was only a week or so old. I had a nursing cover, but I was still new to the whole breastfeeding thing, and was worried that someone might say something. But I refused to feed him in the bathroom because have you SEEN a Walmart restroom lately??? ICK.
However, getting that over with early really helped me get over the feeding-in-public anxiety.
With the next kid, I won't be worried about accidentally flashing the world. I'm a pro now!
Red Robin, Cheesecake factory, Park....you do what you can!
ReplyDeleteJill is so cute and determined for that bottle! She sure loves her bottle. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, since we lived and traveled in Japan for a couple of months right after Brooklyn was born, I have a long list of embarrassing places to feed. Here goes: under the "roof" of a Japanese temple in the pouring rain while standing next to total strangers, on a crowded beach, on trains, on buses, on planes, in airports, in parks, standing in many many bathroom stalls, and the list goes on. After awhile, I just had to get used to it, because what else can you do?
ReplyDeleteCongrats for your first time breastfeeding in public! I have done it so many times in so many places! Restaurants, stores, airplanes, cars, church (in the mother's lounge, in RS, and in sacrament meeting), on the grass in front of the Great American Ball Park in downtown Cinci, on a tourist ferry going past the Statue of Liberty in NYC, and the list goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteThat video is so cute! I am impressed that you made it this long without having to feed her in public! Well done you!
ReplyDeleteWell, my worst was one time I had to feed Hallie on a car trip and so we pulled off, but there were no "private" looking parking lots, so we pulled in to a Kroger, but there were people all over and I felt really conspicuous, and she was getting too big to do it in the car, so I went in and found the bathroom which was just a one toilet facility, so I locked the door and put some paper down on the toilet and I sat down (I was tired, forgive me.) Then I tried to get Hallie to eat. Well, she's never been a good eater, and breastfeeding was no exception. So she wouldn't. Someone knocked on the door. "Just a minute!" She still won't eat. Struggle, fuss, struggle, another knock on the door. I start to feel bad, someone out there is wetting their pants and Hallie won't eat anyway. What to do?
ReplyDeleteI tried one more time, and then gave up on her. I let the poor lady in to relieve her bodily needs, and figured Hallie would just have to wait, if she was going to be that way.
She was fine.
Oh, and I love the video... but you guys are so mean to poor Jill!!
ReplyDeleteBut I love how she goes for it, fails, and then hangs back for a while, like yeah, it wasn't something I really wanted anyway. Then when you least except she lunges like a desperate crazy person again... misses... yeah, I'm cool, I'll just hang here for a minute...
I haven't nursed in any wierd places. BUT- I was always impressed with Victoria- she could just walk through the halls at church with the baby nursing under a blanket! Of course no one cared. And I'm sure no one would have if I did either... but think about the coordination! And I wish I was that brave.
ReplyDeleteI think I've nursed just about everywhere...football games, basketball games, in the lobby of the Benson building (what was I going to do, sit on the floor of the bathroom?! GROSS), waiting rooms, airplanes, airports, in the front seat of the car (not while moving, of course), on the beach...
ReplyDeletemaybe I just wasn't shy about it, though I was subtle about it. Or maybe I just was out and about with Mr. Adventure all the time and didn't have any other options!