Baby Don't Eat at Truck Stops

Lillian has certainly given us a run for our money in the feeding department. First, she would accept no bottles, then she would accept a certain bottle. Then she decided she didn't like that bottle and refused all bottles again, having to be fed by eye dropper. Then she decided she loved a particular bottle and wouldn't nurse. Then she decided nursing and bottle feeding were fine. That is where we currently are. Which, is a great place to be, until Memorial Day weekend. We were on the road, and while it was with my mom and sister, I still didn't want to subject them to my partial nudity every few hours. I'm discreet like that. So, I have my handy dandy Udder Cover which is amazing. Except, Lily is sick of it. Downright sick of being covered up to eat. In fact, there is no greater disgrace to her, other than being dropper fed like a baby animal. She has never really minded being covered before, but now that she has mastery of her hands, she's figured out how to uncover herself at alarming, hard to keep covered, speed.


This isn't really a problem when I'm with my mom and sister. We're all girls, we're all related...sometimes there's some unintentional flashing, it happens. BUT, when you're at a Subway sandwich shop located in a truck stop in a small town in northern Minnesota, it's a problem. Especially when seated next to a mulleted family and then the dirt bike boys walk in looking for some vittles. It's also a problem when you're trying to get your baby to eat in a car, at a truck stop in a small town in northern Minnesota and the person who pulls their boat in next to you happens to also be toothless and wearing suspenders to hold up his sweat pant shorts...seriously, I'm not joking.

Thankfully, I had some formula and a bottle - just in case. So, Lillian now eats a combination of formula and breast milk from bottles and nursing. It's a good mix of freedom for all of us. But sheesh!

I'm somewhat nervous to say this in a public forum for fear that the L.L.L. mafia will come after me, but I'm not crazy about nursing. Yeah, it's convenient. I know it's great for my baby and apparently she'll turn into a brilliant adult with no health problems and a svelte waistline...(so yeah, apparently 80% of America was never breastfed). But really now. It's not my favorite thing in the world. It's boring, sometimes it hurts, most of the time Lily's eyes are closed so it's not that bonding and I end up smelling like sour milk whilst wetting through my shirt, bra and breast pads. Woop-de-do! Sign me up to do this for the next few years! We're slowly weaning. If it were 1907, my baby would die if I didn't breastfeed, but hello, it's 2010 - this girl's got options and those options now include DHA and Omega 3's. I don't eat that healthily, she might be better off with the stuff from the can. I'm guessing Similac and Enfamil don't include coffee and Diet Coke in their recipes.

Like I've said before, there's no winner. If I breastfeed her in public, people look at me like I'm completely rude and disgusting. If I give her a bottle, people look at me like I'm poisoning her (even when it's breast milk, they assume it's formula). It's not like she's rocking the bottle of Coca Cola - but if she were, Huggies makes some kickin' jean diapers that would look great with that look!

 Sisterly play time. Usually, a rarity, but cute nonetheless!

A kiss even! Whoa!