I Respectfully Propose a “No Creepy Guys at the Pool” Law

Is it just me, or is it not WRONG to be a grown, middle-aged man who frequents the local public pool by himself, but does not swim?  I had never really thought about it until Wednesday, when I took my son to swimming lessons, and before you judge me for being paranoid, read on.  Usually, during my son’s lesson, I swim laps, happily oblivious to everything going on in the world and in the pool.  But on Wednesday, I decided to forgo the workout and bring my beautiful, one-year old daughter to splash in the water with me. Afterall, she had just had her 1 year well visit, where they took blood and gave shots.  She needed a pick-me-up.

So as Jake is in his lesson and I am playing with Bea in the water (she likes to crawl on the gutters) a man in his 50s or 60s walks by and gave her a long look as he passed.  It was not a look that happy grandparents give babies (You know that wide-eyed, open-mouthed, joyful look!), nor was it a look that I assume sexual perverts give to pictures on the internet. No, the look was definitely somewhere in between, closer to the latter, and it made me uncomfortable.  He walked by, and I took Bea away from the gutter and out into the water with me, threw her up in the air and splashed some more. As I played with my daughter, I quickly forgot about Creepy Guy (henceforth known as CG).

About 20 minutes later, I decided to take Bea to the baby pool, in order to give my arms a bit of a break.  As we were walking to the baby pool, CG, who had set up his chair…in the SHADE…NEXT TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE BABY POOL…says to me in a voice, again somewhere between grandpa and creepy uncle, “She is going to be a real good swimmer some day.”  Had he been watching her that whole time?  His very presence made me feel icky.  I quickly gave him a terse but polite reply and walked past him into the baby pool. 

Now, I know I don’t have any say in who can and cannot go to the pool, and he did NOTHING that would warrant a complaint. But sometimes as mothers we just get feelings about people, and mine was not good about this guy.  So I ask again; Should men be allowed to come to the pool and sit in the shade, and not swim?  Our pool conveniently offers a tanning deck for adults only. If he were there, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But where he chose to sit and his demeanor really freaked me out.  Even if he was looking at ME and not my baby, I think it is creepy and wrong. What if he is only there to look at teenaged life-guards? You can be certain that I will be on HIGH alert next time I take my buzzy Bea to the pool.  CG and his ilk could be anywhere!  (Ok, maybe I’m a little paranoid.)

Don’t Fear the Boobies

Yesterday, I attended a Cleveland Indians/Cincinnati Reds spring training baseball game at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, AZ.  The Indians won!  My son got Grady Seizemore’s autograph. It was great to be in the sunshine and to see the Indians players up close.  We had a perfect day.  Almost.

Near the 8th inning, I decided to go to the kids zone area to nurse my seven-month-old daughter.  I picked that area because, 1) There was shade. 2) There was grass. and 3) The name “Kids Zone” implied familes were in there.  Families that I assumed included people that had seen a woman breastfeeding before.

Now, I would like to point out that my now 7 year-old-son was nursed in Yankee Stadium, Turner Field, Veteran’s Stadium, Camden Yards and Coors Field in the first year of his life. I am a pro at Baseball Stadium motherhood!

So, I nursed Bea. I don’t think any of the people enjoying the batting cages or the bouncy house even noticed I was there. However, when I was finished, a very pretty multi-tattooed girl, maybe 25 years old, with the beginnings of ear-lobe spacers in her ears,  came over to me and said. “Ma’am, I just want you to know that we have a family restroom.”

“Yes, I know. And?”

“Well, weren’t you feeiding your baby?”

“Yes.”

“Um, you aren’t allowed to do that out here.  That is what the family restroom is for.”

Was she serious? The family bathroom is a cold, windowless, chairless concrete box.  “No, it’s not. The family restroom is for going to the bathroom with kids.”

“Um, whatever. You can’t feed your baby out here.”

“It is illegal to tell a nursing mother where she can and can not feed her baby.”

“It is?”

“Yes, and you need to tell your supervisor that.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do if someone asks me what you are doing?”

“I would tell them that I’m feeding my baby.  I picked this area becasue it is a family area. Again, legally, you cannot tell me where to nurse, so I’m going to ask you to tell your supervisor that we had this conversation and I’m going to leave now.”

She clearly was not ready to go up against me. Tattoos or not. She was a little flustered, but finally said, “Well, I guess that is good to know when I become a mother some day.”

Indeed.

If I lived in Arizona, I would be organizing some sort of Nurse-In at the ballpark in the coming weeks, but alas, I do not. So if anyone wants to take that up, go for it.

Fight the power ladies.  For more information about the Law and the Breastfeeding Mother: Click HERE and to get involved in the Breastfeeding Mother’s movement, go HERE.