bt, thanks for the link. Ya, lots of chalk. Lots of dancing. And the battle of the fairies is with nerf weapons, water guns, and inflatable hammers. Crazy fun.

I was totally going to suggest this!

Unfortunately, ever since I had the flu and pumped for over a week so I wouldn't be breathing on her, she now refuses the boob and I pump all the time.

It makes my skin crawl and my stomach turn to think about storing milk in some unknown 'fridge, with unknown numbers of people who could touch it. I don't think there's any way in Hell I could feed it to her.

Unfortunately, ever since I had the flu and pumped for over a week so I wouldn't be breathing on her, she now refuses the boob and I pump all the time.

Oh, shit, hon, how frustrating.

It makes my skin crawl and my stomach turn to think about storing milk in some unknown 'fridge, with unknown numbers of people who could touch it.

It's possible that if you haul in the pump, set up shop, and give every indication of being ready to go right now, screw the onlookers, they'll crumple and send you home.

When I pumped at work, I brought my own cooler. Didn't want anyone accidentally putting my breastmilk in their tea.

Oh, shit, hon, how frustrating.

Frankly, it's nothing compared to those first six weeks or so when we were seeing the lactation consultant twice a week and there were doubts about being able to feed her at all.

I brought my own cooler.

Fortunately, we have a library-only fridge, so the twenty-odd people who use it know my bag is my bag. I think if I had to use the school-wide fridge, I'd bring a cooler and ice packs.

I got a jury summons and Maryland doesn't specifically recognize breastfeeding as a reason to ask for an exemption or postponement.

Contact the court, you never know.

My mother got a jury duty summons in Wisconsin during the mid-80s. The rules in that county were that, when you were called, you served a total of 10 days on an as-needed basis. (There wasn't a jury trial every week, so it didn't make sense to ask potential jurors to show up every day.) Over the summer, she served 3 of her 10 days.

Now, after I graduated high school (in 1980), my mother started taking college classes herself. She'd previously arranged to start attending college full-time that fall. And she was called for a big trial on the same day as the first day of classes.

She contacted the court before the trial date and explained the situation. The judge not only excused her from jury duty for that trial, he waived the rest of her service as well.

(Ironic twist that isn't really relevant to the jury duty part of this -- I later worked on the same case. A couple summers later, I clerked for the same judge. Meanwhile, the jury's decision in the case had been appealed and remanded to the judge for further action. So the judge asked me to research the issues. And there was my mother's name in the record.)

Take the munchkin with you and just start feeding during voir dire. When you hear the gasps, just say "this won't be a problem during the trial, will it?"

I would totally show up with a big wet splotch on the front of my shirt and apologize with detailed explanation of the problem.

Contact the court, you never know.

The letter is already written, signed and sealed up for mailing. If they make me appear, I will certainly try to embarrass them without embarrassing myself. Still, I think this is something I shouldn't have to explain at all. I thank my lucky stars that I work in a place where I have a private office, that already had shades on the windows, that has a secure lock on the door, with understanding colleagues who know I have to lock myself in every 3 hours, etc., etc.,

Except for that one person who thinks your door should always be open.

Good luck, Sparky. How frustrating.

At our ultrasound yesterday, baby was in the frank breech position (head up, legs folded up with feet near face). He is already a character! Anyway, I have to go back next week to see if he's in a better position for them to check his heart and other important items.

OB said he is a big boy and weighs 5 lbs (at 32 weeks). He acted like I needed to watch my food intake, but I'm honestly not going nuts with sugar and the like. I have only gained in my belly. OB and partner are big into childhood obesity research and he was freaking me out talking about weight issues and such. I'm like, "He's not even born yet!" I have lots of 6' and taller men in my family and my brother and I were both big babies (bro was 9 lbs, 2 oz and I was 9 lbs). Neither of us have weight issues. I also have to have my 4th (!!!!) 1 hour glucose test. So. Over. It. Just give me my baby already!