The Path of Least Resistance

I'm all about doing what's easiest, especially when it comes to parenthood.  Why make things any more complicated than they need to be?  When we first brought Liam home, I co-slept with him for the first 4-5 months, and then stayed in his room until past 6 months to make it easier to breastfeed through the night and respond to his awakenings.  I didn't do this for any reason related to attachment parenting, although I did love the closeness and connection we gained through co-sleeping. 

Now that we're feeding solid foods, I've (insanely) gone through 5 high chairs to find the one that will work for us AND that I'm able to clean in less than 2 minutes.  The previous 4 chairs we tried had a fabric, machine washable seat, and it took an engineer and a lot of muscle to figure out how to remove the seat in order to clean it.  Why?  High chair designers of the world:  Here's a tip.  5-step cleaning instructions and babies are not a good combination. 

I feel the same way about breastfeeding.  I was committed to breastfeeding because of the health benefits to Liam and the connection it would bring us.  But, I also love the simplicity of it.  Nevermind the fact that it's free, but you always have food and a source of comfort for your baby wherever you go.  If we're out and about and Liam is a bit fussy, it's easy to put him on the boob for a few minutes. Win-Win for everyone. 

That's why I loved this video that's been making the rounds by spoken word artist Hollie McNish.

I've never been asked to leave a public place because I was breastfeeding, but I'm amazed by the number of stores, public establishments, and workplaces that do not have a dedicated breastfeeding and/or pumping area for nursing moms.  In fact, there are only three stores I know of that offer this to their customers.  Nordstroms, Buy Buy Baby, and Babies R Us.  It's crazy to me that it's 2013, and in an area as diverse as Washington, DC, I can only name three establishments that I know will welcome me, my baby, and my boobs with open arms.  Here's to hoping that will change, and that artists like Hollie will help inspire that change.