Double-Take

So I'm at the mall this morning, giving Brandt some much needed run-around-and-play time somewhere other than my house. Not too busy, since we're there at 9:30 before the stores are open, and there are only about 12 kids/babies in the play area. Nothing weird ... just the regular playing around and good times had by all. Then I do one of those double takes ... you know, the kind where you try not to look like you're looking but you really want to confirm you just saw what you think you saw.

Now I'm pro-breastfeeding, although not to the breastfeed-or-die extremes that some women preach. And I nursed Brandt until he was 15 months old, although by that time he was only nursing once per 24 hours, just right before bed. I was never much a fan of the demand-feeding style after Brandt was 4 months old. But I consider myself to be pretty open-minded to the whole "nursing in public" process. I did it many times when Brandt was younger and still nursed a few times during the day. Just setting the stage for my next paragraph. Are you ready?

This kid, not baby, probably 2.5 years old (maybe older, I don't know) walks up to his mother and DEMANDS the boob. I then watch as she discreetly (you had to give her that) pries her breast out of her shirt and allows her kid to stand there and have a drink. Okay, this is where the whole double-take process begins. I didn't want to stare, and I didn't want her to think I was horrified (although I kind of was) ... but I had to look again to make sure he really was standing there with his mouth on his mother's boob. And a few minutes later when I just had to have another look, I see that he has switched sides.

Part of me wanted her to know that I nursed my son as well (kind of like we're in the same club), but part of me wanted to slap her across the face and yell, "Enough is enough! Reclaim your breasts!" I could tell she was a little concerned about allowing her son to nurse at the mall. I saw a few times where he would poke and prod at her boobs and try to take them out to nurse some more. She didn't seem at all pleased by that. But if that's the case, why has she allowed him to continue nursing this long? Or if it is in fact her choice to still be nursing, at least set up some ground rules ... like "After 18 months, no sucking boob at the mall."