Baby. You Want to Eat Now?

Felicity, age four days old, wearing a headband and looking oh so cute made her first trip to church. Naturally, Nathan and I went too. Stepping inside and settling down in the chairs at the back, Felicity decided it was time to eat. Now.

Yes, I had a beautiful nursing shawl. Yes, I’d decided to nurse. Yes, I didn’t want to stay in the house for the entirety of her first year. But really, she wanted food now? In public?

There are certain milestones in a person’s life: going to kindergarten, buying a car, graduating college, a first kiss, the lead part in a musical… and, if you are a mom, the first nurse in public.

I’m not usually the type to become easily embarrassed, but Felicity and I weren’t good at nursing yet. Nursing is like learning a team sport. Both parties are clumsy. They need to sync with each other while simultaneously learning a new skill. For the baby, she has to make her little lips actually suck. It helps if it’s the right place. For the mom, it’s all about position. Is the baby too high? Too low? Just not into the football position? (You can nurse your baby like she’s a football). It may not sound like much, but I assure you, descriptions can be deceptive.

That day we left early. Some victories come easily and some take a little bit of time.

Comments

Good Friday Reflections

Tonight, squished between my eldest two children, I read bedtime stories on my big bed—a move we made because my pregnant body filled up the whole toddler bed leaving no room for my story-ready children. We started with a book on friendship told from the perspective of a shy chipmunk who didn’t want to leave his mommy. Then we moved on to a story about Peteriffic building a block tower high into the sky. We finished with our Bible reading and knowing that we are in Holy Week I then showed my kids pictures of the Lord’s Supper and Good Friday. I told them that Jesus died so that everyone could be raised from the dead, and then, “Boom.” I was right in the middle of a conversation I wasn’t expecting to have on this ordinary bedtime, with late daylight streaming softly into my bedroom window. “Will we all die, Mama?” asked Gabe, my three-year-old. “Yes, but Jesus came so that we can live again. We will be raised from the dead—just like Him.” “Will it be a long time until we get ra

What to do in Case of Pandemic

“Gabe when you are afraid, will you trust in God?” the small, sincere voice of my daughter, Felicity, drifted to me as I sat on the couch, legs folded under me, looking at my creative writing projects. They were tucked in bed and should have been sleeping. My son’s voice, largely ignoring Felicity, hummed and thrummed as he made his toy cars vroom along in what sounded like a vaguely destructive manner. Then her voice continued, singing the lyrics, “When I am afraid I will trust in you, I will trust in you, I will trust in you.” The interchanged warmed my heart. Yes, I want them both to trust in God when they are afraid. And I want to trust in God when I am afraid. And I want someone to remind me to trust in God when I’m tempted not to trust in Him. ** I began this post several weeks ago when ordinary life thrummed and hummed. As I revisit this story, ordinary has shifted and changed and the hum as I and many knew it has shifted. The

The Adventure Begins Very Early on the Morning of July 15th

Note: In-N-Out is the first place I go when I arrive back in California. The California chain tastes like coming home. My day had been planned. I was going to walk with friends. Have coffee with my mom and a phone date in the evening. Followed by my husband asking, “what should we have for dinner.” And me responding “In-n-Out.” I’ll admit it I did exercise in hopes of expediting the labor process, but as I had been told, “babies will come when they will.” So I laid my plans: Plan A the aforementioned walk etc. and Plan B— Have a baby. When my mom arrived, full of more energy than I’m used to her having (a contrast with my labored lack of energy), it was apparent that Plan B was in effect. We were most definitely not going to coffee. I was going to have a baby. Labor… it’s not fun. Epidurals… they are a wonderful invention. It was late evening. I’d hoped they’d let me push on the 14 th . The history nerd in me was caught by the idea of having a baby on Bastille D

MuellerMommyAdventures

Search This Blog