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Show Motherlunge a novel 16 backsplash. He found a bottle and began to fill it with formula and tap water. He was a little clumsy at it, a little drunk. His baby was so small. The toaster, which reflected her in chrome, was nearly as big. Pavia's shiny twin, one for him. Just plug the bottle in, push the lever down.... "Anyway," Dorothy continued from the bedroom, "Maternal wellbeing is essential to the formation of-goddammit*" The phone had started ringing again. Maternal wellbeing was essential. But no one, Dorothy thought, seemed to really believe this-even though it was scientifically proven and in many other cultures around the world, Sweden or Korea for example, new mothers were given bed rest for weeks and weeks and no one expected them to do anything except relax and heal. The babies were brought to them; they (the mothers) didn't have to go get them! Those mothers needed to rest. Dorothy wanted to rest, too. But the baby was always there, and even though Pavia was a sweet baby and didn't cry that much, everyone else seemed to think that she, Dorothy, should always be fussing over her: feeding her or changing her or taking her for walks practically around the clock. Or cleaning things! When Pavia was three months old, Dorothy's mother, who had driven over from Miles City to stay with them, kept vacuuming and banging dishes or otherwise tidying in a way that made it clear that she, Alva, really thought that she, Dorothy, should be doing the same. And Alva fed the baby formula six times a day, at regular intervals! When Dorothy was still trying to breastfeed, |
