[Post shopping center meltdown]
Yesterday we had quite an eventful trip to the shops. After I had a coffee date with one of the Mum's I met at Mothers Group, Luke & I took Romy to the shops quickly so we could pick up some white onesies and groceries. Rather than go in and get exactly what we needed, we made the common shoppers mistake of 'just quickly' looking in shops we didn't need to. And trying on clothes for myself that weren't white onesies for Romy. As we were getting the last of our groceries Romy woke up with a vengeance and was quite vocal in telling me she was hungry. Luke could hear her from the opposite end of the grocery store! When I found where Luke was I told him I was taking Romy to the car. After I left, Luke went to walk down an isle when he overheard a group of older ladies having a discussion about how I was a bad mother because 'when babies cry they generally want something'. Luke politely told the busybodies that sometimes babies do cry, to which they snapped at him that he wasn't invited into their discussion as it was none of his business. He told them it was his business as that was in fact his baby and wife they were talking about, and that they shouldn't be so quick to judge as I was taking the baby out to the car to feed her (not that it was any of their business!).
While that was happening inside the shopping center, I was taking Romy out to the car. I had my back turned for a second as I was unpacking the pram, and turned back around to put the carrier into the car when I saw that a stranger was trying to pick Romy up out of the pram! I had to try and contain my reaction incase this strange woman's intentions were malicious. I quickly picked Romy up & the woman tried to reassure me that it was okay for them to cry. Even though it was completely inappropriate for this woman to approach my child and try to pick her up in a bid to comfort her, I was very glad that was her intentions as they could have been much worse. This isn't the first negative experience we've had at the shops since we've had Romy. One of our first trips to the shops she cried as we were leaving the shopping center and on our way out we had several people make comments to us that we 'need to take that baby home and feed it'. I am constantly amazed at just how rude some people can be. It is totally unnecessary to go up to a stranger and tell them what they should do, when they are in fact in the process of doing just that very thing!
At least when Romy is much older we'll be able to laugh about how outrageous shoppers found her as a baby!
