When I first started nursing Autumn, I was slightly surprised and rather uncomfortable when the nurses at the hospital freely helped me get her attached. After all, I'm not a Mardi Gras kind of girl, so my breasts up until then had been kept under wraps.
The first time I really had to nurse in front of someone other than a nurse and other than my husband was during Keith's grandmother's funeral. She died when Autumn was just a week and a half old, so we drove out to Cleveland for the funeral. After the funeral, the family had a little luncheon and during that time, Autumn became hungry. I parked myself as far from other family members as I could, I tossed a blanket over me and went for it, all the time feeling a little self- conscious.
Then came Thanksgiving, when Autumn was just three weeks old. The same Thanksgiving where I forgot my nipple shield. So I was struggling enough as it was. My sister came in for a bit, but remained a decent distance away. But my 6-year-old nephew came right up and took a look. He loved Autumn and he knew she was eating. He just wanted to see her and could have cared less about what I was doing. I didn't want to ask him to back away, because I didn't want him to get the idea that there was anything wrong about nursing a baby. And I, apparently, was the only one uncomfortable there. So I sucked it up.
Eventually, I felt fine nursing in our parents' living rooms without covering up. I felt fine nursing in the little lounge areas of the women's bathrooms at Sears and Kaufmann's. I also found I really enjoyed nursing in the "mother's room" at Babies R Us. What a great setup!
But the thing that surprised me most was at a baseball game. Keith, his parents, Autumn and I went to a Cleveland Indians baseball game at Jacob's Field. I packed a bottle of milk I had pumped, but Autumn kept refusing it. I thought it may have been because the temperature of the milk wasn't quite warm enough, but there's only so much you can do while holding a bottle under a bathroom faucet. After a bit, she started to fuss. After some more trying the bottle and some more fussing, I gave in. So with Keith on one side and his mom on the other, I nursed my daughter at the ballpark. And it wasn't the last time.
Really, I don't see what the big deal is anymore. I don't know why every state doesn't pass a law preventing discrimination against breast-feeding in public. If the mother is comfortable with it and the baby is hungry, why should anyone else stand in the way?
Breast-feeding is simply a natural way for a baby to get the best quality milk. Just because the "bottles" are shaped a little differently doesn't mean the baby should be denied food. Now if Mom started walk around topless, I could see where there would be an issue. But nobody should have the right to deny a hungry baby food just because they're uncomfortable. If it bothers them that much, they should just look away.