I Will Breastfeed in Public. Darnit. -Part 2

By JodiAdamson | Category: Meet the mom inventor, Surprize Me!

In our last post, we discussed preparing beforehand (place link here).  Deciding where you will go to nurse your baby is an important part of devising a plan.

If you are fine with a bench in the middle of the store, scout out just where that bench is. That way, as soon as baby calls, you can find your spot. If you do prefer privacy and the store you are shopping at does not have a “breastfeeding room”, they may find you a place. You could even call ahead to find out. What will you need? Pack books, toys or snacks in the diaper bag to keep older children entertained. Planning ahead will put you at ease when the moment arises that your little one demands yummies.

• I preferred to find a private place. Then I could let it all hang out and not worry about being exposed. Plus, the thought of applying nipple cream in front of strangers kind of freaked me out. However, I refused to nurse my baby in a bathroom stall! I tried it once and realized it’s just plain gross. My solution: dressing rooms! I actually began arranging my shopping according to which stores had dressing rooms. This was soon after the Kroger incident.

In my opinion, dressing rooms are the perfect place to nurse a baby. They are private, quiet and you don’t have to worry about being covered. If you have toddlers with you, they can play on the floor while you nurse. In addition, a break from the busyness of a crowded store was like a pick-me-up for baby, toddler and me. It was always an intimate and sweet moment of re-connecting. I found that most store clerks were very accommodating. However, if they give you a hard time, pull a garment off of a store rack and politely say “may I have a dressing room please?” What can they say?

• If there isn’t a private place, nurse anyway! The way I see it, the biggest problem people have with nursing mothers isn’t so much nursing, but they just don’t want to see a breast. I don’t blame them. Even though I could care less about seeing a nursing mom’s breast, I really don’t want my husband to! This one is simple to handle. Just keep your breast covered and no one will give a hoot. As a nursing mom 6 times, I felt that other people’s feelings deserved respect as much as I deserved the respect of being able to nurse in public.
• Don’t flash skin. This serves a two-fold purpose. 1) It keeps you comfortable knowing nobody can see your belly or breast. 2) People who may not be familiar with breatfeeding will be more comfortable when they can’t see flesh. It’s really not as hard as it seems. After a couple weeks of getting good at breastfeeding, baby becomes a little pro and can practically latch on by himself. At that point in my experience, my only concern was not being exposed. This is where Skinies came in. It was a cover-up for under my clothes. When I lifted my shirt to nurse ~ everything was covered. The openings are just the right size so that I could unlatch my nursing bra and Skinies would give maximum cleavage and breast coverage.

Even with all the perfect gear, if you do accidentally flash some skin ~ don’t stress. Keep your cool. Return back to what you are doing and pretend it never happened. Selective recall is a beautiful thing!  In my next post, I will wrap up my “mom of 6” breastfeeding advice.  Hope you visit on December 1!

Posted Wednesday, November 24, 2010