Breastfeeding in Public

As promised, this week I will be blogging about breastfeeding in public. This seems to be such a huge topic at this time; who would have known that feeding your child in public could be so controversial.

Growing up I was a part of a large generation that was formula fed. This wasn’t brought to my attention until my mom asked me why I decided to breastfeed when I was not ever continuously exposed to anyone else that had done so.

In the end breastfeeding is just healthier.

·         Prevents breast cancer for mom

·         Better for baby’s digestive track

·         Helps fight colds, ear infections, and other illness thanks to the specific antibodies that breast             milk has that is not replicable through formula

Never the less, it’s not for everyone and that’s more than acceptable. It’s very demanding and I can honestly say that breastfeeding is one of the hardest things I have ever done; though in the end it is so rewarding.

Moving on, I’m sure we have all seen the posts, the pictures, and the opinions all over Facebook. Everyone is either utterly disgusted with the idea or post pictures in efforts to stand up for nursing mums.

I personally think it would be hilarious to be placed in a situation where another person confronts me about feeding my child. I feel as though I am very respectful when I feed him in public; I do cover myself to the very best of my ability, but any mother who nurses will agree that babies are stubborn and you can either deal with my baby screaming or you might see the back of his head while he eats. Get over it. I, nor any other mom will ever starve our child(ren) for another person’s comfort.  c'est la vie!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU6Olc7BVXw

This video above is actually of a woman encouraged to cover herself while she fed her little one. In the video they also discussed the laws on breastfeeding in Texas which is where this particular incident took place. Watching this urged me to look up the laws here in New Mexico on the subject.

This is what I came across:

 As well as:

In my opinion women shouldn’t be discouraged for doing something so discouraging in itself. Moms who chose to nurse are the ones who wake up at night to assist their child regardless of whether or not they have a spouse.  Most newborns are up every two-three hours to eat. Just try to convince me that waking up every two-three hours to stay awake for 30 minutes and then trying to go back to sleep isn’t hard. On top of that going into public alone is such a task. Having to frequently handle your upset baby while covering yourself, and uncovering yourself all at the same time. 

Breastfeeding alone is hard and all we are trying to do is give our children the healthier option.

Last weekend I went out to eat with my father. I fed my son just before we left the house; thinking that he would fall asleep in the car and most likely stay asleep. Nope. That didn’t happen.  Instead he sat in his seat for a few minutes in the restaurant before he because distressed and hungry, again.  So of course, I put on my cover and fed my son till he eventually passed out. As I was feeding him a lady who was leaving, passed by our table and gave me a thumbs up! Said, "Yeah! Right on! Good for you! Good for you." 

-That was by far the best feeling ever.