So last week I saw posts all over for breast feeding week and how we should be supportive of our nursing mothers. As much as it is nice that society is embracing the nursing mother; lots of women seem to have horror stories too.
This week in review has really made me feel lucky that I live in a progressive city where I have never been shamed for nursing. In fact I have often found that I have been more worried about the nursing than I should be. When I first returned to work I had to meet our child care provider to pick up Mini and I was terrified of nursing him in public before heading for home. I would try to get him to take expressed milk via bottle and than it happened. The day where he refused the bottle in public and he was hungry and grumpy and not nursing wasn't an option. So I did it and long story short both of us were a lot happier for it. I was still a little embarrassed I mean were out and about at the #Lair Hill Bistro and while I was trying to be discrete this still was their business. Would we be welcome back as customers and still get impeccable service? All I can say is thanks to the wonderful owners and their being nursing friendly and their expressing that they are grandparents they understand when littles need to eat when littles need to eat, that I felt comfortable with continuing to use it as the place to transfer baby, catch up conversation, unwind after work oh and have fantastic breakfasts. It also made me feel ok to go out and about with baby and when he is peckish we find a place and we nurse.
However it wasn't just nursing in public that was an issue at first. Mini is not an only child he has the Bigs who weren't breastfed and haven't had a whole lot of interaction with nursing mothers. It took us a while for everyone to get comfortable with. The Bigs also have another brother by their mother so to them feeding the baby meant making a bottle and feeding that way. It also meant some adjustments. The first few weekends we spent a lot of time hiding out in the bedroom but that was no solution, especially as Mini has gotten better. So we have learned as a family to be discrete and they are pretty good about grabbing me a blanket for him so no one sees anything traumatizing (kidding). It's taken a while but we've made it work for all of us and when Mini needs a meal it's no big deal.
On another there are the militant nursing mothers and while I nurse in public I am not ready to join their ranks. While we nurse in public we are fairly discrete and shy you won't see Mini having a snack while I stride through the grocery store and that's ok too.We are doing what's right for us and they are doing whats right for them. So happy belated breastfeeding week folks
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