First and foremost my sincerest apologies to the guy I flashed at lunch. Today my husband and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch with just Rylan. Ry fell asleep on the car ride there. Slept the 25 minutes we waited for our table. Woke up happy and was amused by his reflection in the mirror behind me for the 20 minutes we were sitting before our food was brought to the table. Now the Cheesecake Factory is not the most kid friendly place. They don't allow you to bring a stroller to the table. You are sitting ridiculously close to the diners next to you. Normally that is just annoying if you are breastfeeding it is not practical. So Ry went from sleepy, to happy, to inevitably HUNGRY. I swear it was the second that my steaming hot soup was set in front of me that he started crying. I rocked him, patted his back, sung in his ear, all while he sucked on my shoulder as if the milk might magically come out of a new spot. Although I have nursed in public many times before, after all this is my third breast fed baby I could feel my anxiety level slowly rising. I could already see my husband getting nervous and fidgeting around as if he was the one that was going to have to figure out how to get his boob out and discreetly feed this baby in the tight and frankly claustrophobic quarters. Yes my nursing in public makes my husband very uncomfortable.
At this point Rylan is no longer just complaining he is screaming. Drawing more and more attention to our table. Instantly you can spot who's a mom and who's not. The moms look on with empathy. The ones who aren't look on in annoyance. There weren't many moms dining out today. I get out my muslin blanket which I normally TIE SECURELY around my bra strap and use as a make shift nursing cover. Rylan's shrills were reaching new heights as was my anxiety so I just haphazardly stuck the blanket under my strap, covered his head and got my boob out. There was no one sitting next to us on the right at this point which made things easier for the time being. He started nursing and all was good. He was quiet. Drifting off to sleep. I let out a big sigh of relief. Just then I looked up to see that two young guys were being sat at the table next to us. I thought to myself thank god they weren't here a minute ago. The one guy sits down next to me and smiles. I smile back. With that our waiter bangs a glass down on our table. Rylan rips his back and pulls the blanket down in one swift swoop. Inches away from the 20 something year old guy with my breast fully exposed. The face that only seconds ago adorned a warm inviting smile now looked more like a deer in head lights as did my husband and the waiter and myself. I covered up as quickly as you can when you are holding a 22 pound 6 month old squirming baby in seriously close proximity to a hot bowl of soup and a stranger. Rylan of course started screaming again. He wasn't finished just startled and now pissed. No words were exchanged. The guy I flashed simply pretended there was an invisible wall up between the two of us for the duration of the time we were there. My husband inhaled his food at warped speed, asked for the check and handed over a credit card before the waiter could even get the bill. We paid and left. In the parking lot my husband says "god that was awkward huh?" All I could think was REALLY?!?!? Was that awkward for YOU!?!? I am so sorry I ruined your day with tits.
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