Refused a seat to feed babies aibu?

[SoonToBeSix]

I don't think I abu but am interested to know if I am wrong . I went to a busy tourist attraction and needed to feed my newborn twins. There were several picnic tables but not were empty. One table had a single lady sat at a table that would seat eight people. I went to the table and started to sort out my twins bottles. The lady announced that my husband could not sit at the table( I had a mobility scooter ). I said my babies are hungry and need feeding. She repeated that he could not sit at the table as she was saving it for her family that also included hungry babies.
I said she shouldn't reserve whole tables but her tone was so unpleasant that I felt intimidated and left the table.
Was I unreasonable in expecting the lady to share her table?

Some people can get a bit territorial. Can't really say more than that other than I wouldn't have minded if somebody wanted to sit at a table we were on to feed their babies.

It's normal to say "is it all right if we join you?" if you're going to share a table. So it was presumptuous, possibly rude, just to sit down and crack on.

That said, it does sound like she could have been more courteous too.

I think both of you were rude. You sat down without saying something like 'is anyone joining this table' or something. She was rude also.

What coffee said ^

Also depends how long her family were going to be.

I think I'd let the op off as tbh, with newborn twins, a health problem and probably sleep deprived she was probably just focusing on getting twins fed and forgot to ask if the seats were taken.

If you're at a venue like that with a large group of people, why shouldn't you reserve a whole table? I know it's a pain when a large table is apparently empty, but the reality is when there is a large group at a busy venue you need to grab a table when you can.

TBH, if I'm sitting at a table and someone comes and sits down without asking if the seat is taken and then announces that her need is greater than my family's, I may struggle to produce a pleasant tone of voice.

She was there first.

I had twins and used formula.I didn't need a picnic table to do it.

Why couldn't op have sat on her scooter and husband sat at table

Well you should have asked really, seeing as she was already sitting at the table

You were rude to start using the table without talking to the woman first, so while she wasn't particularly kind and accommodating, I wouldn't really expect her to be when you had just started using her table without saying anything.

YWNBU in expecting the table to be shared, but as you hadn't asked, you don't know if she had 7 family members joining her.

Spider: maybe because there were another 7 people in the original person's group and there wouldn't be space?

You were rude and you forced her into being rude. She was sitting there minding her own business(and the families table) when you just decided to take over the table.

What was wrong with asking the vital question " Is this anybodys seat"? in the time honoured manner. Then there would be no upset and no rudeness.

Why didn't you just ask first? You were rude op

Sorry but yabu.

Last week we went to a farm for ds2's birthday. There were 10 of us - dh, me, our two ds's and my sister. My friend, her dh and her 3 dc. All 5 of the dc are under 6.

I did exactly what this lady did. My friend and sister stayed with the kids in the nearby playground to keep them occupied. Our DH's went to buy food. I went and grabbed a picnic table when one became available in readiness for them all to join me within 5 minutes for lunch.

Had you come and asked if you could join me (basic good manners) I would have apologised and said I was waiting for others to join me. Had you just plonked yourself and your family down, I would have been less than polite.

Tbh I would have asked and can see why thy were annoyed. Thy said there was also babies coming so surely they needed feeding also.

In this situation I would have fed one baby in your scooter and got dh to sit on floor and feed the other. Picnic benches aren't very easy to sit on comfortably anyway

This will turn into the whole 'should you reserve a table before getting your food' debate.

OP, did your party have their food? Newborns are generally easier to feed on the go than older children, so this isn't necessarily about feeding babies.

You were probably rude to sit down without politely asking, and the woman may have been rude to have reserved the table without having food.

Six of one and half a dozen of another really.

So where were the rest of her family? Were they coming along in 2 minutes, 10, or half an hour? I had people reserving anything they are not ready to use (swimming room changing rooms come to mind!)

That should be hate, not had.

You were really rude. I'm surprised she didn't tell you to fuck right off. Try asking politely next time and you might get a more positive response.

She did not sit down at the table; she was sitting in a scooter. Which alone should have led to some consideration even before baby twins appeared!

I don't understand how you were Refused a seat to feed babies as in your OP, when you had a seat in your mobility scooter

This is a 'would you mind if I sit down here for a moment' thread.

Op was rude tbh, and i'd have been less than impressed and disinclined to share my table, twins or no twins.

Manners cost nothing.

I had this at the football on Saturday, 2 lots of blokes just walk up and stood there waiting for me to move, one even just touched me on the shoulder without saying anything.

My 8yo has more manners than these grown ups!

Thought her DH was in the scooter?

Ah no, op was....