Comments on: NIP (nursing in public): my first experience

By: stockings and suspenders

stockings and suspenders — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 20:51:34 +0000

Thank you for another essential article. It’s certainly an opinion I agree with.

By: jack

jack — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:42:26 +0000

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By: Women's Ugg Sandals

Women's Ugg Sandals — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:27:54 +0000

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By: Orville Lorenzini

Orville Lorenzini — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:05:49 +0000

Superb site, would love to see a bit more content though! Then again my puppet site hasn't much either - Great post anyway, added your RSS feed! Cheers

By: Samantha Van Vleet

Samantha Van Vleet — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:19:30 +0000

You need to try a buckle-tai carrier! Like http://www.bebebreeze.com/boutique

By: Kristen

Kristen — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:23:04 +0000

I was so nervous when I first started NIP. I made my debut at my mom’s house, at first I went into another room, where it was super quiet…then as everyone got more used to it I would nurse in the living room with a receiving blanket tossed over my shoulder. I never used a nursing cover…just the blanket.
Our first time out of the house, I used a fitting room at the mall, and again, as my confidence grew, I could duck behind my hubby to get him latched, then we could go on about our day.
Practice, Practice, Practice…you will gain confidence!

By: TheFeministBreeder

TheFeministBreeder — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:08:25 +0000

I’m late to the party, but I read this on my phone days ago and have been meaning to comment. This made me think of a post I wrote when I was freshly pregnant with my 2nd boy. http://thefeministbreeder.com/gearing-up-for-nursing-in-public/

I barely breastfed my first son, and I quit for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons was that I tried to nurse him sitting on a Best Buy toilet one day, and being relegated to the stinky bathroom made me FUMING mad. I didn’t want to be stuck somewhere just cause my baby needed to eat, but I just couldn’t work up the courage to do it in public at that time. But the next time I got pregnant I VOWED that I’d nurse in public, and do so proudly. (Once I made the switch to formula with my first son, I missed breastfeeding like crazy, so I knew I wanted to make breastfeeding work the second time.)

Now, a couple years later, I will breastfeed anytime, anywhere, with anyone in the room, with no cover at all, and not think twice about it. But it didn’t happen overnight — it took some growing into. So, here are My two pieces of advice:

1. Hooter Hiders (or whatever brand you have) are, to me, FAR more distracting and obvious than just pulling up your shirt and latching him on. Those things scream “Hey, Hey, look! I’m Breastfeeding! And I’m kinda embarrassed about it! And I kinda think I shouldn’t be doing this in front of people! So feel free to stare!” Also, if I were a baby, I wouldn’t want to be trapped under one.

2. Just jump in, nurse whereever/whenever, stop caring what anybody says, and pretty soon you’ll forget you were ever nervous about it. There is nothing wrong with breastfeeding your baby, and if anybody else has a problem with it, then that’s THEIR problem. There is no reason to haul you and your baby to some other room (especially in your own home! Jeez!) just to satisfy someone else’s ignorance. Sure, my family USED to make comments about it, but they don’t anymore! Everyone is accustomed to it now. And if they DO make a comment, I just look them dead in the eye and remind them of how unhealthy our whole family is, and how what I’m doing for my baby is giving him the best start. How can a person argue with that?

I totally remember being where you are. But I think you can cast the fear aside and go for it. I think it makes the whole breastfeeding relationship better in the end as well.

By: Ameya

Ameya — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:12:54 +0000

Yes, I feed in front of anyone, with an udder cover. You must also understand that if anyone besides my husband were to even say the word “boobs” to me (..well, mostly male or older women) i would turn into a tomato– i am a PRUDE. But a baby’s gotta eat & going into the bathroom WITH a cover to me just says there is something shameful about it. Personally i’d rather be slightly uncomfortable myself but be a part of normalizing it than the reverse.

My 17 year old brother is the only one who has said anything about it, when I was nursing at my mom’s house while his friends were over. He was like “EWW, I HAVE FRIENDS OVER!” and my very mature big sister response was AWWW BOO HOO, OH NO, BOOBS ARE SO GROSS *rubs eyes*

I figure, if Mr. Rogers can show naked boob & nipple while showing breastfeeding on children’s PBS programming… eff everyone who things it’s gross. Mr. Rogers seal of approval > everyone elses. Hehe.

By: Latoya

Latoya — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:28:47 +0000

Practice makes perfect! The first few times you NIP you will feel a bit ackward. Breasts have always been seen as sexual and to expose them in public is a NO-NO! You may have to keep telling yourself, I am feeding my baby! This is natural.. This is what we do. I hated going to the restroom to feed my daughter. I did it a few times because it seemed like he most comfortable thing to do, but just sitting there nursing and listening to other’s bodily functions just grossed me out, so I decided to practice at home a lot until I was comfortable cause my daughter could care less who was looking while she ate! LOL When is it ever ok to ask someone to eat their meal in the restroom!
My first NIP experience was at a La Leche League meeting. Although, I was among ‘friends’, I was nervous not only because I was NIPing, but also because I was a newbie and didn’t want to appear as if I had no idea what I was doing, although I really didn’t! While at home, I tried to sit near or in front of a mirror nursing. I checked out my image in the mirror and I couldn’t see anything. Great! Then, i would ask Da Hubby to check out my technique (didn’t use any special holds– usually the cradle or football hold) and he would always say he couldn’t see anything. I NEVER used a nursing cover. To me, they bring more attention than just nursing itself. I mean, think about it, a woman is sitting at a restaurant table with a cover over her.. hmm?? I wonder what she’s doing under there!? Or watching a hubby try to help his wife cover up with a nursing cover or sheet just seems to jump up and down and scream, “Hey! Attention! Attention! Look over here!! We’re ’bout to breastfeed!!“
The next big NIP test was when we went to a restaurant for dinner. My baby girl wanted to eat and I didn’t feel like going to sit in the bathroom or any other place, so I unstrapped my nursing bra and hooked her up. No one paid us any attention. She happily ate and was done and anyone that walked by didn’t give a second look , sideways glance or mummur a comment. To all others, it just looked as if she was trying to go to sleep! Even my preteen son didn’t know what was going on.
I also nursed in front of family (mostly my mom and sister). I still used my regular technique of being sure that i wore a shirt that would cover over my breast while she ate. If my male family members were around, I would go into another room and kind of tell someone, so no one barged in on me. I did the same while among close friends. If the guys were around I would go to a quiet empty room.. It helped me relax and get a break from it all and also limited distractions for my daughter to just concentrate on eating. One time while nursing the man of the house came in the quiet, empty room to get something and talked so much to me. He didn’t even notice i was nursing, until we were finished and he apologized but no harm was done because he didn’t see anything, but I guess he felt bad ’cause he hadn’t noticed.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.. The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll feel.. Your baby’s got to eat…

By: Kristyn

Kristyn — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:09:22 +0000

Oddly enough, I would feel weirder nursing in a bathroom than fully exposed in public. I have a HooterHider cover, which I love, and I haven't had a problem with it not covering us while my daughter nurses. I initially bought it for Thanksgiving at my cousins' house. I had never been to their home so I wasn't sure if they would have a place for me to nurse and I didn't feel comfortable with all of them seeing. Of course, my cousin's wife's grandmother is the one who asked to see "the nursing baby" and just aww'ed over her. Sweet lady. I don't entertain often but when I have guests over, I usually use my cover. I don't want to be left out of the fun but my baby's gotta eat! For close friends and family, I don't bother with the cover. It was awkward at first but we all got over it. A trick I've learned for when the cover isn't convenient, or was forgotten, is to have an extra shirt and make sure it's big. I wear my nursing tank under a loose shirt and when it's time to nurse, the shirt will cover my daughter's head. If she decides she doesn't want her head covered, the shirt will drape over her mouth so that I'm still covered (and she can still breathe, don't worry). For the latch, I make sure she's covered before getting her latched. My nursing cover is puckered so I can adjust it to see what she's doing. I'm not a fan of flashing strangers either, but if someone flashed me some boob while feeding her baby, I wouldn't care at all!