Breastfeeding in public

How do you feel about it?

I understand... I really do. If your breastfeeding and your baby is hungry, your baby is hungry.

But I can't stand the people who just feel the need to do it... JUST BECAUSE.

I work at a daycare in a gym, we're open from 8am-12:30pm for the mornings, and we have this one woman who insists on coming in around 8:30, then she sits there for like 15 mins in the daycare room trying to talk to us, all the while breast feeding her 9 month old child. Then she does it AGAIN when she picks up at 12 ish. seriously?!? You can't breastfeed your kid BEFORE your come into the daycare room, or after you leave? It's almost like she just wants to "show off" or something the fact that she's still breastfeeding. I just find it completely unnecessary and it's SO awkward to talk to her, she doesn't do a great job at covering up lol.

I'm no prude, but c'mon, take it somewhere private(ish)!

They are boobs. Mostly food for babies. It bothers me none, unless they are just throwing them in your face to show off the fact they are breastfeeding.

In which case, it's annoying. But so is anything else that involves parents throwing their kids in your face and saying you don't know **** because you're childless. So, meh. Nothing against breastfeeding in particular, just the attitude.

Yep Ive even walked around walmart breastfeeding. I do try to use a blanket/prefold/cover to latch her but otherwise no. I wear 2 shirts and you can only see skin you see much more skin from my tanktop. If I didnt she would scream the entire trip and I do a weeks worth at a time because I live 20 miles away. It might be the only way she can get her full workout in and Savannah at her age even will try to pull a cover off or it will lay on her face if im not careful. Savannah nurses hourly still at 2 months.

Heck I did a interview with the cops breastfeeding, sat at McD's play area and breastfed (inside the restaurant too), walk around Js store breastfeedin, play area in the mall. Its life babies need to eat and stopping everything to feed them is a waste of time if you can do what you need to and feed..

I agree. The attitude irritates, the action itself, does not bother me.

Um maybe she does it in the daycare room because she feels it's less likely to get her judged than doing it in the gym? Maybe she thinks it helps her baby settle before she leaves him or her? Perhaps she has a long drive and she's feeding her baby so you guys don't have to deal with a hungry infant? Why jump to such hasty conclusions??

They're boobs, you work with small kids who may be breastfed, get over it.

Well... she's in a day care. It's the kids place, that's where its most appropriate for her to breastfeed in the situation. Should she go do it in the gym?

Doesn't bother me

ETA: typed as Erin was xD

I don't care where women breastfeed. Personally, I think it's a beautiful thing to see, and since it doesn't affect me, I couldn't care less.

And, babies rarely scream while they're eating. ;]

I admit, it makes me fairly uncomfortable. I wouldn't say "oh my gosh mothers shouldn't do that", but I'd sure rather it didn't happen in front of me.

So do a lot of other things that I see in public. Just like with those things, I just avoid what I can and ignore what I can't.

I think there should be a cover of some sort when in public places like restaurants or stores. Just pulling your boob out, to me, is just too much and disrespectful of those around you. There are other methods to feeding...you can bottle your breast milk for public feedings or cover yourself while feeding, so you have other options available to you. I just feel showing yourself in public like that is disrespectful. JMHO.

I cant pump prior to feeding and she wont tolerate a cover after latching. What do you suggest I do?

Really good chance she does it because the baby needs it. A lot of babies don't deal we'll with transitions. One of the best ways to transition is to breastfeed them.

I am 100% okay with breastfeeding in public. I breastfed in public and plan on doing it with #2 and no I do not cover up. I am not intentionally flashing you my nipple but I don't feel the need to wear a nursing cover either.

I don't like the in your face attitude either around nursing though. Parenting isn't a contest.

Nope, doesn't bother me. The majority of my friends are currently breastfeeding. At the homeschool co ops there is always someone nursing in the moms hangout room. Doesn't bother me at all. Hannah sees them breastfeeding and it prompts her to ask qestions and learn about how our bodies work and how the baby eats. It's a good thing

All of us who work there feel the same, it's not just me, lol. Her baby is really well behaved, she loves being left there and hardly ever cries. She also leaves us a bottle so it's not like we can't give her some food if she's hungry. The baby is never, like, "asking" to be breastfed. It's literally just her doing it... just to do it. She also lives about 5 minutes away.

Wow, I'm allowed to feel the way I feel, I'm not going to "get over it". It's not something that I would ever tell her to stop, but I'm sorry, to ME it's awkward to talk to someone who I don't know closely when their boob is hanging out lol *shrugs* I didn't grow up in a family who breastfed, either... none of my siblings ever were, and neither was I, or my cousins, so it's just not common for ME. I understand it's natural and have no issue with people doing it, and sometimes it has to be done.

But in THIS particular situation I am talking about, it's her attitude and almost snobbyness about it, like she WANTS us to see she's still breastfeeding.

Same here. Maybe it's because so many breastfeeding moms have talked about how it's not "just" feeding the baby, it's about bonding with the baby - so to me it's like intruding on something private and personal. It's not a "ew, gross" reaction, it's something else, and I feel like I shouldn't be intruding on this.

The funny thing is whenever conversations about breastfeeding in public come up, some of these moms are the same ones to start ranting how it IS "just" feeding the baby so nobody should care...

Why don't we pump and bottle feed? Introducing a bottle young to Briggs was the worst thing that happened for our breastfeeding. His latch was incredibly lazy so you certianly won't be seeing any bottles around my second at a young age.

Why didn't/don't I plan on covering up? Because it is easier for people to stop looking versus me try to cover my child up. It is within my right where i live to have my boob out if I feel like it to nurse my child. It is within your right to look somewhere else. If someone approached me politely and I was able to move to be able to make them more comfortable i honestly would. But on the bus? No such luck. My baby is hungry and as their mama I am going to feed them.

And yeah if you don't like it look away. My daughter would NOT take a bottle and pumping, if it's not something you already do for work etc is a pain and for me, unsuccessful. It would take me multiple pumping sessions to get half a bottle.

Honestly, this is one area where I fear for our culture! Feeding a baby is the most normal and basic and important things one can do. Everyone should find it NORMAL!

And yes some will still choose to bottle feed or may have to. Totally fine. But that should be the exception or the "different" (not less or not wrong)

Yeah, this.

and really, why is a grown adult's comfort more important than an infants? Being older yo ucan understand why something is being done, even if uncomfortable for you and work through your feelings. A b aby cannot.

Well then it's the *attitude* you object to, not the act. Big difference in my mind.

I have a good friend who breastfeeds in public when we're together. It did take some getting used to because no one else I know breastfeeds in public, but I use the "how would I like to be treated in this situation" rule and I realized that when I have a kid, I don't want to have to hide or have life stop when s/he needs to be fed, so it's up to me to give her the same courtesy and "get over" my initial awkward feelings. It's worked - I don't bat an eye now, and, as you can tell, if someone came up to harass her about nursing in public, I'd be right there to defend her right to do so. She's NOT one of those in your face moms, and I'm not planning to be either.

Bottomline though, you don't know the whole story so why judge? Maybe the kid is so good BECAUSE she breastfeeds?