Today I decided to take the kids to the Perot Museum. Everyone but Nate came. He wanted to stay home and work on his school assignments. When we got there, Lucy was asleep. We bought our tickets and started off in the Amazing Animals exhibit. As soon as we entered the exhibit hall, Lucy woke up. This was not a good wake up though. She looked around, looked at me, stuck out her lower lip, then started screaming. She seemed terrified! I felt so bad for her. I think it was a mix of sensory over stimulation and claustrophobia. She kept screaming, so I told the kids I would wait for them outside. As soon as Lucy and I made it to the hallway, she calmed down and was fine. We walked through some other exhibits, then Lucy fell asleep. She slept for about an hour and a half, which allowed us to sit down and get lunch. Towards the end of lunch, Lucy woke up. She was not a happy camper. Again, we were in a tightly packed area with people and loud noises. I urged the kids to hurry finishing their food and to clean up the table. Lucy was screaming pretty loud by this point. Next thing I know, there is a lady in front of me asking me if I am okay. I assured her that everything was fine. However, that was not good enough for her. She kept going on asking me if my baby was okay, if I had help, if I had Enough help. Then, she started into telling me about schedules and about “The Happiest Baby on the Block” book. Really?!?!! What would have been more helpful would have been for her to leave us alone and let us finish cleaning up our mess so we could get out of the cafeteria. Lucy was hungry by that point, but with 4 other kids in tow, she was going to have to wait a bit until we could get where I could nurse her plus keep an eye on the other kids while having them be entertained. Being the youngest of 6 kids sometimes requires patience, even when it isn’t the easiest to wait. After we managed to escape the lady and her parenting advice, Brie was just laughing. Now she is getting to see first hand what I keep telling her. So many people feel that they can parent your child better. Once we got to the earth exhibit, I nursed Lucy while the kids rode the earthquake ride a few times. After that Lucy slept for another 2 hours, then woke up happy to play. She was a great baby, and we all had fun. If I could offer advice to others, it would be: If you see a mom with a crying baby either mind your own business and let her handle things (because she most likely knows what she is doing and knows how to get her baby to stop) or if you feel inclined to do something, ask her how you can help her so she can go take care of her baby. If she declines the help, be on your way.   One very neglected baby that “needs help.” 😉

  The big kids making race cars.

 The aftermath of a busy day. 😄