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Yesterday, we took our first big adventure out of the house. I’d done small trips with Addison, all lasting under an hour to guarantee that I would not have to navigate the waters of GASP! public breastfeeding. We’d hit up the grocery store, made a run to the post office, even swung by Kinkos to print some of the millions of photographs my trigger-happy finger can’t stop snapping of my newest bundle. But again, these ventures all were within the 1-hour time constraint.

My dearest friend from college, a now Harvard educated doctor, was out visiting and helping with the babe. I decided what better time to try a real outing than with a friend slash doctor by my side to help defray some of the attention and insecurity should I have to whip out my boob in front of a crowd. We chose to go see a movie, a lofty venture indeed as we were risking a public meltdown that might disturb the other viewers movie-going experience. We decided to see “UP,” in the middle of the day, reasoning that the demographic in such a theater would be more sympathetic to a wee child’s screams.

I must say, Addison was a champ. She slept for the first half of the movie, and when I saw her car seat beginning to sway with movement, I quickly snapped her up before she could make a fuss. She bounced in my lap, and then, at the quietest, most moving part of the movie, the point where the grumpy old man has an emotional, heartfelt epiphany, her face down turned into that perfect little frown and I held my breath waiting for the wail. Fortunately, my knees unconsciously responded with more rapid, bouncing fervor, momentarily distracting and overwhelming her from really letting loose. The film transitioned into a much noisier, more action filled scene and I began scrambling in the dark for those dang nipple shields, while simultaneously bouncing and fumbling at my nursing bra. There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in flashing my boob and awkwardly sticking both shield and child to my chest. I couldn’t even tell if she was getting any milk, but she was peacefully sucking away in the dark. It didn’t matter that I was literally a human pacifier and had endured my first bout of public flashing compounded by the SUPER NIPPLE! (to be said as though it were an action hero). We had watched the ENTIRE movie, without causing a scene and being booed out of the theater by the crowd of little old ladies behind us. I felt like a functioning member of society for the first time since birth, braving public to go enjoy an afternoon movie with a friend and my child.

UP, UP Hurray indeed!