Breastfeeding In Public

Can we take a second to talk about this?? As a new mom who is breastfeeding this has really started to hit home for me. I want to be completely honest now, before I ever had my little one I saw plenty of women breastfeeding out in public and felt somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. I realize now that the reason I felt uncomfortable was because I had completely sexualized breasts. I had grown up in a society where seeing breasts in advertisements and movies, you couldn’t watch a Carl’s Jr commercial without being forced to watch at least one pair of bouncing breasts! Breasts are everywhere, you really can’t get away from them. I felt uncomfortable with breastfeeding until my mom had my little sister when I was 18, then I saw things in a completely different light. However, I would NEVER have said anything to the women feeding their little ones no matter how uncomfortable it made me!! My mother breastfed my little sister for about six months or so, if I remember correctly, and I hung out with her while she did so. I finally realized that breasts are not just sexual objects, but are basically bottles for babies! I know, strange analogy but think about it… It’s pretty spot on! Now being a breastfeeding mom I completely understand the Normalize Breastfeeding Movement. It’s not like the Free The Nipple Movement, it’s goal is not to just allow women to walk around topless it’s goal is to make women feel comfortable to feed their children in public. I’ve watched so many videos and read so many articles about this social issue and it makes me so sad. There are so many women on women hate for breastfeeding in public, even those who have children of their own are criticizing others for breastfeeding their children in public. Breastfeeding is the reason women have breasts it’s what God or Biology has intended them for, if you will. Yet people still lose their minds when you breastfeed in public even if you do cover up.

Now let me touch on the breastfeeding covers for a second, have you ever used one?? They are a serious pain in the a$$!! Not to mention how they work like a heater on top of a little space heater. I don’t know about other moms, but for Grayson and I the cover is more of a spectacle than just feeding him without it. I mean, how would you like to be forced to eat underneath a blanket?? You probably wouldn’t find it very fun, and trust me it’s not! I currently use a cover to feed Grayson outside of the home, mainly because my husband doesn’t want the world looking at my boobs. Which is funny but I get it, for me it’s because I’m self conscious about my breasts… I think they look weird. Even though I feed Grayson under a cover I still get looks from strangers, everything from horrified looks to straight up glares. I always stare back or ask if I can help them if they seem to be unable to take their eyes off of us. I am not someone you want to piss off, and I’m constantly waiting for someone to say something to me about taking care of my child. I would do anything for him, even step out of my comfort zone and feed him without a cover if needed. Sometimes little ones are screaming and taking the extra time to put on a cover and get him situated with one hand is just not worth it! Everyone is already staring at you anyway, why not just whip out your breast and calm the screaming child? I watched this video that was a social experiment about breastfeeding in public and it made me so angry. Where do people get off trying to tell mothers when and where they should be feeding their children?? Breastfeeding Social Experiment

So many women and even celebrities are getting in on the movement to normalize breastfeeding in public. Alyssa Milano has been a huge advocate for the movement, going on talk shows and posting images of herself breastfeeding her baby. She talks about how the sexualization of breasts is the reason society demands we put them away and try to force us to hide when we are feeding our babies. Living in Oregon I am happy to say I have the RIGHT to breastfeed anywhere I please. It is illegal to tell me I can’t do it and to force me to do so in a bathroom, which is an issue that occurred near me a few months ago and led to a breastfeeding sit in at that particular store. I am so thankful that I live in a right to breastfeed state, and happy to say I have never been turned away or asked to leave when feeding my little boy! I encourage you to be kind and speak kind words to those moms you see breastfeeding in public, I promise they get more negativity than kindness and could always use some kind words.