Anyone want to talk about public breast feeding?

[amayzie]

I find it funny when you are with another nursing mother and they go somewhere far away and hidden to BF- while you flop it all out!! A woman i was with the other day went outside in the night to feed!! I guess i'm more of an exhibitionist/activist!! Doing my bit! Possibly next time she'll think- hey... perhaps i don't have to LEAVE THE BUILDING to breastfeed!

[atlantamomofthree]

Glad you're finding your SIL is feeling more comfortable, CV.

Re: Non-sexual bb's, It's hard not to think of mine as sexual still because my dh can't keep his hands off of them-they're so much fuller! But seriously, I see them in both ways. When I am feeding our baby I very much feel I am supplying nourishment for him as well as giving him closeness and comfort, but when I'm with dh, I still see them as sexual and part of our experience together.    

[shivi]

I've bf in all sorts of places.
Was actually more comfortable with O than with E. He was my "better" more concentrated on the job feeder. Perhaps thats why.

Emma was hopeless....always bobbing on and off....so I actually fed her with both me and her under a dark blanket from around 5 mths when it was May-Sept and we were out and about a lot and she was still feeding a good bit during the day.

Strangest places - church sarcristy with all the priests getting dressed for mass at my nieces christening....my classroom cupboard(its quite big really) when E was nearing a year old, full on distracted by all the 2 yr olds outside and I had to stay late for parents evenings, and yes, I've done little feeds in the snow as well (E was a January baby).

S x

[Roseii]

I ended up feeding dd1 in a church at a wedding when she was 3wo. It wasn't the plan, we sat on some pews where I had access to escape if she cried then just before the wedding started the videographer stationed himself right at the end of our pew and blocked me in! I was a first time mum with a 3wo baby and had to attempt to bf her in the church, during the wedding, not making a fuss, pulling up my blouse and attempting to latch her. With my BIL next to me too

[lauraweb]

If I'm at the mall or somewhere else that provides a feeding room I will always use it rather than sitting out in a busy area. I guess I do prefer privacy if it is there for me and the distraction factor for baby. It's just more relaxing all round. 

Having said that if there isn't one on hand I will feed in public. Just today we visited an aquarium and Eva got fed in front of a stingray pool! It was mega busy and I found what I thought to be the most secluded area but in fact I was in front of fact sheets on sharks and it was unbelievable how many people came over to read them! I generally just tuck Eva under my top ( I make sure to wear bf friendly clothes when out) I do wish more places offer nursing rooms as it is nice to have a quiet and peaceful environment to feed in.

[amayzie]

oh distractible babies!!

[Papaya]

I always tried to be discrete when out and about because I didn't have a clue just what sort of reaction I'd get - I've only ever seen one other woman bfing here. But I would always feed F wherever we were when she needed to be fed. So I've fed in church, at friends' houses, at school, airports, planes....most bizarre was in the middle of a rainforest, just standing in the middle of a track, in the rain (under an umbrella . Not terribly public, although one other walker did come past and wonder what the heck I was doing!

[amayzie]

breastfeeding in the elements is pretty extreme!

[Papaya]

Yeah, I was a bit worried about leeches tbh!

[Curly Val]

Non-sexual bb's, It's hard not to think of mine as sexual still because my dh can't keep his hands off of them-they're so much fuller!

My DH is the same way!  I think both of us will mourn when BFing is over!  I for the loss of my nursling and he well because of saggy BBs!

I think its ok that BBs are still sexual, its just that our culture has made them exclusively sexual and from the beginning of time they have been used for BFing (lots and lots) and I think that needs to be acknowledged in culture too!

CV

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

It's funny, I've always fed my babies wherever and whenever but almost always with a cover.  Recently when I've been stuck without one I've just gone ahead and done it - in a park the other day.  At 2.5 years of BFing I finally feel like - if you don't want to see it, then don't look!  But I do prefer the cover just to minimize the awkwardness.  I dont' even really think of it as NIP with the cover, though.  Most people don't even know what's going on under there, I've found! 

I left my med school graduation to feed DD in the lobby.  She was only a couple of weeks old and couldn't make it through the ceremony.  Oh well!  I'll tel her that story one day! 

[clazzat]

I was fairly nervous about feeding in public with dd1, but as time has gone on I have become more confident about feeding wherever baby needs to be fed. I have never had a bad experience, although every now and then I have managed to put myself somewhere that I thought was discrete but has turned out to be a really obvious place - like in the window of a coffee shop on the high street!  I have fed in the snow too - the joys of having older children to entertain!

I think it is important to feed in public when necessary - as many of you have said,  it normalises breastfeeding and means that other new mums are not going to see it as a big deal.

[Curly Val]

Most people don't even know what's going on under there, I've found!

Hmm, I feel like its more obvious with a cover, cause who else wheres a blanket over their chest in public places!

Today I fed in the food court of a big store (Costco), and just as I was about to sit down I ran into a friend who has made awkward comments about breast milk before ("Ew, just think that comes from inside your mom").  I said "Hey are you about to eat?" She replied "Yes" So I said "Well we are going to sit down over here to eat, care to join us?" Friend: "Sure, I'm really hungry" Me: "So is Aliyah" as I discreetly readied myself.  So she at her hotdog and Aliyah ate her lunch.  Was I sneaky?  It was nice to have the company, I mean it would have been more awkward for each of us to sit alone!  But should I have been more forth coming?

CV

[amayzie]

Nah- just go for it! God... i'm such an activist...

These days though it'm not really allowed to talk while i breast feed- and lord forbid i EAT anything!! Someone might miss out!!

[becj86]

Nope, I presume she didn't make any comments while Aliyah was eating? Maybe she's getting more comfortable with it...

Katy - Totally the same here - I can't even turn my head for a kiss from DH or Logan swats him away with his hand. He's getting really possessive of us now if he's cuddling/feeding he won't let the other near for a family hug. Feels a bit 'Its me or the dog' but it goes both ways so its not like its always DH being swatted away  lol