breastfeeding in the supermarket

[wtfisgoingonhere]

Ok so I'm all for breastfeeding and think all mums should (assuming mother/baby are able to) but WALKING AROUND SAINSBURYS breastfeeding. . . Seriously? ?

Maybe it's only me that's shocked and I am not a mum myself if that makes a difference.
Don't get me wrong I certainly disagree with mums being ushered into toilets and the like but I felt a bit of modesty could have avoided awkwardness for both mum and others she may come across.

I have no issue with nudity either, i enjoy sunbathing topless and strolling around my home in various states of undress but I couldn't imagine ever feeling comfortable doing this myself

The last thing I expected on a Saturday afternoon trip to sainsburys was to round the corner of an aisle to come face to face with a woman with her top down and FULL BOOB OUT (I saw nipple and all!) strolling down the home entertainment aisle feeding baby. Yes I know this is what they are intended for but when men aren't allowed to enter shirtless is this not a bit much? Had she been sat outside the store on the benches or in a cafe (if they had one) I guess i or anyone else wouldn't have batted an eyelid

Just interested in others opinions

Is this taking things a bit far or perhaps it is just a multitasking achievement extraordinaire?

I've fed my 3yo DD in a supermarket. It's the only way we've found that can prevent a meltdown (possible ASD). She sits on my hip and hoiks it out of the top. You see relatively little due to the size of her head, but tbh I wouldn't care much if you could. If I didn't feed her when crowds/buzzing lights/the world got too overwhelming I wouldn't be able to shop at all some days.

DS is only 3m and I'm still having trouble working out how to plug him in and being hands-free.

If we don't use our legal freedoms they'll disappear again.

Yabu, I bfed wherever baby and I happened to be, that has included on buses, trains, the tube and London Eye, in shops and cafes, in churches, at a funeral, parks etc and yes even walking around, I tended to use a ring sling when feeding walking about as it supported the weight of my giant sized babies.

Babies need feeding but life goes on, esp once you have more than one child.

ok I havn't read the thread
but OMG op you poor poor thing.....you saw a nipple.
you will now need to sue that person.
terrible...

Sparkling, I don't think there's anything wrong with not wanting to bf in public .. And the latch on bit I always found hard especially in public. I didn't realise how difficult I would find getting to grips with breastfeeding actually.
Just that I think people are going to make life hard for themselves if they want to ebf and only feed at home.

I ebf at the beginning then combination fed for a few months for various reasons. So I've ff and bf in public. When i was ebf if I stayed at home to do it I would never have gone anywhere and it would have driven me mad. Feeding in public quickly became a non-issue when it was that or go stir crazy at home everyday! Everything was hard enough without being totally cut off from the world because I was breastfeeding. So if people out and about didn't like it, tough shit.

The only thing I don't like about ff in public is the level of organisation it requires

I would have tried to get a closer look, I'm afraid. I've fed 4 for nearly 8 years - not simultaneously - and I've never managed the feed in the sling thing, although I've tried.

Hopefully, someone other than the OP also saw the bfeeding woman and realised that later on, when she has her own children, it's perfectly reasonable to feed a hungry baby wherever and whenever.

And you've managed to get many people riled, so well done. You know, because women don't have enough shit poured on them already. Still second class citizens no matter their race, religion or sexual orientation. But do continue...your eyes were offended, so do vent!

Perfectly put ...MyChildDoesntNeedSleep

What I find especially irritating about this topic is:
The slight pressure and strong encouragement to breastfeed; every single midwife and health visitor I came into contact with did the 'breast is best' lecture, leaflets, statistics, we saw a breastfeeding specialist in hospital, took every bit of advice on how to get it right and stick with it, DO NOT give up was drilled into me.

Do it in public though and you're making people uncomfortable, making a show and dance of it, people don't want to see your nipples, how very dare a woman feed in a supermarket - supermarkets are not appropriate places for a feeding a baby. Nor are cafes, shops, buses restaurants, wherever fucking else.

All the encouragement to do it and then being frowned upon for doing it - by people who don't even fucking know you. Can anyone tell me how the actual fuck you are supposed to feed a baby without managing to piss someone, somewhere, off?

I've done this in Tesco before. Nobody even noticed but so effing what if they did.

Yabu.

Is no different to anywhere else. If she can do it walking , good luck to her.

Not that I think all women "should" breastfeed even if they and the baby can. It's a personal choice imo, affected by many factors.

So yabu there too imo.

Thank you, starbrite

Ok I've been off to have dinner and watch a film returning to read the posts and post my last one of the night.
Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions which range from similar through to the exact opposite of mine.

Despite considering myself computer literate I am not 100% on the definition of trolling, I always assumed it was someone making up stories in which case I am definitely not.
To clarify with all and try to avoid any hard feelings I want to state again that I genuinely posted with the intention only of gathering opinions on something I experienced today.

Whilst it surprised me I am not saying it was wrong and I would never dream of dictating to anyone else what is or isn't appropriate (with the exception of illegal/dangerous situations) certainly not regarding breastfeeding or anything else I have no first hand experience of. Equally stating I felt surprised or embarrassed was in no way suggesting she was at fault or should change her ways but simply how I personally felt and this isn't to suggest I expect anyone should share my views.
I accept the woman was comfortable doing so which is great.
I wanted to express this came as a surprise (to me) as it's not something I have seen/noticed before. That's not to say I am disagreeing with the mum or making any kind of judgement of her (although apologise if it came across that way) but I genuinely wanted to survey if it was something that is commonplace (simply because I personally hadn't seen it before)
When I said people should breastfeed somewhere appropriate I also defined this to be where mum feels comfortable but asked that bf mums are aware some people may find it uncomfortable or embarrassing to see (for any number of right (eg cultural) or wrong reasons) but it doesn't mean they (or I) are condemning breastfeeding, nor does it make anyone who does feel uncomfortable a prude or pervert sexualising breasts, in the same way I don't claim the lady today was an exhibitionist or wanted attention. Equally bf mums shouldn't change how or when or where they feed and i would like to hope they (and anyone else) can acknowledge that everyone has their own opinion on bf (again rightly or wrongly) (as people have their own differing opinions on most things) and therefore people may appear to respond/react/feel differently (eg I may have seemed to stare for a second but only because it came as a surprise hence why I asked for opinions to enlighten myself for future trips) which no one has to agree with but will hopefully respect (obviously unless someone reacts aggressively confrontational etc)

Thanks again for all your comments, I'm logging off now

Ps I didn't at any point say it offended me

Also re the taking things too far or multitasking it wasn't meant to be offensive or rile people up just saying "am I worrying over nothing and over thinking the fact the mum might have thought I was staring which in turn made me embarrassed or is it just a case that the mum was able to shop feed walk etc all at one (which many seem to agree is no mean feet)"

Again apologies if I've caused offense I didn't mean to but equally I was quite upset by some of the judgements made of me (being a weirdo pervert tacky or bitch)

I'm nice really and find things written down can often read different to how they are intended.

I'm leaving it here now and not rereading posts or ill ve apologising and explaining myself all night

I couldn't even be arsed to give you a biscuit. You don't need to say "I'm offended" while writing in Shocked Tabloid Tones, y'know.

Boobs. Who knew? They're for feeding infants!

I bf in a Toby carvery while eating a roast. Pretty good multitasking.

Remember ladies: PUT YOUR BOOBS AWAY. (Unless they're dairy free.)

Couldn't give a toss about anyone bf in the supermarket or anywhere else tbh. Some babies don't like being covered whilst feeding and sometimes clothes are not the most practical. Babies should be fed wherever and however it's convenient.

I'm not even going to read all 16 pages of the different ways pp have of telling you YABU cos honestly, I have a life, I suggest you get one.
How someone chooses to feed their baby (and where) is absolutely none of your business.
Lunatic.

I suppose if you've not seen breastfeeding before it is a bit of a shock. Really though people need to get over it. A breastfeeding baby should be as natural on our eyes as a bottle feeding one. Something you wouldn't give a second thought too apart from to think awww or whatever. It really should not be the big deal it keeps being made out to be.

Shock, horror! Call the Daily Fail immediately!
"Woman feeds her baby in supermarket shocker"
I did it several times. Not because I wanted to particularly, just because the other option of a screeching distressed baby was far too stressful. Would you have preferred she gave her baby a bottle, OP?

"Sorry, I agree. I am a mum, I breastfed both of my children and wouldn't have dreamt of walking round a shop while doing so. What is it with people? I don't get the breastfeeding mafia at all. Maybe I am a bit old fashioned, whatever, when I needed to feed my kids, I found somewhere discreet to do so. Sorry if that makes me a dreadful mother. OP, I don't believe you're trolling for what it's worth. I most certainly wouldn't have got my tits out in a supermarket. Going to get flamed....."

Oh do fuck off Mrs C with your "what did I say, why are folk having a go?" shite. You only need to read your post to see how offensive it was.

People are perfectly free to be shocked at seeing bare breasts in supermarkets....people are perfectly free to be shocked at women wearing trousers and showing their ankles also.

I will feel free to feel vaguely sorry for these sad people left behind by the rate of change of society's norms....unless they in any way communicate their shock or do or say anything to try and shame the women concerned or making them feel bad. Then I will think of them in less kindly terms.

Well, good on the mum, but I could never do it. (As in, physically, I don't have any abhorrence to the idea, it just wasn't possible). If the baby squawked in the supermarket, I abandoned the trolley, went out to the cafe, fed the baby sitting down with a drink for me, and then went back and finished the shopping. Breastfeeding check. Shopping check. Happy baby check.
I didn't read criticism or abhorrence in the op, just surprise and a smidge of awe. I think everyone is just bandwagon jumping to show what right-on mners they are, which is a bit 12 pages of yawnsome tbh. It actually has the opposite effect to that intended, and makes feeding in public twelve whole pages of big infuriated over-excited deal, instead of a few 'yeah, I did that, it's easy enough'. The vitriol in these parts is astonishing.