I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to breastfeed Bastian. There have definitely been a few times that I’ve been ready to give up and call it quits, but we’ve managed to stick with it. I love the bond that he and I are able to share, and some of my favorite moments throughout the day are when I’m breastfeeding him. Being a parent comes with struggles and challenges that differ for each set of parents. One thing I knew I was committed to when I got pregnant, was breastfeeding. I know breastfeeding isn’t possible for everyone, and so I really do feel blessed that we’ve had a relatively issue-free breastfeeding experience so far.
Aside from a few random nursing strikes when Bastian started teething, the hardest part of breastfeeding has been nursing in public. I got a cute cover to use for when I was in public, but I was embarrassed even to pull that out to feed my child. I got plenty of weird stares even with the cover, and it made me dread feeding my baby in public. For a while, I would bring a bottle with us whenever we left the house, so I wouldn’t have to nurse him. That just wasn’t convenient, though, and so I stopped doing that.
A few weeks ago, I had a friend ask me how I gained the confidence to breastfeed in public. Bastian is almost five months old now, and if I need to feed him in public, I just feed him. I don’t bother with a cover, I just feed him.
Originally, this decision came from necessity. We were waiting to board our flight to Nashville a few months ago, and Bastian got really hungry and fussy. I had no idea where I’d packed my nursing cover. I didn’t want to walk him all the way to the lactation room while he was crying. So, I sat down, pulled down my shirt, and fed him. And no one said anything. No one got out their pitchforks or asked me to leave the airport.
While we were in Nashville, it was way too hot and humid to use my nursing cover. So, I just kept breastfeeding him without one. I realized that most people really didn’t care if I was breastfeeding.
There’s nothing wrong with nursing publicly. My son covers everything, and there really isn’t much skin showing. Yes, I’ve had people get upset that I’m nursing and I’ve had people leave or walk to the other side of the room when I’m nursing. To those people, I’m so sorry that me feeding my son offends you. I think we should normalize breastfeeding.
Once I realized that I didn’t care if anyone got uncomfortable by me breastfeeding, I got rid of my cover and nurse my baby in public whenever I want. I see no reason to cover up, and if anyone has a problem with it, they can look away. There’s nothing wrong with moms still choosing to cover while they nurse, but personally, I choose not to.