Teatopia

hey! Did you know that Bumbo's are made in South Africa? I also have one, it was indespensable when it came to starting the bubby on solids, I would put him up in it, up on a table then sit at the table and feed him. Check out their site www.bumbo.co.za cool huh? I don't use it much now since the bubby has grown so tall - and can sit happily in a 'hook on' chair at the side of teh table - it's great to eat family dinners all together now!

I am one of those moms that breastfeed in public. I have big breasts too. Practise at home. Get her to latch on without looking. It's like learning to type. First you have to look where the keys are and later you don't need to look at all. You don't HAVE to cover up. If you just lift up high enough for her to latch, her head will cover your bit of exposed breast (look in a mirror and see for yourself) You dont have to lift you shirt up higher than your nipple. that's all she needs. However, you can obviously use something to cover up. I just find that people when then notice even more that you are breastfeeding. Instead of thinking that baby is sleeping in your arms. Just practise this at home..you'll get it right

You have a legal right to feed your child in public, but I completely understand your aprehension.
Sophia was a wandering nurser. Her head bobbled every directions & she wanted to see the world. And pulled any cover off that I put on her. Except for the tail of my Maya Wrap sling. In the beginning, I would go into a dressing room. People are so accomodating when they know you need to feed your babe, they usually gave me the handicap room, if available. Or some department stores have nice sitting areas in or near their restrooms that are really helpful. The older Olivia gets the better she'll be about latching, too.
As for clothing, I would wear a tank under a T (or any other top), so if I pulled up the T, the tank covered my belly. I never even used a nursing top. They were just more expensive & the same concept. Once Olivia gets the hang of a great latch, and better head control, its smooth sailing.
My bravest moment was in an IKEA with a wailing babe & the restrooms were at the opposite end of the warehouse (of course). I went in a corner, got her settled in my Wrap, draped the tail of it over her head & kept on shopping. No one even knew!! I kept getting comments about how "peaceful they are when they sleep". HA! If they only knew. Good luck!!

I have been nursing Ava in public. I use a blanket to put over her and my shoulder, no one knows the difference. Like the others said, practice at home. My boobs are big too, and once the let down comes in, she usually breaks the latch and then milk goes everywhere. I put a receiving blanket around her chin so that I don't get covered either. It sounds like a lot of work, but once we get started it's not much of an ordeal.

While I was pregnant I felt the same way about nursing - thinking I would never nurse "out in the open". Then, after the baby comes along you realize that there are only short periods in between feedings and if you are going to sit at home and nurse every time you will not be going out much at all!! I tried to always have a cardigan along that I could put on over my shirt before I nursed in public. That way, my back & side wasn't exposed. And of course, I used a light blanket for the front. It takes practise to learn how to be sly & completely natural while nursing in public, but it is possible. Practise at home in front of your mirror. Your little girl will soon be able to latch on perfectly by herself, without help from you, and that helps a lot in being discreet.

You are doing a great job Hannah.....keep up the good work ;)

I feel like the bad guy here, disagreeing with everyone, but I won't be breastfeeding in public..at least not where anyone can see me. I would consider a dressing room or sitting area in a department store restroom, but not a bench out in the open. I know it made me uncomfortable before I had Lila, and it makes my husband uncomfortable. I know it's our legal right as mothers to feed our babies wherever we want, but that doesn't really change the way I feel about it. I actually blogged about this a couple of weeks ago. Now, if you can figure out a way to nurse with the cover you're making then I'm all for it. I'd probably be a little self conscious even then (at first), but if you can get you and Olivia coordinated enough to do it then go for it.

Hannah, as far as your worries about your tummy or boob showing in public (or feeling exposed) maybe try one of these nursing tanks (ttp://www.glamourmom.com/) for a while until you get the hang of it. I don't have any experience in suggesting this, but it seems like a clever design and I'm considering buying a tank as another nursing bra option.

By the way, not everyone feels as weird about it as you do. Don't worry about what other people are thinking because most of them probably don't care. I'm never uncomfortable when I see a woman nursing in public, as long as she is making an effort to be discreet. I think as long as you have a cover-up and choose a place away from the bulk of the crowd you'll be fine. :) You can do it!

Of course I can't really say what I would do since my child isn't here yet. I will agree that sometimes seeing a mom nursing in public makes me a little uneasy. I'm sure it makes men even more antsy. But, so is life. I was mind boggled once when I saw a mom nursing in church on the row in front of us. You couldn't see anything, it was just knowing that she was doing it..I don't know..people including me are weird I guess. I was at a friends house recently and we were talking and all of a sudden she whips out her boob and nurses without missing a beat. I had no idea what she was going to do, so it made me feel very weird. I didn't know if I should face the tv for the duration of the time or look at her or what. I think for the benefit of those around you, in that situation you should say "I'm going to nurse..would you rather me do it somewhere else or could I just put a blanket over me?" In public, I say, still be as sly about as possible. It is every mother's right and it makes some people uneasy to know there's a boob out in public...I just say cover up and like some of them say, use a changing room or something if possible.

My friend bought a nursing "bib from Target thats not your typical. Its got a wire loop across the top front. With a drape coming down from it So from the front no one can see anything personal, but you can look down and see what your baby is up to. She loves hers...

I think I'll blog more in-depth about this on my blog if you want to check it out later.
For me, I have no problem nursing in public. I just make an effort to not expose my whole chest. Let me share a funny (at least it was to me) story. When Liam was...hmm maybe 5 months old, we were at Meijer shopping. Of course it was just me and him and the shopping cart. He decides he needs some Mommy and I am trying to steer the cart and get him latched on without having to stop and make it totally obvious that I am whipping my boob out. I was also trying to keep his head covered. Some lady, seeing that I was struggling, reached over and grabbed his head and latched him on! OMG I just about died. She went on to explain that she had 5 kids, it was no big deal and she could see my hands were full. I was pretty embarrased at the time, but now its funny to me.
That being said, I will breastfeed pretty much anywhere. Although if I am in a restaurant, I try to not do it. I mean yeah he needs to eat too, but I dont want people to be offended by my boob during their dinner.
I'm actually more nervous about doing it in front of my family. My mom is ok and my sister, but not my brother any other relatives. My brother actually told me to go upstairs when I needed to nurse at Christmas time. HUMPH!
I will nurse at church and at church functions out in the open, but never during the actual service. I dont know why, thats just weird to me.
If I am someplace where I want to make sure I dont offend anyone, like someone's house, I will ask if they mind. If you are at my house..too bad, you have to watch..haha
Its harder now that Liam is older because I worry too much about what people will say and think that I am nursing an older child.

I think it depends so much on teh culture of where you live. Here in the Bay Area, you'd probably never get a second look if you were nursing in public, and if anyone did dare give you a hard time about it, every woman in the vicinity would likely come to your defense. That being said, I am not a public nurser--mainly because, like you, I need to see my baby to make sure he's latched on correctly, and that's just too hard to do with a blanket covering me up. And I'm not feeling so liberated yet as to feed him without some kind of drape. So, I guess I'll have to take Melany's advice and practice at home getting Harper latched on without looking. I'm also keeping my eyes out for good deals on tops that open down the front--zip-up hoodies, button-downs, wrap tops--so I can breastfeed without exposing my tummy.

It makes me uncomfortable. I don't know where to look. But that's just one person's opinion

Just a lurker from GFF. A woman who owns a little maternity boutique by my house has created a very stlish nursing poncho that has been seen in Pregnancy magazine. Here's a website link: http://www.victorialaurin.com/

I saw them in person & they were very pretty but a tad expensive for me. That being said, I believe you can find much cheaper nursing ponchos at places like Target. HTH!

I always said I NEVER EVER would nurse in public. Alas... I nursed in Macaroni Grill on mothers day! It was an emergency kind of and I didn't want to miss out on time with my visiting family! I used H's white linen shirt to cover us on the outside after lifting my tank to feed her.

I have the same problem though- my boobs are ENORMOUS (36 F! Yowza!) so I have to hold them the entire time so she doesn't break her latch.

I'm hoping they get better as they get older and can control their heads more. One of my girlfriends is such a pro at nursing in public! She can do it quickly with no one even noticing. I'm jealous. Usually now I just pump her a bottle.