At the gym, a young trainer yelled at me and tried to throw me out of the class just because I had my baby with me: but at that very moment, something unexpected happened 

I am a single mother. My baby is only a few months old, and since giving birth my body has changed a lot. I knew that if I didn’t start taking care of myself, I would break down very quickly. That’s why, two months after my son was born, I decided to go to a fitness center.

But since I have no one to help me and my baby constantly needs care, sometimes I had no choice but to take him with me to the workouts.

In the group, the girls were understanding: sometimes one of them would take the stroller or play with the baby while I tried to do at least part of the exercises. Their support was priceless to me.

But one day, something unpleasant happened. I was holding my son in my arms and trying to do some light squats when he suddenly started crying. I tried to calm him down — I rocked him, held him close, whispered to him — but he wouldn’t stop.

At that moment, one of the trainers approached me. A tall, muscular man in tight shorts with a scowl on his face.

— How long is this going to go on? — he started raising his voice. — Every day the same thing! Why do you even bring him here? If you want to be with him, stay home, but don’t bother other people!

I froze. I pressed my son against my chest, feeling tears run down my cheeks.

— I’m sorry… he’s just so little, — I whispered.

— I don’t care! Maybe we should put up a huge sign at the entrance: “No children and no dogs allowed”!

I lowered my head, ready to turn around and leave. But just at that moment, something unexpected happened  To be continued in the first comment 

A girl from our group was standing next to me. She suddenly stood up and placed herself between me and that man.

— Hey! — her voice rang firm. — You have no right to talk to her like that. It’s a baby! Babies cry — that’s normal. We all understand, you’re the only one shouting as if she did something terrible.

The trainer sneered:

— Then she should just stay home instead of disturbing us!

— No. — The girl didn’t back down. — Do you even realize what a woman goes through after giving birth? How her body changes, and how important it is for her to get back to exercising? You’re bringing shame to this gym. And I’ll make sure management hears about the way you treat clients.

And she really did complain. A few days later I found out that the man had been fired.

But you know, the doubts remained. Maybe I was the one who was wrong? Maybe I really should have stayed home and not bothered anyone?