William's Public Meltdown

William had his first shots a month ago, so today when the Early Years Centre Calling New Parents' topic was immunization, he staged a protest. Wailed his little lungs out. Normally, when my little angel gets a little fussy during one of these talks, I tell myself that noone else thinks he's disrupting the whole group. This time there was no denying it.

Since this talk was given by some official shot expert, the woman who normally heads the class came over and offered to help me with riot control. She walked him around the room for me and he was fine until she gave him back. Figuring it was because I was sitting down, I stood up and rocked him, trying various holding positions like some kind of baby juggler.

Finally I sat down and whipped my boob out. This muffled his cries but didn't do much else because he wasn't hungry. I stripped him down to his diaper and tryed again. This time he sucked until he fell asleep. He woke up three seconds later, slightly cranky but definitely improved.

Even now, as I write this blog, I've been trying to transform William into a happy baby. He's quiet now in his crib, but at last check was not asleep. Yes, it is 4:30 pm, but he needs his nap. (Or, more specifically, I need his nap).

My only explanation for William's mood is that it's hot today, and the child has inherited his father's intolerence for heat. My husband is legendary for wearing shorts and sandals on cold October days.


Today's playlist quiz:

1. She-ra! She-ra!
2. I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind.
3. Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime.
4. May I have your attention, please? May I have your attention, please?
5. Inspector Gadget. Woo hoo!

Hint: I have a lot of theme songs on my playlist.

Don't be a shut-in 101

William and I went down to the Early Years Centre for the Tuesday "Calling All Parents" program. Today's topic was "Families in Motion", something about keeping fit. The topic matters not, however, because William had his own speech to deliver which he assured me was far more important. He was being a grumpy gus the whole time (you know you're a Mom when you start using phrases like "grumpy gus")

There were at least 30 Moms there, with 30 babies (one Daddy) and at first only William was crying. The good thing about being in a room full of Moms though is that everyone is looking at you with sympathy, instead of giving you the "Can't you make that kid shut up?" scowl. I got several whispers of "He's so cute" during his meltdown.

Now William and I haven't exactly mastered the art of public breastfeeding, so I usually feed him until he's comatose before we leave the house. I guessed he wasn't satisfied, and since about a third of the other Moms already had their boobs out, I decided to go for it. When breastfeeding in public it's customary to put a blanket or something over your exposed booby (and baby's head) so the prudish masses can continue to pretend they've never seen that sort of thing before. Anyway, this is awkward for both me and for him. He had a few token sucks hiding in the darkness before going back to crankiness.

As the talk went on I got him to quiet by bouncing and shushing and I was quite pleased with myself for seeming like the most amazing Mommy in the world. Then of course some of the other babies started a crying chorus and he just had to join. The talk thing was almost over by this point (well, there was about half hour to go) so William and I decided to duck out early. He didn't mind telling me that he was a bit over stimulated. Having that many babies in one room is craziness!

I think I'll go again next week.