Just another Sunday

One of the benefits of general cluelessness and not having a TV is that we tend to be entirely oblivious to mother's day around here. Past years and this year included. In fact, our only nod to the 'holiday' was to steal a very elegant centerpiece for JD's mother as we left a wedding today. Sadly, the arrangement arrived at our apartment much worse for the travel since it was a rather windy day. Nothing says hallmark like a bedraggled flower arrangement which shed petals across much of Manhattan and then was upended in a taxi. Moving on.

There was a point during the reception when JD turned to me and said "Did you just finish your 2nd drink?" And I gave him a baffled look and said quietly "No, fifth." Which is to say we are delving deeply into our freezer stash of pumped milk this evening and it was a lovely, slightly tipsy afternoon.

Speaking of which, I have no idea how you are supposed to pump in a public restroom while wearing a full-length dress. It was a beautiful fancy-NYC wedding but the bathrooms had regular stalls with the clear gap where you can see in as you walk past and since I was in a dress and non-nursing bra, I landed up sitting on a toilet nude except for my underwear and stilletos as I expressed milk. Of course, given my confession above the milk went straight down the drain (I know you don't need to "pump and dump" but I was worried about my supply being gone for 6+ hours), which caused a great deal of murmuring in the bathroom queue. In unison the elderly women in line chided me for discarding milk and seemed entirely baffled by the idea that milk could be too alcoholic for a baby. Which only confirms my point that we live in a rough time for nursing mothers (even kellymom says there is no conclusive study about 'binge drinking' and breastmilk) and makes me slightly nostalgic for the good ol' days when my mother used to hand express milk into public restroom sinks when out at work and deliberately drink beer to put us to sleep when we were teething.

Oh, and we ran into one of JD's friends who I had not heard from since she sent us a wedding present. She asked how married life was going, and I said all was well but quite busy with the baby and all and she said "BABY???!" It does make you wonder what my husband spends all day talking to his friends about.

When we returned from the wedding (dripping flower petals through the lobby) JD's parents were watching a home video of my fusspot eating. To be precise, feeding herself. Yup. They taught her to hold her own bottle. She may be behind on the big curve of gross motor skills, but my girl will do what it takes to get a full meal.