Breastfeeding in Public

It’s National Breastfeeding Week!

My babies are 5 and 6 now, and it seems like a lifetime ago when breastfeeding was a daily occurrence around here.  But this week has me thinking back to that time…

I remember sitting on a cold tile floor in a bathroom stall of some store’s bathroom, nursing my little girl.

That’s when it occurred to me how wrong it all was.

What was I doing here?

Why was I sitting on this dirty floor, hiding in a bathroom stall like I was doing something wrong?

What could be more natural than a mother feeding her baby?

That was the first and last time I put my baby and myself through that.

The next time I took my little Peanut out, I was more confident.   I knew that what I was doing was nothing to hide.  After all, when breastfeeding correctly nothing is seen except the back of the baby’s head!

I was armed with all the reasons we shouldn’t have to hide.  In fact, I already knew what I’d say if someone asked me to breastfeed elsewhere.

It turns out no one every did.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for all breastfeeding moms out there.  Some are met with harsh glares, others have rude comments tossed their way.

So for those just starting out, maybe a bit self-conscious and unsure like I was, here are just a few of the responses I had ready because no one should feel like they have to feed their baby in a public bathroom or out in their hot car.

• Breastfeeding a baby shows a lot less than those girls/women who go out in wearing itty-bitty thongs and low-rise jeans who then proceed to squat down, bend forward to look at something, and give everyone around them a view we all don’t need.
• I know for a fact that by nursing my baby I am showing way less than a lot of other women who go out in slinky, low-cut tops.

• My baby deserves to eat just as much as anyone else, probably more so.  No one else takes their food and eats in the bathroom or leaves the table to go eat in the car.  Why should my baby have to?
• Do you dictate what your other customers should eat or HOW they should eat?  Why is my baby any different?  (If asked at a restaurant)

Like I said, I was fortunate enough not to have to justify my baby’s right to eat in public.  But I know not everyone is as lucky.

Have you encountered rude comments/looks when breastfeeding in public?   How did you respond?