Does nursing a baby have different meanings?

[Babysafari]

Basically a family member was holding my baby and was on the phone. She told the person on the other end of the phone that she was just nursing the baby.

I thought it an odd thing to say as and looked a bit like this I understood it to mean breastfeeding, or possibly even comforting when upset.

Or does nursing also mean holding/cuddling a baby?

Surprised st all the comments re Ireland. I'm in Ireland and if someone said nursing I would think breastfeeding. Not that people use nursing g for breastfeeding, in my mind that's very American. But I've never heard anyone say nursing re just holding a baby.

In Ireland it means cuddles and breastfeeding

To my parents, nursing means holding in arms/rocking. S. Wales.

I'm from the north west. Nursing a baby would definitely mean giving it a cuddle, but I've only heard it used by my parents/ grandparents generation ie 70's up.

Nursing has always meant cradling or cuddling to me. Can be used for babies or pints as scribblegirl said

I've always known it to mean feeding/breastfeeding, and it is common to see signs for 'nursing mothers'

DH is from NI and it means 'cuddle'. People are regularly asked if they can give the baby a nurse, nurse the baby while I do something etc
I also found it a bit

My grandmother used to call holding and cuddling the baby 'nursing'

I have a friend from New Zealand who would say if she wanted to hold a baby "can I have a nurse?"

definitely means different things in different places.

US - nursing = breastfeeding only.

for me there are several other contexts:
nursing someone back to health
nursing along the car to get it home before it breaks down
nursing the abandoned kitten (cuddling)

so no, wouldn't sound strange to me at all.

Oh yes - forgot nursing a pint!

Balloon
They say the same in NI - "Can I have a quick nurse before I leave?" "Would you mind nursing the baby while I make a cup of tea" "I just popped by to have a little nurse of the baby" etc

In NI here too, always meant cuddling/ holding to me too.

dictionary definitions of 'nurse'

1. give medical and other attention to (a sick person).

"he was gradually nursed back to health" synonyms: care for, take care of, look after, tend, attend to, minister to "they had nursed smallpox patients" 2. feed (a baby) at the breast. "nursing mothers" synonyms: breastfeed, suckle, wet-nurse, feed "Rosa was nursing a baby in her arms"

Comforting a baby, used to be called Nursing. Nannys used to be Nursemaids, dropped later to Nurse.

The saying "Nursemaiding", or "Nursing", for babysitting was still around when I was a child (I'm 48, in Liverpool).

It was also used sarcastically when talking about keeping a watch on a teenager.

Hence, a Wet Nurse, going as far as to BF, but it needed the 'Wet' made clear.

Just to add the saying "Nurse him/her back to health", it didn't mean in the medical sense of Nursing that we now know.

It meant to show kindness and care.

From the south coast and I would only use it in the context of feeding and have also only heard it used as such. Good to know it has another context elsewhere!

To my English mum it meant 'feed' To my Irish grandmother it meant 'hold'.

Black Country here; to me it means rocking or cuddling a baby - although the American use is catching on here too, so some people might call breastfeeding 'nursing'

*Just to add the saying "Nurse him/her back to health", it didn't mean in the medical sense of Nursing that we now know.

It meant to show kindness and care.*

That's still the definition of nurses working within medical settings.

Seamstress - yes, W Mids, nursing means cuddling a small baby.
'Nursing' crept over here as an American euphemism for brxxstfeeding!

I'm northern and it has always meant 'cuddling' or 'attending to' until relatively recently when I started hearing it more for BFing.

My mum says nursing a baby and means cuddling baby.
Nursing as breastfeeding is common in the US but less so here. It was probably common in olden days (see wet - nursing).
I heard a judge refer to "nursing mothers" in a court case (he changed the order of witnesses so the nursing mothers could give evidence first, presumably to be free to go off and feed their babies). Everyone knew what he meant though.

To my parents, nursing means holding in arms/rocking. S. Wales

Mine too. I haven't lived in S Wales for many many years but relatives younger than me still use 'nursing' this way.

I'm from Belfast and it means have a cuddle/settle the baby.

"Awk give us a wee nurse" - "May I please hold the baby?"