BF in public..........

[ASD123456]

Hello,

Tomorrow will be our first proper day out which means feeding in public. We're not going far, just to the shops and there's a park and river near by so lots of public places to sit.

Really I'm just looking for some tips for feeding in public. I think it's slightly daunting as it's the first time I'll be doing it. What's the best thing to wear? How have you found public feeding? Any useful ideas for me to try? Where do you find the best place is?

Thanks ladies,
Alex xxx

 

[valentine]

Hi petal,

Congratulations on the birth of Rudy and well done on getting through the first week of breastfeeding!

I always found the best thing to wear was a vest top and another top over the top, therefore you can only expose exactly what you need to expose to feed your baby, keeping your modesty, without either whipping out the whole boob or exposing your post birth tummy. Not ideal in this hot weather though. Or I would maybe take a shawl or pashmina thing so that you can cover up.

I have never had any bad looks, stares or comments for public feeding - its always been fine. Good luck!

Valentine Xxx

 

[purple13]

as above

i wear a vest top and just pop it out over the top - if i'm in a v public place, i tuck a linen under my bra strap on the feeding side and hang that over my boob so noone can see anything.

i found feeding in public a bit daunting at first but its always been absolutely fine and now i'll feed anywhere, anytime!

 

[LisaJ1986]

I had proper breastfeeding tops at first til i got confident but if i feel my boob is on show now i just put a muslin over my shoulder. There's only Boots in my town that has a feeding room and is closed at the mo and everywhere else is like a public bench. I get the odd stare or watch people elbow each other to have a look, but i just laugh! They don't do it to a woman who's bottle feeding. If i'm feeling particularly self conscious then i'll put the buggy in front of me.

 

[Zodiac]

At first I bought some special breastfeeding tops, but actually found I was exposing much more of my breast this way than with nomal tops.

Breastfeeding tops normally button down from the top, so you end up 'flopping out' your entire breast. I actually find it easier & more discreet to wear a normal top & scoop it up over my breast from the bottom. Then baby covers your exposed tummy area & you can pull the top down right to your nipple thereby keeping everything covered.

If you LO likes to un-latch to look around it might be worth having a muslin cloth handy to throw over their head and your boob to spare any blushes.

But - when it comes down to it - its natural & whats best for baby - so sod what anyone else thinks anyway & just do it Good luck!

 

[Lisamj]

I've got a shawl type thing that I drape over my boobage area.
xxx

 

[zebrastripes]

After a few months of having a hissy fit if the slightest bit of flesh was over exposed, I just threw caution to the winds and went for it after all, people don't haveto look

 

[abcd1234]

I started off putting a muslin or blanket over my boob and wearing tops i can either pull down easily or up, i'm also realyl bad for not wearing BFing bras and that can be difficult.
TBH i dont liek covering her head when she's feeding, i like to see so i'll drap the muslin over us and around her head but i wont cover it then if anyone looks they'll only see the top of my boob and i can watch her feed.
I dont care who see's my boobs though, they're hardly out sexually they're feeding my baby and i'm not embarrassed, i always thought i would be though.

Good luck with you're trip, after that first public feed it's so much easier!!!

 

[maybebaby]

I used to feel exposed pulling my top down, so I used to lift my top over my boob and baby covered my belly - ta da nothing on show and at a glance it just looks like baby's having a cuddle.

The tricky bit starts when they start looking around every 30 seconds exposing your nipple to any passer-by...

 

[muppetmummy]

Breastfeeding in public is easy once you get used to it. I found that if I was nervous and made an effort not to show any flesh whilst getting Logan latched on it drew attension to myself. If I just got my boob out to latch him on and then cover up afterwards no one noticed. I found pulling my top up looked less obvious. I have got a mamaflage breastfeeding poncho thing but only used it a couple of times as I noticed I was just making it more obvious to people that I was breastfeeding.

I feel much more self concious bottle feeding in public as I can't help worrying that people are looking down on me

 

[Urchin]

I wear a baggy top and use a muslin to cover up anf bit that might show, easy peasy once you get the hang of it, good luck

 

[DebbieM]

I never, ever thought I would feed outside of my house or car. A health visitor told me that in no time I would be and I told her than under no circumstances would I ever, ever, ever, ever feed in public.

Erm... SHE was right, I was wrong.

I feed anywhere and everywhere now. I have fed in parks, at the seaside, in cafes, restaurants, outside a chippy in Sunny Hunny LOL. You name it, I have now fed there and do you know what - I DON'T CARE!

BFing is such a special thing and if people want to look then let them! When I feed you can see NOTHING anyway. I manage to always stay very well covered.

Good luck- you'll be fine and don't worry!

 

[Pregnopaws]

Like Debbie says, once you get used to it you just whip it out everywhere and learn how to be discreet. It's baby's needs over everything else! My problem now is that LO is too big and squirmy. Lately when he wants to feed on breast he makes a snorting noise like a pig, and if I don't react to that he then tries to drape himself across my lap and lift my top up (this can be a bit embarassing). Last place I fed him was sitting on a £2,000 reclining deckchair in the local Garden Centre because the cafeteria was too full up. Did I care? um no lol..

 

[ASD123456]

Thanks for all the advice girls, all taken on boar and it helped

We managed to get a full feed in a resteraunt, both boobies!!!! Luckily we were in the corner and there were mostly mothers/ ladies around but still i think it was a big step. I also found that once you have LO wanting diner you don't really care who sees you nipples. I wore a vest top with a larger baggier (good for hiding remnants of bump too) vest type thing over it- the smaller top went under the boob and the larger one over. Only thing on show was the nipple.x

I'm sure there will be more testing times for BF in public but for a first attempt it went well. I'm starting to enjoy this BF business apart from the permanatly wet bras!

Alex xx

 

[clarey]

Well Done!!!
It does get easier too until they start getting nosey lol, I was gonna add that I usually find a corner or a high backed seat in cafes etc for a bit more privacy and sometimes manouvre the pram beside me as well specially if she is in a fussing mood
Good for you, a big hurdle overcome, it took me weeks to feel brave enough!

 

[heles7]

well done you! i did a feed in the busiest part of town today, sitting outside the coffee shop! definitely get some muslin cloths if you don't have them already as they are so easy to pop over the shoulder because sometimes you just won't want to be wearing the duplicate top arrangement!

 

[BabyMagic]

I am glad to hear that all went well today!!! And well done for getting out so soon after LO was born

I have often breastfed in parks (under a tree or even on benches). When I go to a new shopping centre or similar I find out first where the nursing rooms are. In this way I know that when it is time for a feed I already know where to go. On my normal walking routes to town I have a few favourite places where I can feed LO. The most important thing is to feel comfortable with the place yourself.

Like others have said it is interesting how differently I felt about breastfeeding before having LO. I thought that I would express milk and bottle feed LO - this has never happened!!!!!!

Keep up the good work

 

[keli]

Glad it went well. I'm to say the only place i seem to feed when i'm out is my car! Daddy is embarrased and would hate me to do it in public! lol. Sure i'll get there Tommee tipee breast pads are brill and you'll have no more wet bras! xx

 

[*Star*]

glad it went well, i once fed my eldest walking round asda!

 

[abcd1234]

i once fed my eldest walking round asda!

How did people react? I was very tempted to feed her walking around tesco a few days ago but i was on my own and didnt fancy the hassle, luckily she went to sleep after a while or i'd have been running home for somewhere "safe" (god i have no back bone when i'm on my own)