Thoughts on breastfeeding in public

[BunnytheFriendlyDragon]

I'm a BFing mum. Baby is around 3 months old. I haven't fed yet in front of many people or out in public. When I do, I try to latch him on discreetly but have only really done it in baby friendly places like baby groups. Then again I've answered the door with baby latched on

What were / are your experiences of BFing in public?

Any tips?

What do you think of mums who BF in public whether discreetly or less discreetly?

Just breastfed my 21 month old in a playground. Did it discreetly on an empty bench. If someone has an issue, I genuinely think it's their issue and not mine.
I offered my son water and banana first but he was adamant he wanted milk!
Breastfeeding is natural. End of.

Ahhhh I remember my first public breastfeed with DS1. It was a gourmet burger kitchen in Bluewater. I was wearing a t shirt so had no choice but to pull it up and expose my very crinkly and flabby postnatal stomach. That made me feel more self conscious than any boob exposure I think! But can do clearly recall DS stirring and mewling and clearly gearing up to wanting a feed and just feeling this adrenaline rush and sort of dread if 'oh god I'm really going to have to do this'

I very quickly started wearing a vest top under everything so I could one up one down and not have to expose my stomach it got easier with DS1 but had to stop at six months because of an undiagnosed tongue tie and extreme pain. DS2's tongue tie was spotted and resolved really quickly after birth and he ended up breastfeeding until he was four. By that point I think probably most of the south east of England had seen my norks and I gave zero fucks. Oh and once on a ferry to Ireland he'd stopped because something shiny caught his eye or something and I carried on chatting to my mum until she pointed out in horror that my boob was still out. I just laughed but Mum was utterly horrified for me and started flapping about with cardigans to try and cover me up in case I was embarrassed!

I'm all for people covering up if it means they feel more comfortable and carry on breastfeeding but having tried it maybe twice in the early days with DS1 it just seemed like far more fuss than necessary and now I mostly just feel sad that people do still feel it's necessary because other members of the public are nobs about it or can't comprehend that breasts are primarily for feeding and not for sex. But seriously, whatever works to carry on the individual breastfeeding journey is most important I reckon

I am finding I agree I should be done discreetly. There is no need to show your whole boob in most cases eg wearing a low top and getting out whole boob in the park over the top... and I say this as someone who was also BFing myself at the time

Just do it. If your baby is hungry, you have no choice! That’s the bottom line. My DD used to take an hour to feed and there was no way I was sitting in a smelly baby change area for that, so I used to find a quiet corner of a cafe and feed her discreetly. The funniest thing was when a woman came over and asked if she and her DD could watch, as she felt it was a great example for her! This was 17 years ago.