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

This mother is kicking ass: www.zimbio.com/Silvio+Berlusconi/articles/M9hAX-QW6T7/Licia+Ronzulli+brings+baby+EU+Parliament here.

I don't really like the term kicking ass, but she is all the same, motherhood does not disqualify you from the rest of life. Nursing included.
I don't understand your point Worral, surely motivated and useful women should not be cast aside because they have a baby.

Though tbh I wouldn't have a problem with a man bottlefeeding in a CHILDREN'S CENTRE meeting.

What a depressing attitude worra. She obviously managed to combine both tasks with no problems - if baby had been screaming she'd no doubt have taken her leave. As the OP said, the meeting would have been stuffed without her, so would it really have been better for her to be at home watching TV instead of contributing her valuable skills for public good? The point is precisely that breastfeeding is something you can do at the same time as other things; it doesn't tie you to the sofa.

Or rather, it shouldn't - kudos to this woman for having the energy and determination to offer her skills for public good at a point when I am barely able to get myself organised enough to cook and eat dinner of an evening!

Oh dear god bangs head on desk

I'm not saying she should be 'cast aside' I'm saying she shouldn't volunteer her spare time if she doesn't have any spare time. Looking after your children means just that.

When you no longer have to look after them or when you can manage to provide child care, then and only then is your time actually spare

I give up....I'm off to volunteer the next 3 weeks of my 'spare' time running a soup kitchen and I'm going to take all my children with me...and my dog (because he needs walking) and I'll take some ironing and washing to do while I'm there. Afterall if spare time suddenly means attending to my day to day duties...I may as well.

Wineclub... I understand what you mean. I think there are two issues - breastfeeding and taking a baby to a meeting - and it's only the taking of the baby to the meeting that is an issue to me. Professional or volunteer, babies aren't the norm at meetings and what's to prevent anybody else taking their babies rather than finding childcare? Where does it go from there, toddlers, pre-school.... teens?

My point was really that I have a lot of admiration for working mothers but I really can't understand the point this woman was making and I suspect that it would have missed the mark for at least some of the attendees.

profers cup for Worra to fill with soup.... tomato and basil, please.

Such a shame that people see breastfeeding a child and being professional as being mutually exclusive.

From the OP's comments she obviously fulfilled her professional obligations with aplomb. But as she ha the temerity to lactate at the same time it seems she is no longer considered to be professional.

Fair enough if she had turned up with a crying baby, not been able to concentrate and distracted the whole group; that would not be professional. It also would not have been 'professional' for her to give up her responsibilities and stay at home.

Once again, a woman is not being judged on her ability to do an important job, but being judged for failing to either remove herself from the 'professional' sphere after having a child, or alternatively, for failing to pretend to the outside world that she does not have responsibilities to her child.

I agree with LyingWitch.

Where do you draw the line? What if a running around toddler 2 year old still bf, would it be ok to bring them along to a meeting?

I think the 'looking gorgeous' thing is pretty kick ass. The breastfeeding thing doesn't impress me. I had my tits out in public for years so it's pretty meh

But she does have spare time! she participated fully in the meeting and made valuable contributions. She happened to have a baby feeding at the same time. The baby hadn't gobbled up her brain (unlike mine) and didn't stop her speaking.

I don't see what's impressive about it though.

Kind of suggests that a mother of an 8 month old who expresses milk, organises childcare and can turn up at meeting looking gorgeous isn't quite as impressive somehow....which is daft!

Thank you lying at least you understand me

Take an extra slice of bread with your soup

No she does not have spare time...she had a child to look after.

did she have big boobs littlepig

I'm not a perve LOL i'm always impressed with wellendowed women who mamage to BF discreetly

I could never manage it lol

she had spare time, just with a baby attached.

And plenty of meetings are fine to bring babies to, it wasnt a boardroom in the City, it was in a CHILDRENS CENTRE

YANBU - I think it demonstrates that women do not fall apart with 'baby-brain' ( I HATE that term) after having babies and can still function as intelligently as ever. Good on her.

WinterOfOurDiscountTents... Well, for some PEOPLE, it may be perfectly acceptable to take children into MEETINGS. Other PEOPLE may think DIFFERENTLY. I wonder if the PEOPLE who take their children into MEETINGS are the same ones who take their children UNINVITED to WEDDINGS?

winter your last post shows such ignorance.

Yes it's a children's centre but that doesn't mean children are necessarily going to be in attendance at the Governor's meetings.

No more than a board of Governors at a zoo would have an elephant present.

You can type like THIS all you want but you are still showing you have no idea what a Governor's meeting is normally like.

YANBU, wish I had that much confidence!

It was professionally as it got in the way of doing the job (get the folder ....someone else)
Too much 'making a point' about it for my liking too

I would have been irritated esp if i'd had to org child care to attend...

unprofessional - damn predictive test!

YANBU. Really surprised others think different.

Yanbu, but don't post in this section and expect everyone to agree with you!

I was way too self conscious to bf in public, even when I could be descreet about it, so well done to that woman!

Can't be bothered reading all the moany posts - just wanted to agree with you - SHE ROCKS! What a star!