Let me start off by saying that, as a nursing mother, my opinion is obviously biased. But that's not to say that I do not consider other's feelings while nursing in public a.k.a. "whippin' em out".
Nursing for us has been a challenge from about day four on. Days one, two and three were great, but something, I'm not sure what exactly, went wrong, and our nursing relationship nearly ended prematurely several times due to any of the following over the course of my son's first two months of life: refusal of the breast, nipple confusion, thrush, and plugged ducts. All which led to bouts with PPD a.k.a. losing my everlovin' mind, which always makes it worse. It seems like I've been through hell and back and I'm proud to say that I overcame such obstacles to be able to give my son the food he was born to eat. I'm just glad to be able to nurse my son whenever, wherever, and however possible.
I didn't NIP (nurse in public) outside of family & friend's homes until my son was several months old because I just wasn't comfortable with it. My son was and still is a messy, squirmy nurser, who pops off several times to smile at me or just to look around and see what's going on behind him. I am a private person, and I'm also rather self-conscious about my too-big-for-Victoria's Secret breasts (c'mon mamas, you know what I'm talking about!) and I didn't relish the thought of anyone getting an eye full anytime he thought he heard anything interesting going on behind him. But, when the need to nurse arises, I also do not want to be banished to a dirty public restroom stall or secluded bedroom with no comfortable seating (at family gatherings) just because my son is hungry. Nursing is nothing to be ashamed of. Period. It is natural and healthy. It is the way God intended us to feed our babies. Why do we feel ashamed and embarrassed? Our society and culture have sexualized breasts to the point that it's ok for an 18 year old to bare every inch of breast skin, save for the nipple, in a barely-there top (not to mention what she's probably wearing below the waist...) for men and women of all ages to oogle, but it's not ok for less than one square inch of skin to be visible while a mother is nourishing and nurturing her baby? Something is seriously wrong with that.
Thankfully, the laws are changing in our favor, and most US states now have laws protecting nursing mothers from "indecent exposure" charges and the like. The recent Applebees incident is an example of our "one step forward, two steps back" society when it comes to things like this. Hopefully things like this will be non-existent by the time our daughters are nursing their babies.
Here are a couple of gems from the anti-nursing crowd:
Onlooker: "Why don't you just use a blanket and cover up? I don't want to see that!"
Law-abiding mama: "Ok, don't look." Almost anyone who has nursed a baby or toddler of any age can tell you that this is much easier said than done. Babies don't like to have their head covered up. Imagine yourself trying to comfortably eat your lunch under a hot blanket (in the 100+ degree Texas summer heat!). Any nursing mother will also tell you that she absolutely loves to look into her baby's eyes while he is nursing. Trust me, it is one of God's great gifts to women. Why sacrifice that for the "comfort of others"?
Onlooker: "Why not just pump milk and take bottles? I don't want to see that!"
Law-abiding mama: "Oooook. Um. Don't look!" It sounds simple enough, but in reality, this suggestion is absolutely laughable. First of all, good luck getting a breastfed baby to take a bottle! Especially from his mama! It will confuse him when mama puts a hard, artificial rubber nipple in his mouth instead of the soft, warm one he's used to and he will probably protest and shove his face into her shirt. Not to mention pumping messes with your milk supply. Ever heard of supply and demand? And what will mama do when she gives baby the bottle and doesn't nurse him? She will become engorged, leak, and if she goes a really long time without feeding, she may suffer serious problems such as plugged ducts, etc. Doesn't sound so simple now, huh?
Inconsiderate family member/friend: "Please go into the other room if you're going to do that. It's disgusting!"
Law-abiding mama: "First of all, see above as to why feeding my child is NOT disgusting, and secondly, we came here to visit with you! How can we visit if I'm hiding in the other room for 30-45 minutes?" People need to get over themselves. Enough said.
Of all the things to get upset about, why nursing? Is a mother feeding her baby really all that bad? Why not worry about drunk drivers? Terrorism? Child molesters? The rapidly rising C-section rates? Doctors routinely amputating body parts of non-consenting babies? How about our country's self-induced declining state of health? Which, for the record, breastfeeding would help a great deal! Why not get outraged at issues that are relevant to the safety of our families?
I successfully and discretely nursed my 8 month old son in front of several people: family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers every day for the last three days, both with and without special nursing shirts. I bet most of them were unaware that I was doing anything else but holding my baby.
The only way to normalize nursing is to do it! So get out there and nurse nurse nurse your babies!
NORMALIZE BREASTFEEDING!!!
Nursing for us has been a challenge from about day four on. Days one, two and three were great, but something, I'm not sure what exactly, went wrong, and our nursing relationship nearly ended prematurely several times due to any of the following over the course of my son's first two months of life: refusal of the breast, nipple confusion, thrush, and plugged ducts. All which led to bouts with PPD a.k.a. losing my everlovin' mind, which always makes it worse. It seems like I've been through hell and back and I'm proud to say that I overcame such obstacles to be able to give my son the food he was born to eat. I'm just glad to be able to nurse my son whenever, wherever, and however possible.
I didn't NIP (nurse in public) outside of family & friend's homes until my son was several months old because I just wasn't comfortable with it. My son was and still is a messy, squirmy nurser, who pops off several times to smile at me or just to look around and see what's going on behind him. I am a private person, and I'm also rather self-conscious about my too-big-for-Victoria's Secret breasts (c'mon mamas, you know what I'm talking about!) and I didn't relish the thought of anyone getting an eye full anytime he thought he heard anything interesting going on behind him. But, when the need to nurse arises, I also do not want to be banished to a dirty public restroom stall or secluded bedroom with no comfortable seating (at family gatherings) just because my son is hungry. Nursing is nothing to be ashamed of. Period. It is natural and healthy. It is the way God intended us to feed our babies. Why do we feel ashamed and embarrassed? Our society and culture have sexualized breasts to the point that it's ok for an 18 year old to bare every inch of breast skin, save for the nipple, in a barely-there top (not to mention what she's probably wearing below the waist...) for men and women of all ages to oogle, but it's not ok for less than one square inch of skin to be visible while a mother is nourishing and nurturing her baby? Something is seriously wrong with that.
Thankfully, the laws are changing in our favor, and most US states now have laws protecting nursing mothers from "indecent exposure" charges and the like. The recent Applebees incident is an example of our "one step forward, two steps back" society when it comes to things like this. Hopefully things like this will be non-existent by the time our daughters are nursing their babies.
Here are a couple of gems from the anti-nursing crowd:
Onlooker: "Why don't you just use a blanket and cover up? I don't want to see that!"
Law-abiding mama: "Ok, don't look." Almost anyone who has nursed a baby or toddler of any age can tell you that this is much easier said than done. Babies don't like to have their head covered up. Imagine yourself trying to comfortably eat your lunch under a hot blanket (in the 100+ degree Texas summer heat!). Any nursing mother will also tell you that she absolutely loves to look into her baby's eyes while he is nursing. Trust me, it is one of God's great gifts to women. Why sacrifice that for the "comfort of others"?
Onlooker: "Why not just pump milk and take bottles? I don't want to see that!"
Law-abiding mama: "Oooook. Um. Don't look!" It sounds simple enough, but in reality, this suggestion is absolutely laughable. First of all, good luck getting a breastfed baby to take a bottle! Especially from his mama! It will confuse him when mama puts a hard, artificial rubber nipple in his mouth instead of the soft, warm one he's used to and he will probably protest and shove his face into her shirt. Not to mention pumping messes with your milk supply. Ever heard of supply and demand? And what will mama do when she gives baby the bottle and doesn't nurse him? She will become engorged, leak, and if she goes a really long time without feeding, she may suffer serious problems such as plugged ducts, etc. Doesn't sound so simple now, huh?
Inconsiderate family member/friend: "Please go into the other room if you're going to do that. It's disgusting!"
Law-abiding mama: "First of all, see above as to why feeding my child is NOT disgusting, and secondly, we came here to visit with you! How can we visit if I'm hiding in the other room for 30-45 minutes?" People need to get over themselves. Enough said.
Of all the things to get upset about, why nursing? Is a mother feeding her baby really all that bad? Why not worry about drunk drivers? Terrorism? Child molesters? The rapidly rising C-section rates? Doctors routinely amputating body parts of non-consenting babies? How about our country's self-induced declining state of health? Which, for the record, breastfeeding would help a great deal! Why not get outraged at issues that are relevant to the safety of our families?
I successfully and discretely nursed my 8 month old son in front of several people: family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers every day for the last three days, both with and without special nursing shirts. I bet most of them were unaware that I was doing anything else but holding my baby.
The only way to normalize nursing is to do it! So get out there and nurse nurse nurse your babies!
NORMALIZE BREASTFEEDING!!!
3 comments:
Oy vey. No offense honey - but you've become a BoobNazi. I love you for your strong stance and you know I share most of your beliefs, but .... oh my. You should write pamphlets or something LMAO.
ok the dog just stood behind me, whined twice and farted. that was so not cool.
I <3 that nursing photo. So beautiful.
It's sad that BFing has become so taboo. :(
Right on sister. IF there was more support and encouragement out there, more women would stick to it!
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