breastfeeds like a trooper

[Bambini]

hi,
my lil boy is now 5wks today and he feeds like a trooper. but I am one of those shy type who feels arkward to wip out my breast in public, so i normally go somewhere private to feed him. How do you get used to breastfeeding in public, like breastfeed while shopping?
All tips welcome.

*******

[Areca]

Time...it just takes time. Well it did for me anyway. I used to cover up with a muslin wrap if feeding in public. That way I wasn't hiding, but was still completely covered. After about 4 months with DD1 I just stopped using it. I never even bothered with DD2. I was a lot more confident from doing it before.

Start off slow...go to somewhere quiet where you won't feel so intimidated the first time you do it. Also, if you double up your tops (so two singlet tops) then you can pull the first one up, the underneath one down and with babies head there you literally can not see anything. I don't do this but try it in front of the mirror at home, you'll see every piece of skin is covered.

Actually, bf in front of a mirror at home, you'll realise just how little other people see. It seems like you're flashing yourself when you are looking from your angle but everyone else is just seeing babies head, honest!

And know, it is your legal right to bf in public so if anyone asks you to stop they are breaking the law! Knowing I was protected by law gave me a lot of confidence.

[punkbaby]

Glad to hear things are going well with BF. As ace1 said i agree with the singlet thing, i used to wear a singlet underneath or a boob tube so i could put it down over the breast and have a top over the top to lift up so i didnt have my lovely belly hanging out :) I would then put a blanket over bubs you couldnt see anything.

I used to hide in the corner at a lot of places but now i will feed quiet freely anywhere, i know that no one can see anything even getting bubs to latch on its unlikely they would see anything but a flash of skin.

Good luck, you will find the confidence to do it in public one day, some people dont but there is nothing wrong with that :)

[nicoleE]

As the other ladies have indicated, allot of it is in the clothing!
I wear Bonds bra tops which are just like a singlet with a maternity bra built in. They are super cumfy and I get around in them most of the time. When I go out I whip a baggy top (or baby doll style) over the top (helps to hide left over tummy to! :laughing:) so when i need to feed I pull up the outer top without showing any belly and whip down the bra bit... hardly any skin shows and its easy.
There are parents rooms but i do prefer sitting in a nice coffee shop and feeding, as long as they have cumfy chairs (cant feed well in a chair without arms myself). I find the parents rooms too noisey allot of the time as they often have kids play areas and DD is at the age where that much noise (echoing by the tiled walls) distracts her.

You can also get tops that um... not sure how to explain it... split apart at the boob so again you are not exposing the top part of the breast IYKWIM. You can buy expensive ones but i got a couple of cheap ones from Target. I do prefer my other method though as i find these tops annoying sometimes when the opening closes a little and DD ends up getting a bit of top and nipple in her mouth!


When DD was younger I actually fed her in a sling at the shops, i often even walked around with her feeding. No one could tell as she was covered up. Then she got a bit big to lay down in the sling but it was great while it lasted!

Good luck, I think all my shyness left in hospital with all the midwives etc seeing you then having to do it in front of all the visitors.. however i think i have it easy as i dont have big boobs (only just a C now and im breastfeeding) so there isnt as much to accidently expose :laughing:

[Mum&bubs]

Glad to hear you've got a trooper breastfeeder on your hands!!

When I first had Summer I was a little shy of breastfeeding in public but that soon passed when I realised that my child getting fed was more important then what people thought of me. Now I just see it as boobs were made for breastfeeding so if you whip them out, it's just like whipping out a bottle :p

[SilverStarfish]

Like everyone's said so far, it just takes time and practice - you're still learning how to do breastfeed, as is your son :)

I was a little akward about it at first too, but now I can b/f just about anywhere. I've never bothered with wraps or blankets - to me that just draws MORE attention to what I'm doing, not less.