Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Funny memory of Devlin

As a medical doctor, my sister sometimes attends conferences. Sometimes, she gets really cool freebies at these conferences, like mugs or pens. Sometimes she gets t-shirts that are too big for her and she passes them on to family members. That's how Wayne got a t-shirt with a picture of a cute chubby infant breast-feeding. He's had that shirt for a few years now, and wears it at home, not infrequently. But for some reason, the picture finally caught Devlin's eye.
Devlin: Why does that baby have a big funny looking belly?
Daddy: It's not a belly. The baby is nursing.
Devlin: What?
Daddy: The baby is getting breast-fed by the mother. You were all breast fed as babies.
Devlin: Oh, you mean boobs. I've got boobs too.
Daddy: It's called breasts. And that's how mommies feed their babies.
Devlin and Ceilidh: Boobs! Ha ha.. funny.

And the message about being breast-fed was completely lost on them as they collapsed into giggles. But it brought back memories of nursing all of my babies, and a memory of Devlin when Ceilidh was an infant. Unlike other children, Devlin had no interest in breasts once the breast-feeding was over. He made the switch to bottles, and never looked back. Never once gazed upon the naked chest with longing or with smacking lips in the tub (Aisling did that once). Never showed a particular interest in what I was doing when I was feeding Ceilidh. A friend's child watched her with interest, and wanted to know if Mommy's other breast produced apple juice?
Not Devlin. The only time he displayed any interest was when I caught him walking around the house with my breast pump attached to his chest, trying to work the handle.
Really as far he was concerned, breast-feeding was a way to quiet a crying baby. He and Ceilidh were playing "pretend" one day. The baby was crying, and Devlin decided to silence the "crying baby" by bringing the teddy bear to his chest and lifted up his t-shirt!

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