Monday, July 22, 2013

Breastfeeding in Public

I think Elliott and I have finally figured out this whole breastfeeding thing.  He still gets mostly bottles, but I nurse him at least 2x/day (and in the middle of the night if he wakes up- but he usually doesn't.)

We went to a birthday party at a park on Saturday.  I feel like I have to plan so far in advance when I'm going to pump, when we are going to get ready, leave the house, etc.  Anyone with toddlers and/or infants knows how much "stuff" you have to get ready and how long it takes to actually get loaded into the car.  Well, add on pumping for 15 minutes right before you go to that.  Yeah, its not that fun to be all stressed while pumping and thinking about how you are going to leave sort of on time.

I try not to go more than 3-4 hours without pumping.  Some days I go longer if I am out of the house, but I really don't like to.

Saturday I pumped from 1:30-1:45 and then we were out the door. We were at a park at a birthday party and it was about 4:30pm and Elliott was hungry.  Do I give him a bottle? Do I nurse him in public?  I decided to nurse him in public.  I was nervous at first because I didn't want it to be awkward, but to my surprise, it wasn't at all.  I don't even think most of the people knew I was feeding him.  It gave me a sense of freedom that I hadn't felt before... because I just feel so attached to the stupid pump.  But, if we go out with the babies, I am going to try not to be afraid to do it again.

1 comment:

AletaObrien said...

I remember thinking how alien it felt to use the breast pump. I think if men had to do that, they'd come up with a more convenient method :) I'm happy for you that you were able to feel comfortable breast feeding in public. I wish my baby had been able to breast feed.