Breastfeeding........

[Hon'ya-chan]

PROTIP: If your gonna breastfeed your baby and not cover the baby, expect to be stared at. Don't start yelling at the customers and staff that you have a right to breastfeed in public when they stare. Also, if your that concerned about people staring at you, get a freaking blankie to cover the baby up.

Oh, and yes, we allow you to breastfeed, we have nothing against it; but once you start to yell at other customers, then we have a legal right to tell you to leave and if needed, call the cops.

[Lace Neil Singer]

http://www.pets-warehouse.com/pic-s/SZMZM42.jpg

I personally believe it's all about respect. Once a customer crosses that line and starts being disrespectful to those around them, it doesn't matter that they are entitled to do something. Respect to me, as far as breastfeeding goes, is to find a quiet corner out the way (no, NOT in the toilets; I certainly wouldn't want to eat my lunch in the toilet.) put a blanket down or put the baby inside your shirt, and get on with it. I once saw a woman feeding her child; she had the baby inside her very loose flowing shirt, and most people would have seen her and assumed she was just giving her baby a cuddle. Far better than just whipping off your top and then complaining when people, men especially, stare.

[GingerBiscuit]

Hmm. On one hand, you are doing the most natural and healthy thing in the world- but on the other hand, you are falshing your tits all over the place. I am going to feed my baby when it's hungry (when I have them) but I will try to be sensible about it and remember that some people have issues about it.

[Bramblerose]

Oddly, most breastfeeders I have seen aren't flashing their tits everywhere. Not even the ones who were electing not to have the odd blankie about.

My favorite maternity clothes to date was SCA garb- a sideless surcoat with a really clever (but sadly not particularly 14th cent) chemise.

[videodrone]

my first job was at a birthday party place for little kids. Now, I'm a woman, so one would figure I'd be use to breasts by now, but there's nothing like turning a corner and suddenly TITS!!!!!!!!!!! Always a little bit shocking.
The guys were even less mature about it.

[Danno]

Reminds me, one time there was a local news story about a woman who caused a minor ruckus with her rather unsubtle public breastfeeding. Whatever happened, I wasn't paying very close attention to the story so I don't much remember the details, but...

I did remember the face, because the day after the story aired she came through our drive-thru. And guess what she was doing.

That's right.

Breastfeeding.

While.

DRIVING!

Man, that's a Darwin award waiting to happen. In retrospect, I probably should have called the local police for the kid's sake. They have incredibly fast response time and the press would've loved the story.

[spookysonata]

PROTIP: If your gonna breastfeed your baby and not cover the baby, expect to be stared at. Don't start yelling at the customers and staff that you have a right to breastfeed in public when they stare.

Nobody *has* to stare. When I was a child, I was taught that staring was rude.

Also, I've seen lots of women breastfeeding in public...not one was ever indiscreet to the point where she was flashing tit. Some people will just take any excuse to gawk...just saying.

[Kiwi]

Breastfeeding.

While.

DRIVING!

Im not getting anywhere near the breastfeeding in public debate

but your right, you should have called the police thats total child endangerment

wow that makes me SO FREAKING ANGRY that she would have a baby young enough to breastfeed in a car and not strapped in

some people should need a licence to have children!

[Difdi]

A baby's head is bigger than the breast cups on many modern swimsuits. Most women, breastfeeding without a cover, are exposing less breast than if they were at the beach.

So why do people freak out over one but not the other? My guess is they're visualizing themselves in the baby's place, touching it!

[Ill_Used_Heroine]

We were having a managers meeting one day, and when they broke for lunch, this one manager had to breastfeed and locked herself in our break room!

We were all like, WTF?! No one could take their breaks until she was done and she was in there for like 45 mins! How rude to lock the staff out of THEIR break room, and she was a manager from another branch. To top it all off, she didn't even ask, she just went in and locked up. We had to find out from someone else why the room was locked.

[Kiwi]

that reminds me of a dumb thing I did

working in the office support team for the shipping company, one of my duties was booking out 8 meetings rooms
we had a room controlled by HR not me which was a PITA because it made booking the room impossible and so it was for all intents and purposes it didnt exsist.

I had a staff member come and tell me she needed the room because she was expressing... now her department sent out express couriers multiple times a day, the busyest day was 18 couriers and again I dealt with that so I was like... cant you do it at your desk

thinking she was talking about express posting the couriers

she gave me the strangest look and INSISTED that she needed the HR room as it was the only one without windows.... so we talked with HR and they were thats fine let her book but forward the email on to me.

it was only after I was talking to my manager that she explained the woman had just come back from maternity leave....jeez

no wonder she didnt want to "express" at her desk HAHA im so dumb sometimes

[dithers66]

Sounds like she might be doing it, just to get a rise out of people so she can let off her own steam.

[Gabrielle Proctor]

You should always be prepared.

I was at a mall once, it was one of those outdoor malls, and I rounded a corner to find a 5 or 6 year old boy on the ground. His mom was doing what looked like changing a daiper. I was all...WTF?

I turned around and went the other way. It was weird, why not use the bathroom? There was a restroom not 100 yards away from her! And why does a 5 or 6 year old need changing?

I've never seen someone breastfeed in public though. I'm glad more places are accomidating that need and installing breastfeeding rooms in the women's bathroom.

[Munkie]

Reading this post reminded me of a time fairly recently (within the last two or so months) that I went to a movie with my brother (i think anyway), and I looked over at a movement that caught the corner of my eye. It was a woman - no, sorry, she couldn't have been more than 17 - changing one of her kids IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRIGGIN FLOOR. Like, the bathroom was MAYBE 20 feet away, out of the theatre!! She was blocking off the stairway to the rest of the theatre tiers, AND the walkway to the other side of it! And she was RIGHT BESIDE THE DOOR.

For some reason, this pissed me off to no end... still does. And she had the gall to leave the diaper on top of the garbage can, blocking the hole, so no one could throw away their popcorn bags or drink cups. I think she even left another diaper under the chairs too... both her kids were under the age of 3.

[Gilgamesh]

Breastfeeding in public doesn't really bother me (no kids, now or ever) even if it's of the "whip it out" kind, but many people are more easily annoyed/embarrassed/whatever by it. Would it really kill these women to cover just a bit? Isn't putting all on display the reason some want to forbid it completely and push them into toilets?

And hey, I really believe that by breastfeeding and then yelling at people who stare (*stare* or ohdamnboobsmustturnhead?) helps to create that militant variety of childfree people (mcf); I don't want kids, and I don't really like them, but that seemingly ever escalating pissing contest between mcf and helicopter mommies...

I'll shut up now.