Lately everywhere I go, I take an umbrella. Not because it’s raining (fat chance of that with this sweltering summer heat) but because it’s soooo sunny and bright! I don’t care what I look like, I don’t want Baby Bug to get a sun burn. So I walk around town with a golf umbrella. As the sun goes down, I tilt the umbrella to follow it. Sometimes I walk with the umbrella at a 90 degree angle away from my body. I look like I’m using it as a barrier to plow through crowds. But I’m not. I just am getting addicted to not squinting any more. Now I hardly ever go out without the umbrella.

The other day I was at the laundromat and Baby Bug was getting hungry. I was frantically looking for a private place to nurse her but it was about 102 degrees and nursing in the car was out of the question. The restroom at the laundromat is small and cramped and you have to put a coin in the door to get it to open. Plus, people are using it constantly. So I sat down in some chairs, that I thought were sort of out of the way, and draped a blanket over my shoulder as best I could. (I do have those hooter hider things but they don’t work for me. Baby Bug needs constant attention. We are still having latching issues and bla bla bla bla… whatever.)

Wouldn’t you know it, two little boys (about 8 and 10 maybe) came and sat right next to me. I could tell by their smirks and giggles that they had never been around a nursing mother before and I started to get really really uncomfortable. Of course Baby Bug is not a quiet eater and she likes to play games with me like pull at the blanket and my clothes. Things were not going well for me and my uninvited audience.

So what did I do? I whipped out my trusty umbrella and popped it open. Kabamo! Instant privacy. I love that umbrella. I’m sure I’ll find another hundred uses for it before Baby Bug turns three.