Just imagine

Nursing room in Great World City, Singapore

This is not what the Mother's Room looks like at BabiesRUs, but just imagine our department stores had rooms that looked like this?

I had to go to BabiesRUs today. I say had to because it is my absolute last resort - always - but when the nugget realized that he could pull out the plastic protector doodads that I so effectively put into all of our exposed electrical outlets, I knew I needed a better solution, fast. And sadly, in the city of San Francisco, my only option was to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and head to the smelling of plastic, fluorescent bulb lit superstore.

It was my last stop before heading home, so I had already pushed the nugget to his limits. It was already ten after six and he hadn't eaten dinner and the tiredness was starting to pull at his eyelids. I asked him to spare me 10 more minutes and then I would get him home as soon as possible. I found my "nugget safe" outlet covers, grabbed a few bags of toddler finger foods and a pouch of some sort of organic freeze dried something, paid with the friendly yet oddly placed older Indian gentleman at the counter and then sheepishly asked. "You still have the breastfeeding room, right?

This is their one saving grace - this quiet, clean and non-descript room. The white billowy upholstered glider called me, almost magically and when I turned to sit, it was farther down than I expected. Me, plus the nugget and my purse and the newly acquired plastic bag fell into the chair and it caught us - my body relaxing immediately. It was like sitting in a cloud. If there is a baby number 2, I am sooo getting a chair like this, I thought to myself. I looked at the nug, he looked at me, I got him in position and I as started to lift out my boob he made this sound - like a fusion of "ah ha" and "yup". Sort of a high pitched "hup" and then feverishly went to town, eyes rolling back in his head. Guess he was hungry.

Once he finished, it had been my intention to eat and go but as soon as I perched the nugget into my lap, we didn't seem to be in a hurry anymore. I gave him the pouch of goodies I had just bought and helped him rip into it. There he sat, sort of to the right side, facing me, feverishly devouring the freeze dried apple cubes, while rhythmically spitting out the heart shaped puffs of grain that accompanied them. Tiny little fingers navigating the opening of the pouch and with such detail, picking at each small morsel. And then, with the same attentiveness the piece landed on his tiny little lips and then his hand was already reaching for the next one. Over and over again. His body felt like an extension of mine - I was not sure where mine stopped and his started. It was as if we had been sitting together in this chair forever.

I don't know how long we sat there.

When he had sufficiently emptied most of the pouch onto our laps and had more than 5 sucked on, spit out puffs attached to the top of his onesie, I figured it was time to head home. I cleaned up the mess, pocketed the parenting magazine I had started to read and wiped our hands with the last remaining dried out wipes.

I left BabiesRUs for the first time ever, with a huge smile on my face and a contentment that only comes from truly being in the present moment.