awkward nursing 101

went out to an awesome dinner last friday night. it was for one of my best friend's parents 30th anniversary and it was basically a bunch of people who have known me since the day i was born. which is neat, all the 'older people' passed around clover the whole night- and that's surreal because they held me when i was her age. i hope to hold jayme's granddaughter one day...anyway she was 7 weeks and when saylor was 7 weeks old i remember attending a wedding with him and we left because he started fussing. it was definitely overwhelming. this time around? i'm not fazed or overwhelmed. [it does help that clover is insanely easygoing though]. so i'm not overwhelmed but that's not to say things are never awkward. you gotta just go with the flow, laugh things off and be prepared to get creative and/or make do with what your situation is. and enjoy the awkwardness. that's my best advice i can offer as a parent. remain nonchalant when your child has a huge meltdown and you have to leave a store, laugh when they poop all over you and expect them to dump a box of crackers in the car. they will throw up on their car seat, break something in someone else's house, scream and cry through an entire 30 minute car ride, pee on you.. [these are just the baby years, what do we have coming when they are teenagers? i hope i can still laugh then...]
so we are having a great time, saylor's home sleeping and pooping on our new couch with my brother [another story for another day] but of course at some point clover needed to eat. so before our food came i decided to feed her. did not even occur to me until that moment that this was easier said than done. A- i'm wearing a dress that is nearly impossible to nurse her in. easiest way would be to lift my dress up.. couldn't really attempt either way while sitting at our table there... B- tiny bathroom. small sink, basically standing room only and then two stalls with doors to the floor so you don't even know if someone's in there. didn't really want to nurse on the toilet and have people repeatedly knocking or trying to come in. C-our car? no dice, it was far, far away in a parking garage. whatever, i'm cas, i'm not fazed. a family friend was walking around with her outside of the restaurant- there was a huge fountain and a bridge and such, very pretty. so i walk way out to him and get her and only then realized what i took with me. my cardigan, my phone, and my keys. what the heck my keys!? why michelle, why.and my tiny little cardigan, not her nice sized blanket that would cover me. no, a tiny little cardigan. i proceed to try to find a secluded area to nurse. there are people all around, i end up climbing over this flower bench thing and sitting on a wet picnic table. pretty sure the guy lounging behind me saw my boobs a few times... and the fun time i had trying to get access to them... i had a huge chunky/in the way necklace on, i was sweating and may have ripped my dress trying to-get access. all this while trying to remain semi covered with my tiny little cardigan. i also continued to text my friend updating her on the awkwardness that was occuring. it helps that i love awkward/embarrassing situations but it was good times. the whole night was so fun. we stayed out late and then yah, we came home to a smelly couch and spent an hour trying to fix that [success. and then clover slept a 9 hour stretch! from all that partying] just gotta roll with the flow and know that your kids will always throw you for a loop.
ps this may seem like having children or breastfeeding is stressful or too difficult. i give you my promise they are both SO entirely 1000% worth it. and then some.