Imported from Vox
When was the last time you felt butterflies in your stomach?
It was probably the first time I nursed in public after Emma was born. My comfort level is much better than the I'm-never-ever-going-to-breastfeed-in-public-I-need-a-closed-room-with-just-me-and-the-baby-every-time-I-nurse camp, but I'm definitely not in the let-it-all-hang-out camp for public nursing either. I'm not a big fan of the huge cover-up, but that's just me. If that's what someone else needs to be comfortable, then by all means use it. I never understood the line of thought that says if you're not completely comfortable "letting it all hang out" when nursing in public, then you're not really pro breastfeeding.
I prefer discreet public nursing (no nursing room necessary, although I'm not opposed to nursing rooms) without a cover-up. For those without experience with this either by doing it yourself or by close experience with someone else doing it, you must be wondering how in the world that is possible. I mean, you're pulling out your boob in public for heaven's sake!Don't you at least need some kind of cover-up?! So, here's my tips for discreet and comfortable public nursing without a cover-up.
Realize that the baby's head will cover up most of your breast. When nursing this way it just looks like you are cuddling your baby.
Wear double layered clothing. This is so that when you pull your shirt up to nurse you will have another piece of clothing to cover up the rest of you (your back and any other place the baby can't hide). There are a number of different ways to accomplish this. You can wear specially made nursing clothing. I have a couple of nursing shirts and they are pretty convenient, but they can also be a bit pricey. You can also wear a tank top undershirt. Be sure to wear one that is stretchy enough to pull the neck or arm hole around your breast. I've also read the idea to take old or inexpensive shirts and cut slits where your breast are (this is how many nursing shirts work). My favorite solution by far is the Belly Hugger. It's pretty much like a tube top you wear around your belly. It's great because once you pull up your shirt there's no extra piece of clothing to move out of the way (except your bra of course).
Wear a nursing bra that can be snapped and unsnapped with one hand. You want to be able to hold the baby with one hand and fix your bra with the other hand. If you are strongly right handed or vice versa, you will want to practice doing this with your "weak" hand at home to be able to easily do it in public.
When you're getting ready to nurse in public look down at yourself and the baby.Only focus on the two of you and feeding the baby. Try not to look up and worry about your surroundings until the baby has started to feed and you've covered yourself up to your satisfaction. Looking up and down, up and down, worrying if people are looking at you or if people can see anything will only slow you down and "prolong the agony". You will be much quicker (and therefore less likely to flash anything) if you just focus on feeding the baby. It's of course alright to look up and around once you are situated and comfortable.
Here's how I do it:
When you're about to nurse the baby in public reach through the neck of your shirt and unlatch the side you're about to nurse on, just unlatch it, nothing else. Then reach under your shirt (between the layer that should cover your belly and the outer layer) and finish moving the bra out of the way. Still keep your outer shirt over your breast at this time. With your outer shirt still down hold the baby like you are about to nurse. Once the baby is in place over your breast pull that side of your outer shirt up to give the baby access to your breast and latch the baby. Remember even though looking down you will be able to see your breast, the rest of the world won't be able to because the baby's head will be obstructing their view. Once the baby is latched you will be able to pull you shirt down even more right to the baby's cheek.
When the baby is done (and unlatched) the first thing you will do before moving the baby is pull down the outer shirt over your breast. At this time if you have a stroller or carrier with you, you can set the baby down or if you were wearing the baby, you can just hold him/her on your lap while you "put yourself back together." Next reach under your shirt and reposition that side of your bra. This is often the part that I've found most bothersome, because it often involves repositioning and smoothing out a nursing pad with one hand and without being able to see exactly what you're doing. All I can say is that with practice it gets easier. Once you've got that side of the bra back in position then reach in through the neck of your shirt to re-latch the bra. I've found that if I try to latch and unlatch my bra reaching from the bottom of my shirt that I end up pulling up the shirt more than I would prefer. That's just me.
Practice at home in front of a mirror. This will ease any fears that you are exposing yourself in public. It will also allow you to see anything that you're doing that may expose more than you are comfortable with and let you figure out how to correct that.
For those of you with experience nursing in public, what helped you to be comfortable?
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