to think this woman kicks ass!

[littlepigshavebigears]

went to meeting of Core Offer Monitoring Group at local children's centre (like a governing body)

one of my fellow parent governors was there, she is chair of one of the committees and there was an Ofsted bod in there asking questions

this mum turned up dressed to kill, looking gorgeous, breastfed her 8mo ds in front of a roomful of people (most of them suits) without turning a hair while talking about the information the )Ofsted bloke wanted - at one point she said "Oh yes, the figures you want are in that black file to my left, if somebody could just pass it to you as I am feeding the baby"

I wish I had had that much confidence when mine were little

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

Sorry, but if I had to attend a meeting I wouldn't be taking a baby in there, it's unprofessional. It just smacks of 'making a point' to me...

[littlepigshavebigears]

she's not a professional, she's a parent governor

I don't think she was making a point, she breastfeeds on demand and her baby was hungry!

Not the response I had anticipated

[MotherNight]

Err, it was a meeting at a children's centre? That was the point I think.

[WinterOfOurDiscountTents]

Voluntary unpaid work is now meant to be fully professional? At the expense of your family?
Isn't that oe of teh attitudes that means capable people don't volunteer for such things?

[worraliberty]

What Lying said.

I would no more do that at a meeting than change a shitty nappy.

Fair enough the child had to be fed but you sound 'impressed' in some way that she fed it during her meeting?

[littlepigshavebigears]

Well I thought it was bloody brilliant anyway

[WinterOfOurDiscountTents]

I missed "making a pooint" for fucks sake... How moronic to compare it to changing a shitty nappy.

[TidyDancer]

What response did you anticipate?

[worraliberty]

I'm a volunteer governor by the way.

That doesn't mean I don't have to sort out childcare etc before heading off to a meeting.

[thisisyesterday]

well maybe she couldn't leave her breastfed baby with anyone worra??

i'm with the OP. good on her!

[MillsAndDoom]

Not sure what else a b/f Mum should do when her b/f baby is hungry and she is attending a meeting in a voluntary capacity

[littlepigshavebigears]

I suppose I thought people would be chuffed that a mother was able to fulfil her baby's needs without missing out on her other obligations and what was important in her life apart from the baby? I found it very heartening and think life would be a whole lot better if mothers didn't feel that they had to cut themselves into slices in order to be taken seriously

changing a shitty nappy? yep, I'm

[eloisah]

Sounds like she has confidence and style.

Not so much the breastfeeding thing, but Im impressed she is getting involved and is so organised. My ds is 8 months old and my brain is a fug of tiredness most of the time.

[peeriebear]

Nothing wrong with normalising breastfeeding. Good on her :)

[squeakytoy]

"Oh yes, the figures you want are in that black file to my left, if somebody could just pass it to you as I am feeding the baby"

very unprofessional.. the baby is 8 months old, not 8 days old...

[thisisyesterday]

oh ffs, she is a parent governor.
you can't be unprofessional when it isn't your profession can you?

she has a small baby, it needed feeding

i wouldn't have left my breastfed babies at that age either. so good for her for feeling she could do it. clearly no-one else there had a problem with it either, so good for them as well!

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

I can imagine that it was distracting, not because there's anything wrong with it, but during a presentation is hardly an opportune time in my opinion. As a professional woman I would think that this lady's planning was lacking. It is possible to attend meetings and make other arrangements for breast milk to be available.

Would you be as impressed to see a father FF his child during a meeting? Like it or not, whether you are paid or not, a meeting is not a place for a baby and every instance like this makes me think that the stereotyping of a woman's place is being hammered home.

[littlepigshavebigears]

nobody seemed distracted, the meeting went smoothly, she made her contributions as well as if she hadn't been feeding her baby

and frankly the meeting would have been a bit stuffed without her

[wineclub]

My boss used to bf during meetings sometimes. I never found her to be unprofessional. She was fairly senior in a FTSE 100 company, I think she was the most senior woman iirc.

Its totally different to a man ff. We did have a man who used to bring his dog in . Thats not quite the same either.

Thinking back its probably because she only took a few weeks ML.

[nailak]

i think as a parent overnor it is kinda different to bein an executive, more informal...

[mrsbumbledosem]

It's not unprofessional you bunch of philesteines! I get the point the OP is making. It's about normalising breastfeeding as peerie says and generally being open to making it easier for mums to work and bring up children.

[nailak]

and my last overnors meetin the other parent overnor turned up with her baby, we didnt mind a bit!!

[NoPinkPlease]

I'm with the OP - great to normalise bf in situations like that. Otherwise mums with 8 month old babies who bf on demand can't participate in as many ways in society.

Last week I went for a keeping-in-touch day at work with my 5 month old. Good for me and the business to be there - I bf in the meeting - right now, we come as a package. Why not?

When I go back to work, there'll be childcare in place...

[worraliberty]

Governors are Governors and parents or not they have to be professional. It doesn't matter if they don't get paid...this does not make anything less formal.

My 'comparison' to a shitty nappy simply means I wouldn't exactly jump up and down clapping if this governor had to change a nappy during a meeting...nor would I jump up and down if she had to breast or bottle feed her baby.

I would however be a little surprised that she attended the meeting with the child as normally I would not expect to see a baby at a meeting incase it disrupted it.