"Stop rolling your eyes, & close your mouth, you look like a guppy!" - a mumsnetter revolts!!!

[tinkerbellhadpiles]

Today we went to the child health clinic. Due to a clash in the surgery the waiting room was stuffed to bursting with both mums and old ladies (apparently there was also an independent living clinic on). The room is set up so people sit round the outside in a square with a desk at one end and the loos at the other.
Anyway, went in, checked in sat down in a free seat opposite some old ladies. Waited thirty minutes. DD woke up, looked at me and opened her mouth to scream for food. Knowing her signs I quickly patted her, very discretely lay her on my lap and started feeding her.
I became aware of three old women opposite nudging each other and saying things like 'would you look at that' and tutting. I would have ignored them but I'd had a bad day so I smiled at them and asked if there was a problem.
"Do you really think that's appropriate dear", said the bravest of the lot.
"Um yes" I replied "she'll be very loud and unhappy if I don't feed her".
"Well the toilets are just over there". She replies, as if this is a solution to my embarassment.
"Thank you." I reply (taking strains not to sound sarcastic) "but if you remember, toilets are for defecating and urinating and we need to do neither. Besides we'd be in there for around 30 minutes and I don't know, would your bladder last that long?"
She starts to look very cross: "That's none of your business".
"No, you are right, and this is none of yours" I reply levelly indicating my DD who is ignoring all this and merrily suckling and farting.
They both start looking at each other aghast and then at the receptionist (who is trying to blend into the wallpaper in order not to be asked to adjudicate).
I really didn't mean to say it, I didn't...but it just slipped out....
"and if you don't mind, could you PLEASE stop rolling your eyes and close your mouths, you look like a trio of guppies!"
Cue rest of waiting room dissolving into fits of giggles.
One mum had to run to the loo (think her pelvic floor may not have been ready for this outburst).
Luckily we were next in so we didn't have to sit watching them studying their exceptionally swollen feet for much longer.

Absolutely brilliant

Makes me slightly sad that I'm not still bf-ing. I only ever got positive comments and never got the chance for a witty response, not that I would have thought of one until 2 hours after the event!

That is absolutely fab, tinkerbellhadpiles. Good for you.

I have to bump this for the evening crowd

Hahahaha,well done!

Have to add my congratulations for great ripostes Tinkerbell. The old ladies were the ones being inappropriate.

Breastfeeding should be done and should be seen to be done. That way, more mothers would try it and have more success.

Have to say I bf my own for close on 7 years altogether and never had anything but approval from Jo Public, including oldies. One old dear even said wistfully "Lovely to see you feeding the baby - we weren't allowed to do it in public in my day."

I am very impressed tinkerbell, with both your posts, well done for having the eloquence to put the guppies in their places.

TinkerbellHP, I salute you. You are a top mum. Well said. Not that you should ever have had to say it. Especially to women.

Good for you.

OK and bump for the later evening crowd - You should be proud of this!!!!!

Tinkerbell - Have you seen that you have made it to Quote of the week?

YR, don't think they used formula in the war...probably ordinary cowsmilk or that coranation stuff...whatever that is...no idea, really....!

Tinkerbell brilliant response...bloody nosey rude ole bags....now I love elderly people, but they were just rude and silly and deserved what they got!

Well, I was spoiling for a fight and would have loved it if someone had tried to be rude when I was bf....

Unfortunately, no one did, or at least I never noticed, cos I was ready to reply that they would have been breaking the law if they'd tried to actually stop me. In Scotland it's illegal to prevent a woman from bf her baby with fines up to £1000.

Maybe next time someone will be stupid enough...

Don't know if I'd have the confidence and wit to give quite as good a reply as Tinkerbell tho!

Good for you!

Thanks 3and...will have to look up my Gabriel Palmer or something to find out what mums did during the 2 Wars. Formula was defo. available, but I imagine it would have been far too expensive for the average parent. I think Palmer said formula of some kind has existed for 200 years or so, which I found quite shocking.

Excellent!

my gran's 85. she said during rationing she breastfed, and her and my grandad used the baby milk stamps to get free powdered milk for themselves and to make cakes.

Bizzy - lol

This is brilliant, and just the sort of thing I wish I had the nerve to say!

In case anyone is interested - I googled and discovered that Nestle started producing milk for babies in 1866. 141 years, so sorry not 200 years as I had thought !

well done, very calm and to the point under the circumstances.

Well done! I can understand old dears (or others, for that matter) being a bit squeamish about purple engorged breasts being flashed in inappropriate places, so bf should be done, as you say, discreetly, but some people seem to find the very act itself offensive, presumably because in their minds breasts = sex rather than babies' lunch. Their problem; and yes, feeding is much better than a screaming babe, but attitudes like the 'yuppies' do put some mums off, & they slink into the loo. Good for you for challenging them!

You ROCK!

lol yr...I didn't mean that it wasn't available at all, I knew it has been around a long time, but by stories I have heard of elderly that had children in the war, if they didn't bf, they would use other stuff...as, like you say, it was difficult to get hold off....!

The grannys just think breasts as being sex objects instead of a food supply to keep the baby alive!

well done - you've made my day!

3and...it is interesting social history, isn't it ! I will have to dig out my Palmer any way, I love all the history of bf she has in there

If more grans had done bf, I reckon there wouldn't be much need for bf helplines - sadly by the time I had ds both of my grans were dead. I know for sure they were experts !