Susie and I took the kids to the Strong Museum for what will probably be the last time before the big kids head off to school. It was pretty deserted, so the kids got to do pretty much everything they wanted to, including riding the train and the carousel.
I did have a little run-in with a less-than-nice person when I sat down in an out-of-the way corner of one of the rooms to nurse Anna, though. She didn’t actually confront me, but accosted a staff member to complain about how all these women had the nerve to just sit down wherever they wanted to and whip it all out to feed their babies, and why on earth couldn’t they just do that in the bathroom? It creates such awkward situations with her 6 year old screaming “Look, Mommy, boobies!” And really, what about the dads who come to the museum and have to witness it? Won’t somebody think of the dads?!? Somehow there was also some bit about a Jim Carrey movie in there too, about how his (adult) character went up to a nursing mother in a park and started nursing and how disgusting that was.
For the record, other than myself, this woman, and one other mother, plus the 6 or 7 children who belonged to us all, the room was deserted. Also, I don’t “whip it all out” when I nurse. Anna and I have a lot of practice being discreet. You’d have to stare pretty long and hard to even see a flash of my nursing bra, let alone any skin. Plus, well, my right to nurse wherever I want (and I don’t want to nurse in a bathroom, thank you very much) is protected by law. Oh! And the little room set aside for nursing moms, that I would have prefered to use anyway? That was occupied by a bottle feeding dad. I have no idea what the Jim Carrey movie has to do with me.
Soooooo.
Luckily I managed to get over her insane ranting (it helped that the staff member apologized profusely (though it certainly wasn’t her fault) after the woman left, and that the other mother in the room was very supportive) and have a great rest of the day at the museum.
But sheesh. Some people.
