Breastfeeding in public

[Guitartists]

I breastfeed..... I never use a blanket or anything because I think it's unnecessary, makes it harder to monitor how baby is doing, especially when they are very young, and if you are careful in what you do and are discreet, no one even knows. There's been many times when people haven't even noticed I WAS breastfeeding until they thought about seeing the baby more closely

I do believe that breast feeding is a natural and wonderful thing. It's too bad that women have been objectified to the point of breasts being viewed as a sexual object for mens' enjoyment, instead of something God-given in order to raise and nourish our children. But, no matter how you look at it, tact and discretion is still best..... especially in this society of ours.

My DH had a real hard time adjusting to the idea of me breastfeeding in public. Always trying to throw a blanket over me and stuff

Even though there was absolutely nothing for anyone to see. The only reason people would even know is because I have to reach into the top of my shirt a few inches sometimes to undo the snaps on my bra.

It amazes me sometimes the kind of things that people worry about

My friends 5 year old daughter (She was a bit closer to 3 because of Downs) spent a lot of time around me because her mom and I hung out a lot during the day, especially when Crane was younger. She started holding her baby like she was breastfeeding instead of doing the bottle baby thing. We both had a good laugh and thought it was cute

I'm sure there are some that would have been mortified!

But, I guess that's why they invented so many different bottle types

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
By my third child I realised that offering a bottle confusing the baby, and making life harder. (even with expressed milk)
Third baby never saw a bottle at all.

 

[jacca5]

I breastfeed my first child till he was about 10 months old I am sure I did it in public sometimes you have to. But at a family memebers house I was asked to do it in the bathroom. I refused and sat in the car till my husband realized what was going on and I haven't spoken to this person since then. That was almost eleven years ago. If it offends you maybe you should sit in the bathroom till it is over that is how I feel. I always covered up but with moving children under a blanket or your t-shirt you can make any promises that something won't show for a second.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I dont find a problem with it. Me personally, I would feel to insucure to do it. But I dont care.

 

[BearSwampChick]

I'm not at all uncomfortable with breastfeeding in public, I did it myself with 3 kids, but I think there are ways of being discreet w/o compromising your beliefs or smothering your baby.

 

[PotterWatch]

Quote:
LOL, my oldest son once grabbed my breast pump and stuck it under his shirt so that he could be like mommy. He was only 1.5 at the time, but I'm sure some people would have freaked out at that... I thought it was cute.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
LOL, my oldest son once grabbed my breast pump and stuck it under his shirt so that he could be like mommy. He was only 1.5 at the time, but I'm sure some people would have freaked out at that... I thought it was cute.

My daughter used to bring all her dolls to me to feed them -

 

[speckledhen]

instead of something God-given in order to raise and nourish our children. But, no matter how you look at it, tact and discretion is still best..... especially in this society of ours.

A good balanced view. Why is it we are supposed to be sensitive about the feeling of others except when it's this hot button issue? Then we're so militant that we dont care about how anyone else feels? Even if I had no modesty, others are very uncomfortable seeing it becasue it exposes a body part that is kept private, and yes, maybe it is their problem, but why just be rude for the sake of making a statement?
However, I do need to mention that if you have read the Song of Solomon, you know that breasts were not ONLY meant to feed babies. They do have a dual purpose in this life. So, I'm bowing out of the conversation because no one cares what I have to say here, being a dissenting opinion.​

 

[Guitartists]

Reading some more of the other posts...... it's funny...... I see young and old women, sometimes little girls even, everyday wearing low cut or peek-a-boo shirts, SHORT short skirts, shorts and pants with words on the butts, G-strings that show when they bend over, belly shirts, etc etc and on and on........ and all of this is accepted in many circles as fashion...... but yet so many people will get wigged out over nursing mothers. I agree, if you don't like it, turn away. It's a personal choice. It's like a tv channel... don't like what's on... find something else to watch

I honestly think that for some people their aversion to breastfeeding goes much deeper.... for instance... my mom tried to talk me out of breastfeeding because she thought it was gross and icky.

I think some people have a hard time accepting that this is nature. That it is how we were made to be. Some folks would like to take Nature out of the equation for a modern and "clean" world. We have a hard time in our society with accepting the human body as it is..... often it is viewed as a dirty and unclean thing. I don't think I need to say much more, I'm sure you either know what I speak of, or you don't

 

[mommy9994]

most breast babies that I've known won't take a bottle-- they know you've got the good stuff I also live far from town, and, with a small baby, it's just not possible to be home for all feedings, though we are home most of the time. When I have an infant, I nurse before I leave the house, and in the van, when I get to where I'm going-- if baby needs it. There have only been a few times that I've needed to nurse in public (generally can be done in the van). If I'm at church, library, some stores, etc. I find a place to sit down and feed baby.

My current baby is 16 months, so she doesn't generally need to nurse anywhere but home. One of my babies had to nurse every hour-- each one is different.


Speckled hen: I absolutely agree with you on modesty, and I don't think that you are anti-breast feeding. I am a "breastfeed where you need to" type, but I DO believe that you have to be considerate of others. To not be considerate is un-Christian. I think that many breastfeeders give the rest of us a bad name in the same way that many "hit them over the head with a Bible and drag the sinner to church" type Christians give the rest of us a bad name.