I am a BIG fan of breastfeeding. I think women should do it if they can. I can. I do. I have no modesty about when or where I do it. I don't throw a blanket over my baby's head, because no one else I know eats with a blanket over their head. The only time I have ever been even slightly miffed about feeding my baby anywhere, it was when I was on TV.
We have season tickets to the local college hockey team. Sometimes I go, sometimes I don't. It depends how many of the older kids want to go, mostly. When I do go, though, I insist on sitting on the aisle. Some deep seated fear in me tells me that will be the best place to be if the arena collapses. Mostly I just like having a little extra room on one side, and a quick getaway if one of the kids has to go to the bathroom.
This was a while back, when Zane was just a babe. He was our fifth child, and I had no qualms about taking him to the hockey game when he was a mere infant. I put him in a carrier and snuck him in under my coat, lest we would have to buy a "lap-ticket" for him. I don't know if the guy at the ticket gate was just that dumb, or if he totally let us slide. Either way, it saved us $11.
Our seats were in the nosebleeds, only four or five rows behind us. We hiked up the steps and the kids filed in to their seats. Zane started whimpering, and as any mommy knows, that triggers immediate let-down. So I ditched the carrier and stuffed him up under my shirt. Chow down, kid. The first period commenced. I didn't stand for the National Anthem, but I was just a little busy.
I was watching the game, so I didn't notice the girls beckoning the mascot, Champ. The guy in the bulldog outfit clambered up the stairs and leaned over me to give the girls high-fives. Then the boys had to get in on the action and come give Champ hugs. All the while, this college kid in a bulldog head and hockey jersey is leaning over me while I am nursing my wee one. Broian poked me in the shoulder, and pointed. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! I was on the jumbotron with my kid under my shirt, for a good full minute! HELLO, HOCKEY FANS!
What I didn't know until the day after was that this particular scene was also a highlight of the game on our local news. When four or five of my co-workers mentioned my "appearance" on the news, I decided to just start saying that I was lobbying for La Leche League instead of watching the game. Hockey in Duluth has never been the same since.
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