First day... um try... at church

Today the family got up and got ready to go to church. This was our first Sunday back to church since Eden was born. We planned on going to the 9 a.m. service, but after Eden woke up around 4:15 a.m., we thought we'd sleep in just a bit and go to the 11:15 service. I should explain; our church now has Sunday service at two different campuses. We normally go to service at the main campus, but today we thought we'd try the satellite service that meets in a middle school on the east side of town.

We arrived at church and the parking attendant directed us to the nursery. When we arrived to the nursery - the trepidation of new parents leaving their child alone with strangers for the first time clearly showing on our faces - we signed Eden in and explained everything was in the diaper bag. We also explained clearly to the nursery attendant that if they needed to give her a bottle, they just needed to run it under warm tap water. We also put a note to this effect on the sign-in sheet where it asked for "special instructions." The lady in the nursery nodded and said okay.

Kendall and I made our way to the auditorium/sanctuary and within a few minutes, praise and worship was under way. But before we could get through the first song, our number flashed on the screen indicating that we were needed in the nursery.

We arrived to find Eden crying inconsolably and they told us that they didn't have a way to warm the bottle. Wait, let me say that again, they told us they didn't have a way to warm a bottle! Being as the church meets in a middle school, there were no water faucets in the classroom that had been converted to a nursery for Sunday morning. Okay, I thought to myself, that's fine; I can run to the bathroom and warm it up myself.

So, I ran to the nearest bathroom only to find that there was no warm water tap. Then I ran (literally) down the middle school hallway like a kid late for class to the next nearest bathroom only to find that there was no warm water tap in that lavatory either. I ran back to the nursery where Kendall was trying to settle Eden and told her I couldn't find a warm water faucet to warm the bottle. That's when the lady in the nursery said, "Yeah, we looked all around and couldn't find one." Uh... right... so you didn't think that was information that would have been helpful before I proceeded to sprint across the school.

Here's the thing, folks; I realize that the church is trying to provide nursery services in a middle school and that the classrooms weren't ever intended for infant care. I get that. What I don't get is why the lady nodded and said okay when I told her to warm the bottle under warm running water.

Moreover, when we were summoned to the nursery we realized that they had already put the nipple on the bottle and had attempted, or were going to attempt to give her the bottle as it was. Why on Earth would you try to give a baby a bottle straight out of a cooler? But even more importantly, why would you ask parents to write down special instructions if you only intended to ignore them completely?

But wait, there's more. It wasn't like we showed up to church this morning without having tried to do our due diligence. I called on Wednesday of last week to find out if they could feed our daughter a bottle, if they required shot records, and if there was anything I needed to know or do before bringing her to the nursery. The lady that picked up the phone at the church told me yes, no, and no, but that she would also have the woman who headed up nursery services give me a call. I never got that phone call.

I suppose Kendall could have nursed her, but they didn't even have a place where she could do that with any sort of privacy. Given that we had been told it wouldn't be a problem to give her a bottle, we didn't pack the nursing cover because we didn't expect to need it. One of the ladies in the nursery suggested Kendall sit there in the nursery and just turn around to breastfeed her. I know some people feel that it is a natural and beautiful thing that everyone should see, but we're just not the kind of bring-out-the-boob-for-public-viewing kind of people.

You know, I don't expect that nursery workers are going to dote on my daughter the way her mother and I do. It's not like we asked for Eden to have one-on-one individualized attention the entire time she's in the nursery, or for them to bathe her. We asked that they warm a bottle before giving it to her. Is that unreasonable? And what I do expect from people who are caring for my child is that they listen and pay attention to what I say. Don't just nod and tune me out. I expect people to call me back. I expect people to realize that they are caring for people's children - the most precious things in their lives - and that they need to have their head in the game.

Needless to say, we left directly and came straight home. Perhaps next Sunday will be better, back at the main campus.