The one where the woman approaches me about breastfeeding

I'm standing in the well lit lobby of the Freeman Coliseum for my cousin's high school graduation.
Kids are walking to and fro, chattering and laughing. A teenage couple a few yards away is arguing.

And there I am, hands strategically placed as I nurse Rowan in the Boba. I'm leaning against the wall, looking at her and back at the people around me. This goes on for at least 5 minutes.

Suddenly an older woman and her preschool age daughter approach me.
"I just want to let you know you're doing a good thing, and keep it up." she tells me.
"It's the best thing for them." I feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Can I stop right here and say how odd it is for this to happen?
The closest thing I've come is when I attended a friend's wedding and I nursed Rowan as a newborn.
A woman across the room smiled at me and through a grin mouthed, "Good job."

I have mixed feelings on this one.

I do believe, as most people do, that breast is best. There is science to back this up.
I think encouragement is wonderful for moms who struggle to nurse their babies.
And I totally felt some crunchy cred when I received accolades for simply feeding my baby but really that's just it.
I was just feeding my baby.

Has it become so commonplace now to see mothers bottlefeed (or maybe hide somewhere to nurse) that it is worthy of praise when a mother is seen simply breastfeeding her child?
It is a little sad.

The other side of me thinks what if I were bottlefeeding Rowan instead? Would this woman have just muttered to herself how I'm just like all of the others who "gave up" on breastfeeding?
Surely no one is going to praise me for feeding my baby via bottle.

I almost felt guilty about feeling good about this encounter. What does that say about me? That I think I am better than bottle feeders? I enjoyed the connection to a stranger over something so intimate but then there is that issue. Was it really any of her business to talk to me about it?

Things to ponder...

Rowan's Rainbow Party

Rowan turned 1 on the 18th of May.
I can't believe it has already been a year since she was forced to evacuate the premises.
She is already behaving like a little girl too: feisty and over emotional. Sigh.

To celebrate we had a rainbow themed party last weekend.

Rowan in her mommy made cake smash outfit.

Of course I have like no pictures of the rainbow assortment of plates and forks. Or the rainbow napkins. Or the other rainbow decorations. But I do have pictures of cake!

Rowan's smash cake before it was given to her.

She proceeded with caution with the smash cake. She dipped her fingers in it, subtly tasted it and made a face because of the gooeyness of the frosting.
Then all hell broke loose.

After we were all done oogling her as she made an enormous mess, it was rainbow cake time. Awww yeah.

Pictures don't do it justice.

This sucker was very difficult to cut. You can't tell from the picture, but it was quite tall so every time I cut off a piece it started leaning more and more towards its impending death. Hence the big cake mess.
I couldn't get a decent picture of its vivacity but the bright hues in the piece to the right almost take you there.
This cake was amazing. Many thanks to my stepmom for making exactly what we were looking for.

After cake it was present time. Of course Rowan's favorite present was the food. She insisted I open it and give her some of it.
All in all the party was a great success! The rainbow theme was a lot of fun and Rowan had a blast.