Anywhere you would not nurse in public?

JoNi2010

LO is 9 weeks and I've not nursed in public with him.  Obviously I am a bit nervous about it but also DH kind of gave me a complex.  He doesn't think I should, especially in restaurants or the park.  I think it should be fine and I much rather nurse than give him a bottle and pump later.  So I am curious - Is there anywhere in your opinion that is not okay or appropriate to nurse in public?  What do you think about nursing at restaurants, or say the mall?

CnAnA

No. As long as you're not stripping your shirt clean off to nurse or waving the girls around, its appropriate to feed your kid. WTF can't you feed your kid at a restaurant?? LOL

AbuDhabiMommy

I nurse regularly at the mall and at restaurants. Sometimes I even go to a restaurant so I can nurse and snack at the same time when I am at the mall.

Today, I nursed at our holiday church service. 

As long as you are respectful and discreet, you should be able to nurse anywhere. 

 

Sarelnad

I think you should be able to nurse your baby anywhere.  That being said I'm a total chicken and Ii have only nursed in a mothers room in public so far. 

JoNi2010

Thanks for your responses!  I am about to venture out to the mall and may not be able to work it around LO's feeding schedule.  Your responses give me more courage to nurse him in public if need be!

Wally3

My general rule is if you wouldn't feed a bottle / eat there then I wouldn't nurse there.  IE not in the main part of church but okay in the baby room.  Parks are like my favorite place to nurse - sunny, nice, DS1 can play.  Restaurants fine eveybody else is eating. I did nurse in the library - which I wouldn't eat in but in the children's section so I think maybe people would give a bottle there.

Wally3

JoNi2010:

Thanks for your responses!  I am about to venture out to the mall and may not be able to work it around LO's feeding schedule.  Your responses give me more courage to nurse him in public if need be!

I like the mall - usually in the seating areas they have - I like the one by the fountain. If you are nervous some of the bathrooms in the nice department stores having a seating area, which are awesome for nursing, Nodstroms and Bloomingdales down here.

gusabbey

I was going to post this exact thing. Dh has made me super self conscious about NIP even with a cover. I have had 3 scenarios this week that made me nervous. One, at a brunch at a restaurant with a large party of family friends. Two, at my males psychiatrist appt. Three, which will be in 2 hours, my work holiday party. 90 percent of my coworkers are men.

In my heart, i feel like if i use a cover then its ok, but dh thinks it makes others uncomfortable.

navyandviolet

i don't nip at dh's work functions. i dont want to make that awkward for him. but i nurse everywhere else.  I think one time I even had someone do a not so nice comment about it while i was nursing ds 1 at a water park.  She said something like "i have an extra bottle if you want one" in a very condenseng tone.  i am not exacly sure what exaclty was said though as it was really loud next to a water slide (her fail #1) her fail #2?  I wasnt even nursing him just shielding him under a blanket from the sun. That being said I have nip now for many years (multiple children) and that was the only thing ever said to me.  Most people smile comment on the cute baby and go on their merry way.

navyandviolet

gusabbey:

I was going to post this exact thing. Dh has made me super self conscious about NIP even with a cover. I have had 3 scenarios this week that made me nervous. One, at a brunch at a restaurant with a large party of family friends. Two, at my males psychiatrist appt. Three, which will be in 2 hours, my work holiday party. 90 percent of my coworkers are men. In my heart, i feel like if i use a cover then its ok, but dh thinks it makes others uncomfortable.

burp

navyandviolet

gusabbey:

I was going to post this exact thing. Dh has made me super self conscious about NIP even with a cover. I have had 3 scenarios this week that made me nervous. One, at a brunch at a restaurant with a large party of family friends. Two, at my males psychiatrist appt. Three, which will be in 2 hours, my work holiday party. 90 percent of my coworkers are men. In my heart, i feel like if i use a cover then its ok, but dh thinks it makes others uncomfortable.

I am so sorry tht your DH is making you feel uncomfortable. A blanket and a quiet corner would make me feel perfectly comfortable in all the situations you described. Do you have a nursing cover.  It can make nip really easy. It is not up to you to worry about how others feel. MOst likely (if anyone has any class) No one will say anything about it and many men, like my dh, will not bat an eye they are so used to it.  In fact he would probably pull up a chair and chat with you, as he is so oblivious to it now.  So think about those people instead of the ones that you might offend.

alyson686

I agree that it's fine to do in most public places, as long as you're discreet. That being said, I have no doubt that it does make a lot of people uncomfortable, but there's nothing you can do about it, and it's their problem anyway. To be completely honest, before I had kids, it always made me uncomfortable to see people NIP. It wasn't that I thought it was wrong or inappropriate; I'm just a very private and modest person, and wasn't really comfortable seeing it.

danienross

The only place I feel uneasy about nursing in public is church but I also know it makes our pastor uncomfortable.
I nursed E for 22mos and have nursed in multiple public locations with and without a cover.

CnAnA

Wally3:

My general rule is if you wouldn't feed a bottle / eat there then I wouldn't nurse there.  IE not in the main part of church but okay in the baby room.  Parks are like my favorite place to nurse - sunny, nice, DS1 can play.  Restaurants fine eveybody else is eating. I did nurse in the library - which I wouldn't eat in but in the children's section so I think maybe people would give a bottle there.

I FF Alice in the santuary of church every time we go.  It falls right during her mealtime, so I feed her.  Not only has nobody ever pooh-poohed it, most of the time the pastor's wife offers to feed her for me. LOL

nealbl

I try to stay covered but I will nurse in public... If I am at a clothing store I will go into a fitting. I also nurse in the car alot. It just it just depends on when she needs to eat. 

winminpin08

Another thing that may make you feel better is knowing the NIP laws in your state. In my state nip is expressly allowed by the law, so even though it's nice to be discreet and take other peoples comfort into count I always feel better knowing if someone made a rude comment or tried to make me leave neither of which have ever happened to me that I am totally in the right to be feeding my DD. I know most states have laws protecting nip but some don't.

Mrs.G123

The bar maybe? That's all I've got

kplaxco85

No place I can think of. And I thought DH would be anti nursing in public, but that is not the case! He would rather our whole city see my boobs then have Lucy crying because shes hungry!

[Deleted User]

Nope. I have nursed in multiple restaurants, at dinner at family's house, Target, etc. I just throw an A&A blanket on and call it a day.

Sillygirl85

I nurse everywhere and anywhere and I never use a cover and rarely a blanket. I do however wear nursing camis or tanks under my shirt. Which makes it seem like I am just holding LO.