I recently wrote a post about my first attempt at nursing in public. I was only half successful because I ended up nursing Ryan in the women’s bathroom. Well… I tried it again. Last weekend we had some out of town friends visiting and we went to Old Chicago on Friday night for some food. I was nervous about bringing Ryan because I knew we’d be out past his usual bedtime and I didn’t know how he’d handle it.
He did awesome. When it was bedtime, he just fell right asleep in his car seat! He only started crying once because he was hungry. Yea, I was nervous. I haven’t really practiced it either–I mean, getting him ready to nurse while keeping everything covered up. When I nurse him at home, I don’t try to hide anything, lol. AND sitting on the other side of the booth were 2 of my guy friends… one of the things I mentioned in my last post that made me uncomfortable! This was like the ultimate test!
I picked up Ryan and I said to my friends, “You guys are cool if I feed him right now, right?” It was hilarious–the 2 guys right across from me both looked straight down at their plate of food and said “oh yea, of course, uh huh, go ahead.” They didn’t mean to, but it was totally obvious, haha. I used Ryan’s blanket over my shoulder just to get him latched and then I kind of let it fall down. I think one of the guy’s stared at his plate almost the whole time, but the other guy talked to me and looked me in the face. I think he forgot what I was doing!
And they all said they’d punch anyone who might say something rude to me about it 🙂 And that was it – my first REAL experience in public and in front of male friends. I rock!
Ok, NIP #2. Besides nursing in front of guys, I also mentioned in my last post that it was weird to nurse in front of family. Welllll…. I just wanted to knock this dead all in one weekend apparently. We were at my in-laws on Sunday afternoon and Ryan got hungry. I didn’t want to sit alone in the other room especially because there really wasn’t anywhere private unless I went all the way upstairs.
At first it was really awkward because they handed Ryan over to me because he was hungry, so everyone’s eyes were on us (or at least I thought so!) I sat back down on the couch, waited for everyone to continue doing their thing, and nursed him. I used the blanket again like at the restaurant and everything was fine. No one said a word or really seemed to notice. Two hours later, I did it again.
I’M A PRO! 🙂
Congrats! Soon you won’t even think about a blanket! I swear most people don’t even realize what I’m doing until I’m done 🙂
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Good job. It gets easier every time. With my first I used a nursing cover at first but later on I didn’t need anything.
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Way to go!!
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YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD JOB AND CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :))
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NIP is always a huge accomplishment! Way to go!
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Good for you! If your babe’s hungry, they’ve gotta eat right! Way to go, and keep it up!
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Good job, so proud of you mama! Just remember, it’ll get easier and easier 🙂
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Yay, that is awesome!!! I’m so happy it worked so easily for you. Thanks for sharing your success stories!!!
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You are a pro! And I had a blast being witness to the big event 🙂 (also – I finally updated my blog…it had been over a MONTH! don’t know how you remember to write every day!!!)
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I always use a cover but congrats for going without!! You rock!
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Awesome! I thought I’d feel really awkward, and I did at first, but now I bring my daughter to work with me and nurse while I meet with all different people. If you have the right to eat in public, so does your child. The cool thing is…people will start to ask you questions, and you’ll all of a sudden feel like a pro! The best question yet is “Are they…ambidextrous?” Enjoy your breastfeeding relationship! Embrace the fact that you are doing something that most new mommies (unfortunately) give up on. By showing others how confident you are about it, you may even encourage others to give it a genuine try when they give birth!
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yay!! haha. I wonder how I’ll be with this. I really don’t think I’ll feel comfortable doing it. I don’t go out much anyway so it’s not a big deal, it’s not like we hang out with friends all the time or like we have family nearby. I don’t think I’d mind nursing in front of family, or out with just me and Brian, but I wouldn’t want to in front of friends I think. I think I’d rather just bring a bottle if I can. If we run out, then ok but… yea. I dunno, I guess we’ll see!
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