Breastfeeding in public

I breast fed my babies in public and no one ever knew I was doing it. IT is possible to be discrete. One man asked me if I was going to breast feed or bottle feed my newborn and I Thought little does he know the baby is sucking away right now. I don't know why it is such a big deal to anyone or why anyone even cares.

One thing for sure I am not going to the bathroom and sitting on a toilet to feed my baby. Yuck. You can always find a quiet out of the way area. ON an airplane I gave the man next to me the choice of a crying infant or being able to feed the baby. Guess what his answer was. HE too never saw a thing.

Yes but descrete is different for everyone. And not all babies are the same. A baby with a cleft has to be positioned just right(how do I stay covered for that) and can take a log longer to get latched. Then I have to do repeated checks and if Nico doesn't like to be covered then that can add a whole other can of worms since it will be hard enough. Babies with clefts also tire out faster when trying to feed from the breast so I will be concentrating on making sure he is latched as quickly as possible in a way he is comfortable with. I should not have to be worrying about adults and their comfort level since they can turn or walk away. Then the repeated unlatching and relatching as we burp him. Sorry but I don't see how I could be descrete to keep everyone happy and keep everything 100% covered at all times in this situation.

Education is best in those situations. Some babies do have unique nursing needs and that is okay. If I was in that situation I would do my best to explain it to people when asked or a rude comment was made. At least then they can understand why they are being exposed to something they find uncomfortable versus feeling like you are doing it to be rude.

Have any other mamas looked up videos on youtube on nursing while babywearing? It blows my mind how discreet you can nurse even a huge toddler in a wrap.

Id love to learn how but Ive tried with savannah and she wont nurse up and down she has to be held just so and all we have is the ergo. With how I do it though there is NOTHING seen unless you are looking at the couple inches under my arm that can be seen. I dont see why I have to go find someplace else if you cant see anything as it is.

^^This. I don't understand why people are so bothered by breastfeeding. If I didn't like seeing a mother breastfeeding or seeing someone's boobs, I would look the other way.

Over the years I haven't noticed anyone breastfeeding. If mothers are doing it in public here, they are definitely being discrete about it.

yeah i havent noticed it here either, some resturants here (if they are high end or cater to a certian mass) didnt allow it but that was a while ago. if your baby has some special nursing need like a cleft then perhaps it would be best to excuse yourself from the table. i dont have an issue as long as there is not food on the table or i am not trying to eat or something at the same table, if the mom is being discret & polite about it (as she should not just for the feelings of others but for her own dignity as well) then i prolly wouldnt even notice anyway so there would be no issue... YOU know how you have to do it, if you know say ppl dont even notice... then i dont have a problem with that.

mom nursing toddlers... thats a whole nuther thing, i think anything past the first yr is weird.

i also dont understand who everyone is posting underwhere ads as a debate... its not even the same thing! those women arent flashing anyone! the whole underside of their boob is covered! its not even about the coverage, its just the fact that another living thing is feeding off you is almost enough to make me want to crawl out of my own skin because i personally hate my boobs being touched, i dont even like the fabric of my clothes rubbing against them, so the thought of something sucking on them makes me want to throw up, to me it gets the same reaction as someone suddenly tossing their cookies in front of me or something, i know they cant help it but im still going to away & go "ewwww!"

You do understand that breasts are mammary glands and are meant to feed babies right?
How do you think someone feeding their child - who might not be getting as much support as she needs - feels after reading your words above?

Are you skeeved out at the thought of a puppy nursing off the dam?

It's funny that breastfeeding gets so much attention, it's what they're for! Yet it's ok to show off muffin tops (sorry, just because spandex comes in 3x does not mean you should wear it), plumber butt (boys, pull the pants up, you look like a dork with a floppy butt and those undies are NOT clean), bad fashion choices and the ever popular 'because it's cool' fads (there is a guy that works at the corner store who has long hair, which is fine, however it's apparently sexy to have it hanging over his face and then twist his neck on an angle to see out and work - oh that's hot.... lol).

To me who cares if you breastfeed in public, provided it's not done as a display or a protest??? Sure, pumping and using bottles CAN be an option but not always, I could pump for my first and he'd take a bottle without issue but it wasn't always practical and it'd run out and yup, we'd breastfeed. With my second, didn't have the same pump and it wasn't as easy, so she breastfed in public a lot more. I did cover up, but with both kids, several times, someone came up and lifted up the cover without asking or even giving warning - and the one lady had the nerve to give ME the dirty look! And because it's Canada, and BF is more common (I think), there was even a few times when I used a bottle and pumped milk that I got dirty looks for that too.

Can't win, but I say when they ban the plumber butts and belly shirts for those that do not weigh less than 110 lbs, it's not the worst thing out there.

no strangely, nursing animals doesnt bother me as much, tho i dont know why

I don't mean to be mean, opinions are opinions, but this goes beyond that I think. Seriously....You Need Help, some way to see this as a natural and necessary life function. This is a messed up, unhealthy view of life. I'm really sorry you feel this way.

Maybe because it seems like an "Animal Act" to you, and not something to be seen and witnessed in a public with social standards?

And I did mean that sarcastically, not necessarily trying to attack.

Do you see then that it is rather irrational for you to be so strongly disgusted by human breastfeeding, but not by another mammal breastfeeding?

So maybe the issue is your personal issue, and not that breastfeeding itself is disgusting?

Wow. That is bizarre. :yikes:

I have a hard time finding the animal vs. human nursing example to be very legitimate simply because I just don't think they are comparable. I mean, I see my dog hump things occasionally, and I see short haired dogs out all the time with their junk hanging in plain view While that doesn't make me look twice, I would be highly uncomfortable seeing a guy humping a bench and men walking around with their flags a wavin' :lol-sign:

We don't view animals in a sexual way, and without that dynamic the comparison just doesn't hold any weight for me. Now I am not saying breastfeeding is a sexual act at all, because it isn't, but I can understand why someone would feel awkward and uncomfortable with it because unlike other body parts, breasts are covered up just as the other sexual part of our body is.

that is YOUR OPINION, in many societies in the world they nurse PAST toddler age. again in the USA people are relearning how to nurse their children and depending on their sources & personal comfort level they will nurse to the age THEY feel appropriate.
while you have a right to FEEL uncomfortable, you do NOT have a right to NOT be uncomfortable w/ what you see & hear in the world.
just so you understand, just because you have a legal right to say something stupid or rude doesn't mean there are no consequences. if some lady slaps you silly, she may get away w/ it on the grounds you used "provoking" speech.

I wasn’t trying to compare the two. I was responding to someone who said the act of another living thing feeding off of you makes her want to crawl out of her own skin. That goes beyond finding something uncomfortable.

And its really only in America (and in fundamentalist muslim theocracies) that breasts are sexualized to the point of having to stay covered up. Go to any european beach and you’re going to see bare chests on women just as you would on men.

Not to mention, lips are hugely sexual and they don’t get covered up. Hair can be sexual, legs can be sexual, nape of neck is sexual, feet - depending on your fetishes, can be sexual. Its not a rule that just because a body part is sexual it needs to be covered up.

There will never be a perfect viable comparison for anyone. Mammals do it... Yeah but mammals hump in public. It's natural... Yeah well so is pooping.

There will never be a comparison good enough for someone to not find an excuse for.

Treat others as you would have them treat you. It may make you uncomfortable but that doesn't mean you should be a jerk. Having a service dog in public may not seem nessecary to some because they can't SEE the disability but that doesn't make it "not nessecary". Really we should take more lessons from
Children. We look dOwn on children but they hold much more wisdom than the adults
Do. They see a breastfeeding mother and are curious and eager to
Learn not eager to criticize. They see a service dog and are eager to learn... Not criticize.

Yes everyone should be respectful. Mothers shouldn't yell to be accepted and "spectators" shouldn't yell that they are disgusting.

Everyone should try to be respectful but that doesn't mean hiding away. One doesn't like breastfeeding... Don't request they hide in the bathroom to feed unless you are willing to pick up your dinner and take it to the bathroom
Because you are bothered or someone is bothered by the way you eat.

If you were eating and someone turned their nose up at you and said you made their skin crawl... Would ypu take your meal to your car or to the bathroom?

i think most guys would be okay w/ women going topless where ever they want. yeah we know bad w/ the good, but you know what Ron White said "you seen one woman naked you pretty much want to see them all"