I am saddened at the number of organizations that specifically ban babies from coming with their moms.  While TOPS (Take Off Pounds Successfully) is a great weight loss support group, they are one with such a ban.  However,  was a member of one local chapter that just sort of looked the other way.  They couldn't do much else as several of the members, including the Leader were nursing moms!  Then there was a home party business that had a similar ban at their rallies.  I attended one where a mom did bring a small nursing baby.  (I of course made it a point to compliment her for meeting her baby's needs in spite of the negative attitude of the higher-ups.)  At one point the baby began to cry and mom immediately left the room to tend to baby.  Of course, many heads turned and the speaker gave one very glaring look in that direction.  It was only the briefest interruption if you could even call it that.  I really believe most people turned ans looked not because the baby bothered them, but because they were so surprised that there was one there.  I made it a point to mention to one of the directors that I hoped they took note of the fact that having a baby in the room was not such a big deal.  She,of course, made a point of the fact that even the brief cry as mom left the room broke the attention of the audience.  What burned me up was that during the same presentation, one audience member had a sneezing attack which also drew the attention of the audience.  However, in this instance the speaker made some joking comment and immediately drew the attention back to her.  Now why couldn't the speaker have done the same thing when the baby let out a cry?  Perhaps such groups should also say that noone who might find themselves sneezing or coughing should attend the meetings-not because of any fear of spreading the germs, but because they might break the audience's attention from the speaker.  Give me a break!!!

The problem I have with all the babies at LLLI Conferences is that they are so cute I find myself watching them instead of listening!  There are some times when the moms seem to forget that while they can "tune out" baby and child noises, others in the audience may not be able to do so.  I like the diplomatic way it is said at LLLI Conferences these days that in effect, even loud hapoy noises can distract, so moms (and dads) need to be willing to take the baby or child to another place if those noises get loud enough to prevent others from hearing what is being said.  

Winnie

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