business partner #2

business partner #2 1Let me introduce you to my other business partner [pictured right].

She and I stick together. Even when I went to do a news segment two weeks ago, she was there at the TV studio. I nursed her before I went LIVE. Tim held her in the break room and the broadcasters shook her hand.

Doing business is hard with a babe. Since I'm exclusively breastfeeding, I can either take her everywhere all of the time or pump. I know some moms pump all of the time (applauding you!)...but to me, it's confusing. Especially if I only want to give her a bottle occasionally.

Besides, I miss her when we're apart.

I'd like to see more newborns accepted at (and invited to) conferences, workplaces, political campaign dinners, business mixers, board meetings, and speeches. Babes in arms. Mom's arms - and dad's' arms too.

I know I'll blink and this season will be over. For now, she goes where I go. But please don't be alarmed. I can assure you that she's an outstanding business partner. She's contemplative and curious; quick to learn; super adaptable; likable; good with people.

Although, I have to admit: she does sleep quite a bit on the job...

business partner #2 2

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16 comments on “business partner #2”

  1. I agree, I won't leave my babies during the first year for anything. It has to be a pretty big deal (wedding, funeral, something really big).

  2. She is precious, and so are you! I love that she is your sidekick, co-worker, assistant :-) All of your little ones definitely look related - I LOVE that! Can't wait to see how they look next to each other in a few years!

  3. Just popping in to see your new bundle of joy! She in no doubt the cutest business partner ever. :) I know juggling the whole work-at-home Mommy thing is tough, but soooooo worth it. Enjoy your newest sweetie!

    P.S. LOVE that last photo. So peaceful and sweet and perfect.

  4. I love this post. So cute. And so spot on. I don't often encounter people who don't welcome infants. But it always shocks me (& makes me a bit mad...) when I do, whether it be in an office, in a sanctuary, at a wedding, in a meeting...
    You are a good mom Stephanie!

    1. Plus, I can't do the pumping thing at all. I did it some with my oldest. But, after that, I could never even get a bottle full. I gave up & didn't try with this baby.
      And, your little one is so lovely!

  5. I so agree. It is one the beauties of my current part time/mostly from home job ;-). Almost every time I have meetings at the office, I have at least one with me (and they are now 5 & 7). After the nursing phase ended, I would send to them to a well trusted neighbor to play for the longer meetings, but for the little drop in for a quick meeting with one or two people, they almost always came along. And last school year when my little one was in kinder, I had to go pick her up right in the middle of the longer meeting. It was no big deal AT ALL for me to slip away, run get her, bring her back, and finish the meeting. And, she always had tons of fun with all the adults who wanted her on their laps - though Mr. Candyman (Al F.) almost always got her. Just last week, I sent my boss a thank you email for creating an environment where my kids could come hang out in his office and watch the birds through his window. Why were they watching? Because he'd just given them some new feed to take out to them - a seriously important job to 5 and 7 year olds! They were in paradise with their new responsibility. And what was he doing this whole time? Working as hard as ever taking calls, sending emails, and meeting with people. And, yes, they sat there by his desk looking out his window having a marvelous time piping up with, "Look, that bird is eating the one I put out there!" or "Ohhh, that birdie doesn't like my food!" Did he mind? Honestly, I don't think he minded even one little bit.

    And, I'm with Sarah R. My kids are great in public because it is their norm. They've been doing it all their lives.

    Great post, Stephanie!

    1. I happen to know "your boss" quite well and you summed up his personality exactly right. He's the kind of person who genuinely cares for people, which translates into genuinely caring for children (who are people too, even though our society sometimes forgets that important point). ;)

      1. Exactly! I have always been amazed at how this particular "boss" stops what he's doing when they enter (at least for a few minutes before returning to his countless responsibilities), focuses on them as though they are the most important people in the room, and then has that "earth shatteringly" important conversation with them, usually about something they learned or did in school (but one time, he had my little one read to him as she'd brought her Tree House book to read during my meeting, and NOTHING else mattered at that moment -- I loved it!). He makes them feel like a HUGE importance to our society because he truly believes that they indeed ARE a huge importance - sadly, a rarity among many.

  6. Now if only I could manage to sleep on the job some... :)

    My kids go with me a lot of times to see clients and since we've done it ever since they were little they know how to act and we get many, many compliments on their behavior, manners and conversation. I agree, I'd love to see babies, toddlers and children welcome in more places - at the same time, I've seen too many out of control kids to expect it to happen.

  7. Amen, Sister! I would love to see newborns (and kids) more widely accepted everywhere. I exclusively breastfeed and I have a Medela Pump In Style, but it's still really hard to pump. I feel like I feed all the milk I have to my daughter when she's nursing, so there's nothing "left over" for the pump. Therefore, I don't have a huge stash of frozen milk for bottles to feed her if I go away.

    PS - We took our son everywhere too when he was little, and now he knows how to behave in public. We get compliments all the time for him and I truly believe it's because we didn't allow ourselves to be locked in the house when he was a baby.

    1. I had a Medela Pump In Style with my first baby. It worked well, but I rarely used it so I ended up passing it along to one of my sisters.

      Now I'm considering getting another pump, but I'm not sure I'll make good use of it. Like you, I'm confused about how often and when to pump if I only want to give her a bottle occasionally. I don't want to "confuse" my body about how much milk to produce - especially when we have such a nice rhythm going.

      1. I've never had anyone honestly tell me that she was confused and that she didn't want to confuse her baby. I felt totally alone when I was in that position! Thanks for "admitting" it proudly.

        My babies would never take a bottle, and I always felt like I'd failed because I didn't "try this or that." So, after a few weeks of watching them spit it out and end up screaming mad, I gave up. It wasn't worth it. I started pumping again around 6 months when I got ready to start feeding the rice cereal just so I could use my milk in it. It didn't take much. We were on a 4 hour schedule by then so I would pump just an ounce or two once a day between feedings.

        And, now, honestly, It was fine. My kids never did have a meal from a bottle, and I am fine with that. I never was far from my nursing babies that I couldn't feed them anyway. The only time I felt like it would have been nice was during LONG road trips as stopping for the 30+ minute nursing and added a couple hours to the typically 18 hour drive.

        1. Thanks for sharing your experience, Rena. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

          I don't anticipate leaving my baby much at all during the 1st year, but I do wistfully think that a bottle might be nice every once in awhile (for meetings, road trips, etc).

  8. She is so beautiful. I completely agree about infants being accepted to more of these events. I know I love seeing them there. When Audrey was a baby I took her everywhere with me, even now I still take her with me most places.

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