Breastfeed in Restaurants OK or not OK?

[happysoul]

I also guarantee you, you are more likely to see more boobage from women wearing low cut tops than from a mom breastfeeding her child. You are also more likely to find more women wearing these type of fashions than having an encounter of a mom breastfeeding her baby. What's so different? Are you as taken back when you see that?

[TheWoman]

The whole idea that a mother should have to go to the car or a bathroom to feed her baby is so wrong. You know that in many places it is illegal to leave a DOG in a hot car, but we should send the babies there for their meals? How many of you would like to eat in a car that has been sitting in the sun for hours on a 100 degree day? Would you like to be sent to a car to eat when it is well below freezing outside? Would you like to eat in the bathroom? If you don't want to eat there how can you argue that babies should have to?

When there are girls going around with their thongs showing out of their low cut pants and their belly button rings showing and their tight shirts that leave nothing to the imagionation while the boys are wearing their pants closer to their knees than their waist, and women are wearing swimsuits that are made out of 6 square inches of fabric, why do people get their panties in a wad about a mother feeding her baby in a restaurant?

[sbp]

Originally Posted by kval07 In other news, I don't eat with a blanket over my head, so I don't think a little baby should have to either.

I have no problems whatsoever with a mother breastfeeding their baby in public, whether it's at a restaurant or on a bench at the mall or at the park, etc. But it's not something that I would watch them doing. When I'm at a restaurant my only concern is with what's happening at my table, not what anyone else is doing.

I breastfed both of my boys each until they were just over a year old and I got really good at being discreet when we were in public. With the first one I did the blanket covering his head the first few times, but I felt like it was drawing more attention to what we were doing that if I just did what needed to be done discretely. Nursing shirts and nursing bras rock for that discretion!!!

Besides all that my kids always seemed to be hungriest whenever I myself was ready to eat!!! I don't think I ever got to eat a hot meal for those 2 years! lol

Of all the people we know, I was only uncomfortable feeding my baby in front of two people, so when they were around I took the baby into another room. One was my dad, because well, he's my dad and it was just weird to me - I don't really know why it was weird, it just was. And the other was DH's 85+ year old grandfather from Canada..... I just think he would have been uncomfortable so I made it a non-issue and just went into another room.

[beth119]

Originally Posted by happysoul Personally I turn my face away everytime I see a mom getting out a bottle of formula to feed her baby. That stuff is nasty and both the bottle and baby should be covered up with a blanket to prevent people from being exposed to such a gruesome view.

WTH?

All my kids were bottle fed...

1. I didn't want to.
2. It didn't matter... I didn;t seem to have made any milk anyway
3. My DD was SO sick, that I COULDN'T have breastfed her.

So, maybe before you judge, you should remember that everyone's circumstances are different.

If a mother doesn't make any milk, should that kid just starve to death?

[queenofthehivemomof5]

Well...so far no had gotten their panties in a wad.

I have fed my kids in the car...but that was because I was on a road trip. I have never been forced to leave and feed the kids. I have made a choice to go to another room when say at my grandparents home as I knew it was uncomfortable for me to breastfeed around them. Only time I fed a baby in the bathroom was when we were at this mall that had family restrooms with a quiet little room with a couch and TV and you could sit in a nice quiet place and nurse with the entire family. I thought that was pretty nifty idea. Afterall when you are a new mom sometimes a nice quiet place is conductive to breastfeeding a baby. Some moms can just whip it out, get them latched on and eat their salad and call it a day. Some moms/babies take a little more time.

[beth119]

BTW, I don't really care about women breastfeeding in public. But, they still should try to be respectful (as in..if your kid is DONE, put it AWAY).

[foggierbard9]

Originally Posted by beth119 WTH? All my kids were bottle fed... 1. I didn't want to. 2. It didn't matter... I didn;t seem to have made any milk anyway 3. My DD was SO sick, that I COULDN'T have breastfed her. So, maybe before you judge, you should remember that everyone's circumstances are different. If a mother doesn't make any milk, should that kid just starve to death?

WOW, its the first time I've agreed with Beth.
I had to bottle feed my son because he was tongue-tied and the Ped. refused to clip, by the time we got a new Ped, I had no milk. With our next one I will try breastfeeding, but being tongue-tied is genetic so we could have the same issue all over again. I pumped for as long as I could with my son, but I never produced enough for him to be just bottlefed breastmilk. I was angry with myself because I couldn't do it, and it took time for me to realize that it was ok and I wasn't a bad mom for it.

[jenward5]

Hmmm....
I didn't realize this discussion was turning bad or I wouldn't have contributed.

When I fed my baby in the car, the car air conditioning was on. and we were both relaxing...it wasn't like leaving the baby in a hot car.

[carisal]

I don't think I'd "like to watch" it. that said, I have done it. as discreetly as possible, but yes .... sitting at the table at outback steak house. I fed her right before, but we waited for an hour for the table and had sat at the table for over 30 minutes to get food.... she got cranky, and I was hungry too.... LOL

[running2live]

I've done both BF and bottle. Both are great and I respect the lifestyle choice. Thank goodness for freedom of choice! I hold no judgment there. People need to find what works for them.

I do think more women need to BF in public so that we are able to grow more accustomed to it as a society. I don't go to the bathroom to eat so I refuse to make my baby eat in the bathroom too. I try to be discreet but I've had my kids scream about being covered.

Just the other day my sister was told to take her baby to the bathroom at the Labor and Delivery waiting room of all places. Aren't they supposed to be supporting it there?

BF'ing is not easy. I am supportive of women's rights to feed when and where they need to. I don't want to have to live in the shadows for a year just because I have an infant. It's not fair to me or my baby.