Breastfeeding in Public....

hotmomma0612

I am a very new mother to a preemie baby. I have never wanted to nurse my baby, personally. That's just me. However, I have no problem with women nursing, and nursing in public. It's natural!!

Faery_Dust

It's as nature intended and A-ok in my book. When I fed my babies, I did feeding on demand so it happened all over the place.

UnwrappingCandy

I am a very new mother to a preemie baby. I have never wanted to nurse my baby, personally. That's just me. However, I have no problem with women nursing, and nursing in public. It's natural!!

'Breastfeeding is great for all newborns, but it's even more important if your baby arrives early. That's because your body will automatically produce milk that's specially designed to nourish your premature baby, with extra calories, vitamins, and protein. What's more, the live cells in breast milk that protect babies from infection can be even more important for premature babies: Preemies face a higher risk of infection because their immune systems are particularly immature. You will find artificial formulas and supplements made just for preemies, but they can't provide the antibodies and other protective factors that are in your breast milk and are so beneficial to a fragile premature infant.' - http://www.babycenter.com/0_breastfeeding-premature-babies_8480.bc

knitwit0704

Wow...

missveeoh

Infants need to eat. Breasts contain breast milk which is a food source- it is a necessity. (Apart from formulas)
There are some mothers that cover themselves when they're in public and there are others that don't.
I do not mind it. So I say yes, go ahead and feed your baby! Btw I always thought its a beautiful thing, like, a bonding experience with your newborn

ldrosophila

I am a very new mother to a preemie baby. I have never wanted to nurse my baby, personally. That's just me. However, I have no problem with women nursing, and nursing in public. It's natural!!

Oh your sweet baby lots of prayers to him.

Terryism

If you don't feed the baby when it's time to feed it its body will go into starvation mode and hold on to its fat

LOL!!!

BinaryPulsar

I say YAY! When the babies are hungry, feed them!!

I have a question. I'm not trying to start anything by asking this, but just genuinely curious.

I get that if a baby is hungry you feed it. Breast feed, bottle feed, whatever floats your boat. I don't care.

But what about 2 or 3 year old or whatever who don't use breast milk as their primary or sole form of nutrition? Since they don't NEED it and have more self control do you still whip it out whenever they want it or wait until it can be done in private? Is that even a different standard?

The older the child gets I imagine the more uncomfortable people would be seeing it. So yeah... just curious.

Infants need to nurse every two hours, and it's their only source of food and water.

Toddlers eat food and drink water and cows milk and all kinds of stuff. Usually if a toddler is still nursing it is only a couple times a day and at very specific times such as bed time or first thing in the morning. So, usually by that age it would not be in public.

My daughter is going to be 3 in October and we still nurse several times a day. As I mentioned in an earlier post it is no longer her sole source of nutrition (obviously), so when she asks in the middle of Target or at the farmers' market or wherever we are I tell her "No baby, just wait til we get home. We're in a hurry." This is more for convenience than for anything else, but I also know it's not widely accepted around here. When I'm running errands with my 2 kids I want to get in, out and done as quickly as possible, so I am not going to drop everything to nurse my daughter when I know I have just fed her a good hearty meal before leaving the house. :laugh: Now if we're at a friend's house for a play date and she asks, I will totally nurse her, the caveat being that I'm at a crunchy mom's house and "extended" nursing is well received. I don't like it, but I know even a lot of "pro-breastfeeding" people are weirded out by extended bf'ing, so I reserve it for home or around like-minded individuals. That's just ME though. For me it's not worth the hassle and the judgement I get from close-minded people when I can just as easily hand my daughter a banana---or just snuggle her if comfort is what she's after. If I were to see a mom nursing a toddler I would think "more power to you!" and I'd smile in approval, not that she needs it.

Yeah, I agree with all of this. This is a longer, more detailed explanation of what I meant. I was just trying to help people understand the distinction between the first year or two of nursing and nursing beyond that. An infant has a more urgent need to nurse. For an older toddler, it's usually something that can wait and would occur at home or at a friend's home or at a play group with other nursing moms and is usually just a few times a day, not every two hours. It starts off every two hours and reduces slowly over time, until eventually just one or two times a day and then weaning from there. And all mom and baby duos are not the same of course.

amyk0202

I'm all for nursing in public.

With my 1st, I was nervous about it. I would usually bring a bag of pumped milk. This was a hassle--asking for a cup of hot water to warm it up in & waiting until it could be served to my hungry infant (I never used formula). I would sometimes nurse in public with a nursing cover--a huge hassle.

By my 4th child, I never bothered with a nursing cover. It was easier to wear easy access clothing. I always wore a nursing bra, usually a nursing top too which has slits in the front so you can just uncover one breast at a time for nursing. By the time the baby is latched on, there is really very little to see. I've seen more cleavage at the mall & definitely at the beach then I ever exposed nursing in public.

There are some pretty good reasons not to use nursing covers. All my babies were preemies--#1-33 weeks, #2-31 weeks, #3-32 weeks, & #4-35 weeks. I had a strong let down (which is when you milk actually starts flowing). I generally had to make certain I wasn't drowning them when my milk let down---they were swallowing & not turning blue around the lips. Since my breasts are a little large, I also had to push the tissue down around their nose so that they could still breathe & eat at the same time. Babies like to look at things--especially their mother's face while they eat (until they fall asleep) so many of them spend time they should be eating trying to pull the cover off.

I breastfed all mine over a year--my 4th was a little over 2.5 years old when he weaned. In all that time I never had anyone say anything rude to me, stare, or give me the stink eye. Most people never noticed. I was also a babywearing, cloth diapering mama & I would say that got more attention then NIP. I nursed at parks, in restaurants, shopping, walking around Disney (in a ring sling), just about everywhere. I NEVER fed my babies in a restroom.

I feel really sad for people who think it's disgusting, especially the women.

skinnybunny_x

Breastfeeding is great -so is sex. And scratching a really bad itchy butt. But I don't do any of that in public.

I have no issues about doing it discreetly. But these women who think they're Super Mom because they're allowing every guy in the room to see their tit ... well, that's pretty trashy. Cover it up! I don't want to see that ****.

daffodilsoup

Breastfeeding is great -so is sex. And scratching a really bad itchy butt. But I don't do any of that in public.

I have no issues about doing it discreetly. But these women who think they're Super Mom because they're allowing every guy in the room to see their tit ... well, that's pretty trashy. Cover it up! I don't want to see that ****.

Yeah, nothing quite as trashy as feeding a child...

Look, I pretty much can't stand babies, but ultimately, that's what breasts are there for. Feeding babies. If it's not your thing, look away.

My0WNinspiration

I'd fight the baby over the breast milk.

BinaryPulsar

Breastfeeding is great -so is sex. And scratching a really bad itchy butt. But I don't do any of that in public.

I have no issues about doing it discreetly. But these women who think they're Super Mom because they're allowing every guy in the room to see their tit ... well, that's pretty trashy. Cover it up! I don't want to see that ****.

Right because that's what moms are thinking. She isn't just feeding a baby that is about to scream, and before her shirt gets soaked in milk. And also seriously when have you ever seen that? But, you're right. Once a woman becomes a mom she should just stay in the house with her gross boobs!!! Stupid moms should stop being mammals and become like robots or something. This is the year 2013 after-all.

It's stuff like this that leads me to think they should include education about breastfeeding in the high school health classes.

bushidowoman

.

beccyleigh

Only the mentally unhinged will have a problem with a baby eating or expect a mother to take one to a toilet to do it.

egnirysbust

Seriously? We're all mammals and it's JUST A BOOB. Some people act like they've never seen a nipple before. A breastfeeding mother isn't trying to be an exhibitionist, she's just trying to feed her child.

Kap10

Don't have a problem with it, but would pay as much respect to those around you as you expect them to pay to you. Be discreet, if you are going to reveal the whole breast, don't do it just to make a point. Equally, don't hide away like its some nasty disease, breast feeding is natural and better for baby and mother and in a wider sense by producing better balanced children you produce, the better balanced society and that has to be right.

glovepuppet

i breastfed in public. nobody ever said a word about it to me.

i don't like seeing topless men in the street.
the rule is, if you don't like it then don't look.

glovepuppet

Breastfeeding is great -so is sex. And scratching a really bad itchy butt. But I don't do any of that in public.

I have no issues about doing it discreetly. But these women who think they're Super Mom because they're allowing every guy in the room to see their tit ... well, that's pretty trashy. Cover it up! I don't want to see that ****.

if you're an example of untrashy then give me trashy all the way.

AlwaysWanderer

Breastfeeding is great -so is sex. And scratching a really bad itchy butt. But I don't do any of that in public.

I have no issues about doing it discreetly. But these women who think they're Super Mom because they're allowing every guy in the room to see their tit ... well, that's pretty trashy. Cover it up! I don't want to see that ****.

I can see more of your tits in your profile pic than I can most breastfeeding mother who don't use covers. I won't say you're trashy or tell you to cover up. I won't even say you think you're some kind of bikini model or something, wanting every guy on MFP to look at your tits (and stomach.)

I will say you're a hypocrite. And uneducated.

Applause :flowerforyou:

Xhell_on_heelsX

All for it.

SteviePaige

Here in Ontario Canada (and pretty much across the country) there are actually posters inviting women to feel free to breast feed in public. It's encouraged as breastfeeding is known to be the healthiest option for a baby for several different reasons. I guess I'm fortunate I never had to worry about it when my two little ones were breastfeeding, it's pretty rare up here to get any flack for it! (Ontario also has a law that women can be topless in public - but I just don't take it that far lol)

vim_n_vigor

Honestly, I think those of you against it would be much more against the high pitched newborn hunger screams. I nurse my newborn in public, I nursed my two oldest in public. I have even managed to nurse at least one of them while doing my grocery shopping. The only person who noticed was the rude old *kitten* that came up and pulled open my wrap to see my baby. Honestly, my concern is for the well being of my child. I'll do it as discreetly as possible, and if there is a comfortable, clean alternative to nursing where I am, I will do it, but most places just don't have that.

susanmarnold

I have nursed both of my kids (one to age 16 months and the other to age 22 months) and both have nursed in public without a blanket over their head. I can say that most people didn't even notice and if they did, they couldn't see any more of my breast than that of a lady wearing a low cut shirt and no where near as much as with a bikini. I don't cover my kids or send them away to an unseen place to eat.

glovepuppet

Breastfeeding is great -so is sex. And scratching a really bad itchy butt. But I don't do any of that in public.

I have no issues about doing it discreetly. But these women who think they're Super Mom because they're allowing every guy in the room to see their tit ... well, that's pretty trashy. Cover it up! I don't want to see that ****.

I can see more of your tits in your profile pic than I can most breastfeeding mother who don't use covers. I won't say you're trashy or tell you to cover up. I won't even say you think you're some kind of bikini model or something, wanting every guy on MFP to look at your tits (and stomach.)

I will say you're a hypocrite. And uneducated.

Another great example of someone with absolutely no self-awareness.

In another of her photos, you can practically see her 'gina, her dress is so short.

and in another thread a certain poster said that a woman who chooses to have a fwb because she doesn't want a relationship is a mentally deficient slut.

Slut definition: A slovenly or promiscuous woman.) So that is kinda correct.

But each to their own.

in context, only if a fwb magically counts as more partners than a bf.
maybe having 1 fwb = 15 one night stands?

SteviePaige

One time I had a cat and the cat had kittens. I was scandalized when she would nurse the kittens in public, in front of company. So, I put a blanket over them. Also when I would look at her, she would give me dirty looks like I was some kind of perv watching her nurse her kittens, so I yelled at her, "If you are going to do that in public, I'm going to look!" Also there was a cat strip club nearby. I'm not sure how that relates, but just thought I'd mention it because boobs.

:laugh: :bigsmile: :laugh: :bigsmile: :laugh: :bigsmile: :laugh:

ROFL

OMG this is too funny!! Thank you for posting this! Totaly made my day!!

Beckyloo80

boob, baby, nursing cover. It's that easy!
I am all for breastfeeding. I did it with both my kids. I do not see an issue with it at all.

caiconCristi

This is pretty much sums it up for me. Nursed 3 kids in a row over a 6 year span. Nursed them discreetly everywhere. Bottom line--in all things in life people have different opinions and who cares....do what you gotta do and let people who have a problem with it have their own problem with it. Wouldn't waste a second of your happiness paying attention to negativity.

I don't even understand this debate honestly. Babies need to eat. I don't eat in a bathroom and I wouldn't expect a mom to have to feed a baby in the bathroom. With that said, when I've done so, I've always been very discreet and covered as well as I could.

rml_16

Breastfeeding is great -so is sex. And scratching a really bad itchy butt. But I don't do any of that in public.

I have no issues about doing it discreetly. But these women who think they're Super Mom because they're allowing every guy in the room to see their tit ... well, that's pretty trashy. Cover it up! I don't want to see that ****.

I can see more of your tits in your profile pic than I can most breastfeeding mother who don't use covers. I won't say you're trashy or tell you to cover up. I won't even say you think you're some kind of bikini model or something, wanting every guy on MFP to look at your tits (and stomach.)

I will say you're a hypocrite. And uneducated.

Another great example of someone with absolutely no self-awareness.

In another of her photos, you can practically see her 'gina, her dress is so short.

and in another thread a certain poster said that a woman who chooses to have a fwb because she doesn't want a relationship is a mentally deficient slut.

Slut definition: A slovenly or promiscuous woman.) So that is kinda correct.

But each to their own.

in context, only if a fwb magically counts as more partners than a bf.
maybe having 1 fwb = 15 one night stands?

I'm curious how that is in any way connected to intelligence ...

susanmarnold

You see less boob with me nursing than in most people's profile pics... As a matter of fact, I don't think you can see ANY skin and I don't cover up!