Breastfeeding in front of toddler?

shar0805

How have you ladies handled breastfeeding in front of your toddler?  I figure I'll just cover up but I know my son will be VERY curious about what's going and will want to check things out for himself.  Not sure why, but I feel self-conscious about him seeing me breastfeed.  I welcome your suggestions!

angie212

I've never covered up in front of DD.  She knows that DS gets mommy's milk from my breasts.  I even pump in front of her, and although she told me "that's weird", she likes to press the let-down button if I try to get a second let-down.  I figure it's a really natural thing, and there's nothing wrong with her learning about it.

CaitlinJ22

i havent done it yet with my own, but ive BF in front of my nieces who are 5 years and 20 months older than DS. I didnt cover up and they know thats how some people feed their babies--my sister BF them. 

I am more concerned about DS getting upset with me holding DD all the time, not the fact that my breasts are showing. 

*Lu-Lu*

It was never an issue.  My kids are exactly 24 mths apart.  I never even thought about it being a big deal.

cocadoll

I haven't thought of covering up and probably won't unless there is other company around. ?It's natural and I don't really think I should hide what's going on from DS. ?It would probably just make him want to see even more and make a bigger deal about it then it is. ?

lisaroo

I guess I don't see the problem with my toddler seeing me breastfeed. We still shower together. I hope she is very interested in how I am feeding the baby and I think making a point to cover up in front of her would teach her that breastfeeding is something to be embarrassed about, which it isn't.

I would feel the same if she was a boy, FWIW. 

bim38106

I don't cover up. DD doesn't care at all. She went through a phase at first when she would try to pull DD2 off me when I was BF, but that was whenever I held DD2 for a long time and DD1 wanted my attention, not necessarily because of BF.

Then she went through a 3 day phase of laughing and pointing at "mama boobies!" but that was the "worst" of it.

Really no big deal. Now DD1 just goes on her way and doesn't pay any attention. She knew from the beginning that I was just feeding DD2 and we never made a big scene of it. Now she'll see and sometimes say "oh, my milk!" and run to the fridge to get her sippy..

As far as covering up, when I do because someone else is over, that's when DD makes a bigger deal of it. She'll run over and try to show DD2 off by lifting up the cover and trying to pull DD2 off my lap.. It's easier to just not use a cover at all, even when someone is over! It's actually more discrete that way because of DD1

eaglesfan700

It never occurred to me to cover up.  Obviously DS is curious so I just tell him that is how baby eats. He was fascinated the first few times he saw it but now he couldn't care less

I think if you try to hide it or cover up, it will cause your toddler to question it more.

jenifairies

That would never even occur to me, even with an older child.

howleyshell

Didn't cover here either.

He was curious at first and I just explained how it all works.  When he asked if he could have some milk I just told him he's a big boy and drinks milk from a cup now.

For a while he was fascinated with calling them "Boo boo's" but I kept correcting him and calling them breasts.

It's totally natural and nothing to hide.  Not to mention the fact that he has zero memory of it now.

 

shopgirl78

No cover her either, my kids BF their baby dolls.  

userdeleted

Hmm. I never even thought about it. DS doesn't seem to care. I would never go through the trouble of covering up all the time like that.

Are you never naked in front of your child? Leo still even comes into the bathroom with me sometimes, lol. They're little kids, it's not a big deal

MattsWifey<3

I didn't cover up. DD was a bit curious and even tried to feed again which my pedi said she might. So, I let her. It wasn't 'natural' for her anymore. That sucking reflex was gone... so she wasn't into it.

She always touches or points to my breasts and calls them Noah's bottle. lol. 

hamilton.ja

I don't plan on covering up but my kid has seen me naked plenty of times. DH leaves before I can get a shower in about 95% of the time and DS gets annoyed if I shut the door to the bathroom so he often comes in to chat while I'm taking a shower..... he's only 2. I'm not worried about scaring him yet. Plus, he BF for 2 years so he knows what it is still and knows the new baby will do it as well (touch wood).

lvisser

I never coverup in front of my DD (or nieces 2-7 years old or my nephew - 2).  They have ALL seen me BF and I (and their parents) have no problem with it.

Sawyerplus1

I dont cover up in front of DS. It's not something weird or gross or shameful that I dont want him to know about. It's perfectly natural and he's learning that's how DD eats. In all honesty he's too busy being mad at me for feeding her to even get curious about it (we've got a bit of jealousy on our hands here).?

Telyco

DS hardly pays attention - he comes up and puts his head on my knee so I can rub it for a minute or two, but that's about it. Twice, though...he has come over and pushed on my nipple - like pushing a button...so I let him and then said "ok, that's mama's" and he moves on to something else.

flgator

I was worried about it being weird, but it hasn't been.  DS#1 looks and is curious but most of the time he doesn't pay attention.  I told him DS#2 drinks mommy's milk like he used to do.  He comes into the bathroom with me and that doesn't bother me. 

NoBeautyQueen

No cover here. It honestly sounds like one more thing to get tangled up when I have to leap up with #2 on my breast to stop #1 from doing something dangerous.

Mama Jan

jenifairies:

That would never even occur to me, even with an older child.

This.

He's never even seemed interested in it.  He gets down in there to talk to the baby while he's nursing but it has nothing to do with me nursing.  I can't even imagine hiding it from my child.  That's so strange to me. 

RXjenna

jenifairies:

That would never even occur to me, even with an older child.

Ditto.

babyluv617

i do not cover up. he was very interested and even pulled at my shirt and snuggled against my chest a few times. he's stopped that and it's just normal now. he'll still be curious as to what's going  on under there.

Nanna

My boys are 18 months apart and I do not cover myself when I nurse.  The few times #1 has been interested in what we are doing, I just explain baby gets his milk from mommy's breasts, just like he used to when he was a baby.  And that's about the extent of it before he toddles off to go do something more interesting.  It would never occur to me to cover myself or feel weird about it.

thomas&lynn

I hadn't thought about this being an issue. Since breastfeeding is such a natural thing, I'd be inclined to just go about it whichever way suits the baby and I at that time. I would rather answer questions about my body/what I'm doing and use it as a learning experience than hide it and have her wonder what's going on under a blanket anyway.

She's already asked me to tell her what my breasts are and I tell her plainly. She sees me dress all the time and I tell her what I'm putting on etc. She knows the word "bra" even lol. I joke with her after she points my bra out "where's your bra, little lady?" and she giggles and moves on. I like to think answering her curiosity directly and even involving humor if it's appropriate has taken the big ole mystery out of things. But, yeah, she's only 22mos so we shall see, right? lol

But for the most part, it's not within my own nature to be uncomfortable about my body or parts or naming them etc so it doesn't feel natural to me to hide or not talk about something like that. And, no, we're not like a "naked family" that runs around naked all the time either lol. We're appropraitely dressed all the time....it's just during baths, potty times, getting dressed etc, we choose to just tell her exactly what she wants to know.

abear2

I haven't read the other responses so forgive me if I'm being repititious.  I had the same concerns as you...afraid he'd ask a ton of questions or even want to try breastfeeding.  Surprisingly, its no big deal to him.  He asked me "whats that?" the first few times I did it and I just told him that sister was drinking her milk.  Now its no big deal at all.  I can't imagine covering up everytime I had to feed her in front of him. 

I'd also suggest getting a few kid friendly books with pictures of moms nursing babies.  We found one, I think its called "We have a baby" and it had one picture of the mom nursing the baby and the older sibling sitting next to her drinking juice and eating a cookie.

shar0805

abear2:

 I had the same concerns as you..

Thanks so much for saying that.  I was beginning to think that I was the only woman in the world that felt this way!