Hey everyone, I know I'm jumping the gun a little on this since I'm very early in this pregnancy but I plan on EBF this baby. with DS I EBF/Pumped. DH has a (now) 5.5 year old daughter that we have every other weekend.
When DS was little I either brought him in another room to feed him or pumped and gave him a bottle. There's no way I'm going to be able to do that this time, DS isn't going to let me just walk away to feed the baby and my pump tanked on me so I'm just going to skip it this time around.
Step daughter is VERY curious (as are all kids I guess) but she strictly thinks babies eat from bottles (since I fed DS from a bottle around her and her mom exclusively formula fed her sister) she will be 6 by the time baby comes but I guess I just don't know how I should approach this with her. not to mention the fact that I'm sure she's going to go home to her mom and say something that the mom thinks is innapropriate about me feeding the baby by lifting my shirt
any thoughts or opinions? how do you all explain BF to kids who aren't exposed to it?
Re: how to discuss BF with older siblings?
I was also going to suggest that book!
I think the biggest thing is to just not make a big deal out of it. Breastfeeding is pretty boring to kids, really. Be matter of fact, answer questions honestly, and don't feel like you need to hide your boobs. They're just boobs. I might feel differently around a 12 year old boy, but not around a 5 or 6 year old
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omg that is priceless! lol!!
Exactly. If you explain it in a matter of fact way and don't act like it is weird, they will probably be fine with it.
thanks everyone! I guess I should just relax about it. I'm honestly more concerned about her saying something innapropriate to her mom, who would have no problem trying to say something about "indecent exposure to a child" and removing all our visitation rights (yes, she is that crazy, thinks people who breastfeed are disgusting and babies belong miles away from boobs.. shes severely uneducated about a variety of topics)
fwiw I don't plan on making a big show about it, but i know she will ask as it is going to be SO bizarre to her, I plan on being straightforward, but I wouldnt put it past her to sit there and watch me nurse the entire time trying to figure out where the bottle is hidden or something
guess I will pop this question over to the blended families board later down the line
My niece was 5.5 when my DD was born and she had never seen someone breastfeed. She asked me what I was doing. I used the same answer that a pp gave you "Some mommies feed babies with bottles, and some mommies feed their baby with their breasts. For now this is how she eats." Then she moved on to doing something else.
The second time we saw them, she sat with me while I breastfed and stroked DD's hair and held her fingers and didn't act like there was anything strange about it at all.
Also, I know that you are concerned about propriety, but there should be no way, legally, that her BM would be able to get your DH's parental rights or visits terminated over you breastfeeding your baby.