This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Claire at clindstrom2 {at} gmail {dot} com. Today's post is about your first experience nursing in public. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed below and check back for more posts July 18th through the 31st!
Wow, I can't even remember the first time I nursed in public. I loved being able to wear Alani from about 3 weeks on, because I could easily nurse her without anyone even knowing. It was always a little tricky, but I felt stealth :) I lived in Fiji when she was born, and mothers there complemented me on my ability to nurse her while holding her in my lap, sitting down on the ground, cross legged. I think they liked that an American woman would nurse her baby just the same way they did. I also think that doing it in front of others was important for them because it was like we were all equal, not a mindset that they have frequently. Sometimes I would head out to the porch to nurse her while others were gathered inside, just because I was new at it.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I felt uncomfortable about nursing my first daughter in public after about the age of 1, except in certain circumstances, but became MORE comfortable about it again when she was between the ages of 18 months and 2 years, due to the support of those around me. And now, with my second daughter, I don't even bat an eye at the thought of nursing her in public at 23 months old.
I don't remember the first time I saw someone nurse a baby in front of me. I'm SURE I saw my mom nurse my sister, I was 4 when she was born. It's possible I watched my aunt nurse my cousin, I was 11 at the time. It's likely that I witnessed it with ladies at church in my teen years. It wasn't really on my radar. Or maybe it just wasn't impressionable because I never thought to feed a baby a different way and those who did nurse in front of me, didn't pause or hesitate, they just weaved it into their lives, so it didn't stand out as something uncomfortable or different. Which brings me back to why it's so important to nurse in public. . . no glitches, just weaving it in. Then it becomes, to those around, especially the small people, part of the scenery, part of the assumption that this is the way things are, this is normalcy. And they look back through their lives thinking "When WAS the first time someone nursed in front of me? Hmm, I can't remember, it seems like it's just always been!"
I know that I must have witnessed babies being nursed, or at least it being talked about, because in my mind there was no other way that I thought it would be for me, it apparently has always been part of my scenery, I just don't remember when that became the case.
Here's the new bottom code:
Here are more post by the Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival participants! Check back because more will be added throughout the day.
- Ashley @ Adventures with my Monkeys-Breastfeeding Cafe Carnival Day 8: First Nursing in Public Experience
- Renee @ Just the 5 of us!-In Good Company
- Sylko @ Chaotic Mama-Breastfeeding Carnival Day 8
- Timbra @ Bosoms and Babes-Part of the Scenery
- Claire @ The Adventures of Lactating Girl-My Nursing in Public Journey
- Shelly @ Lousy Mom-My First Time Breastfeeding in Public
- And of course the guest poster on the Breastfeeding Cafe’s blog today is Hailey Maloney-First Experience Nursing in Public
No comments:
Post a Comment