Tags
I have always been comfortable breastfeeding in public, but today I think I took it to another level by actually walking the mall while nursing (*pats self on back*).
Let me just say that for me, nursing in public (NIP: best acronym ever?) is not a political act. I don’t think nursing mothers are obligated to “normalize” breastfeeding by NIP; actually I think it is disingenuous to pretend that breastfeeding is JUST feeding a baby. It’s feeding a baby with one of your body parts, so if doing that in public makes a nursing mom uncomfortable, I am not one to judge. It’s something I do because it’s an easy way to feed my baby and it doesn’t make me uncomfortable (and I don’t give a hoot if it makes anyone else uncomfortable). The onus is on our culture as a whole, not individual mothers, to normalize breastfeeding.
So, returning to the scene: over the weekend my mom (visiting from Massachusetts), Miles, Julius, and I braved a trip to the mall and a lunch at Panera Bread. For any outing that requires walking more than 20 feet I’ve been wearing my stretchy wrap out of the house and popping Julius into it so I can sorta-kinda also manage Miles and not have to lug the carrier and/or stroller around. We don’t have a double stroller and I don’t want one, because keeping Miles IN a stroller for more than 5 minutes at a time is a sketchy prospect at best. Baby in a wrap and toddler in a shopping cart, umbrella stroller, or walking on his own is working okay for now, and by okay I mean DEAR GOD I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE THE HOUSE AGAIN.
But the one thing I definitely have NOT mastered is nursing the baby in the wrap. The only way I have been able to do this is to take him out, lay him horizontally across my torso with one rail of the wrap supporting his lower body and the other (optionally) covering his head, and then somehow lift my breast up and out of my shirt. Depending on what I’m wearing, this is potentially REALLY NOT EASY. I know that you are “supposed to” be able to lower the baby magically and nurse him without taking him out of the sling but I do not know how this is possible unless your boobs are situated just under your collarbone. For real. I don’t get it.
So anyway. I somehow managed this maneuver while sitting in a corner booth in Panera Bread, and I think some old man was frowning disapprovingly as I clumsily unearthed a nipple but I didn’t care, and I nursed Julius while attempting to cram a sandwich into my mouth and while Miles mauled my face (“EARS! EYES! TEETH! HAHAHA!”) and ran away from the table and thank God my mom was there.
We finished eating but Julius was not done, so I proceeded to walk around the mall with him nursing in the wrap in this weird-looking fashion strapped horizontally to my body. There wasn’t much showing, but I did learn that dudes WILL attempt to catch a glance of your boob even if there is a baby attached to it, so nice. Stay classy, guys.
What do you think? – Do you nurse in public? Feel weird doing it? Don’t care? Care if others do it? Never noticed? Any tips on how the heck to nurse a newborn in a wrap?
Impressive! I do think that a SAHM would HAVE to master nursing while moving in some capacity – I haven’t been able to do that with either kid yet. I know people who nurse using the moby or Ergo all the time and I just can’t even figure out the logistics of it. Plus Luke loses his latch so often that it seems like it would be far more trouble than to just figure out a place to sit down for 15 minutes. Probably depends on your house and toddler, but thankfully I can shut doors to dangerous places and Annie doesn’t really get into much. I nurse in public a lot, but it’s annoying lately because Luke is already starting to get distracted… ugh!
Oh yes, I saw that on your blog – the distracted nursling is a tricky one. At home Miles is pretty good about entertaining himself while I nurse… USUALLY.
I walk/carry Frankie while NIP just by cradling her in my arms. Chris is uncomfortable with me NIP, I think. I dont care who is uncomfortable I do it anyway. I live in an area where people are all about NIP-HIPPIEVILLE, so I can freely get away with this attitude. I had an older woman walk up to me in the mall while I was nursing to tell me “Good for you! Do what is best for your baby! Than you for NIP”!! Of course some old guy will find any excuse to carry on a conversation with me while Im nursing and they usually say “Mmmmm..I bet she likes that”!! with a huge smile on their face. LOL Hey, if I was an old guy I would get a glance whenever I could! LOOK BUT DONT TOUCH-thats my motto about NIP! LOL
I can just carry Julius in my arms to nurse at home but when we’re out I am not so coordinated… trying to keep him latched on and have at least one hand free to stop Miles from running off a cliff or something!
I did nurse in public, though I wasn’t as comfortable with it as I thought I would be. I hated covers and thought that they only attracted more attention to me, so I usually didn’t use them. I was able to nurse in the Moby wrap, I don’t exactly remember how I managed it, but I have a post about it and a picture that might be helpful. I’ll try to find it and see if I can offer some tips.
I totally understand not wanting a double stroller. I don’t think that would work for us either, maybe the kind where the big kids stand up, but they really seem like more of a hassle than anything.
From the picture I have it seems like I had him in the hug hold, but maybe a little lower than normal, and I literally just pulled my boob out. His head is covering it, but it was definitely not the most discreet way of doing things.
Yes, I did practice this at home later. I managed to get him lower and wrangle a boob out, but it was pretty awkward, and then having to hike him back up afterward etc… not the smoothest process!
Nursing in a wrap was something I never mastered with the girls–everyone always talked about how awesome it was to be hands-free, but I thought it was like the Holy Grail. My arms always had to support them. So GOOD FOR YOU for figuring it out this early with Julius!
So awkward! I wasn’t exactly hands free – I did have to have one arm supporting his weight and keeping him latched, but I had one arm available for toddler-snatching.
I nurse when I’m out but I use a cover. I’ve actually started to use it at home, too, because it helps keep Isla from getting distracted.If you figure out how to nurse when using a wrap, let me know! I’ve tried but I’m convinced sorcery must be involved.
I don’t Nip normally but that is because My husband is weird about it, but I support all that do. I’m small chested and I still haven’t mastered the wrap and soon as I walk in to the store my son always wants to nurse the whole time!
I was never able to nurse in a wrap either, even though I bought like every type imaginable, watched like 40 YouTube videos, and took a class on it. I had much better luck once Penny was old enough for the Ergo. And I have no problem Nipping (ha! It just gets better with this acronym!). I’ve never had anyone say anything negative to me about it, but I always think that if someone did say something, they would be saying something to the wrong person. They would definitely get an earful. Maybe that’s what keeps them away- they can sense it- heh heh.