Sniffle.

Oooh, I forgot about the Melba toasts! I might need to go buy some now.

Tradish, although there's nothing wrong with the sweet stuff. I'm just craving salty-crunchy.

Beats me. But now I want some Chex Mix.

I donated milk that I pumped while I was on a business trip. If anything, I was even more careful preparing that milk than I am for my own babe.

Oh wow, that would be so refreshing.

Thanks. I have tried a version of this when a (female!) coworker said I'd probably rather be home with baby. It went a little awkwardly, but it sounds like I'll be getting lots of practice!

So I just had a baby. (Is 6 months ago "just" enough?) had three months of maternity leave (also known as summer vacation. I'm a teacher). Now I find myself fielding comments about how I must wish I could stay home all the time with him! It's kind of awkward because as much as I love my little guy to pieces, I...…

My insurance would only reimburse $100. Boo. (Something about it being unclear what the new law would be. This was in May.)

No wonder she got pissed. Anywhere a woman is legally allowed to be, a baby is allowed to nurse. That is the law. It's not about where Turtle_Fu thinks is appropriate to eat. Babies aren't like adults. They can't wait, and I'd think you'd rather have a baby quietly nursing than screaming its head off. I would…

I agree on with you that mothers shouldn't stubbornly adhere to ideals in the face of inconvenience, but I think babies can be just as stubborn. In the comments thread on this article, there is another woman whose baby refused to take bottles, and she had to return to work. She said her baby would nurse for 4 hours…

Did I say that?

Wow. I've heard of reverse-cycling like that, but didn't think about the reality of it. Four hours of straight nursing? You're a champ.

Your mom is awesome.

And furthermore, you sound very hostile to breastfeeding mothers in general. You might not know, but nursing mothers are advised against introducing a bottle or pacifier too early, which could cause nipple confusion and make the baby reject the breast. Then you lose the quickest, most convenient way to feed your…

Some babies refuse to eat from a bottle, and in that case, yes, a mother would have to be close at hand for feedings. Ridiculous? Idiotic? Maybe to you. But that is preferable to a hungry, screaming baby.

Not everybody has the support network living nearby that could afford to take off work for someone else's jury duty. And it's not just for a few hours. It's until the case is finished.

Agreed about the judge (and your court system sounds awesome), but not every baby takes a bottle even if it is introduced in that magical window between nipple confusion and breast preference.

Keeping a breastfeeding baby away from his sole source of food and placing the burden on a mother who does not have the resources to make alternate arrangements doesn't strike me as very civilized.

I think that is the definition of "more money than sense."