The biggest high....

Has to be wearing your baby while mowing the lawn. Seriously. I mowed the entire back yard this morning with Davy on my back in a wrap. Eventually he fell asleep, but mostly he enjoyed looking around. I feel like superwoman.

Now, you might wonder if this was a good idea. I had similar doubts. Until I saw a family down the road with their little boy (around Davy's age/height) and an older girl playing in the front yard while their dad mowed. It is much safer for Davy to be on my back (nothing can get thrown up and hit him, he can't run in my way) than to be loose in the yard. So I figured no one would call social services, and if they did, I would refer them to the people down the road.

This leads me to another point. When you do things differently, you have to be constantly vigilant. Why? Because people could report you, take your child away, and then you'll have to "justify" your life to the authorities while your child suffers. All that has to happen is someone thinks Davy isn't safe/happy in the wrap. Since wraps aren't sold in box stores, people tend to think they aren't safe. I could be walking in the neighborhood, enjoying the weather and wearing Davy, and someone could assume Davy was being harmed. Any reasonable person would realize that if Davy were unhappy he would be trying to get down or fussing. But not everyone is reasonable. (oh, that they were!)

You also have to worry about whether someone is going to question your right to breastfeed in public. You have to rehearse in your head what you need to say. Obviously it wouldn't be good to stare in disbelief in this situation. It seems like since it's legal that everyone would respect your right. Unfortunately, no. So you have to remember all the good responses you have read from people in similar situations, and be able to stand up for yourself. My personal favorite is when people are told to breastfeed in the public restrooms. I have several comebacks ready if anyone tries to pull that one on me. My favorite is to ask what century this is (maybe the 50's?) and point out that public restrooms are not lounges.

Anyone who has met Davy knows that he is much to active in public to take much interest in nursing. But he still occasionally nurses in public. In between running all over the place and exploring.

Ok, this has become a rant. But seriously. I'm flying across the country in a little over 24 hours with my mom (who doesn't necessarily support my craziness), and I have to be prepared to for anything. Including ignorance.

I didn't use to be this paranoid. Until I met Joe, that is. Somehow his paranoia has rubbed off on me. Plus I read stories of people who have had their rights threatened and it scares me.

I'm not intimidated and have no plans to change my lifestyle. But I just have to be vigilant.