To breastfeed in public without cover?

[user1495362060]

I have a 2mo whom I breastfeed everywhere without using a cover. I am usually wearing a special dress/ two shirts and/or covering with a muslin so most of the time the only thing ever uncovered is the nipple. However it is obvious I am feeding of course.

I am not English so recently i have been wondering if breastfeeding like this is a normal thing here. I received no reaction from anyone so far. However I also never see anyone else doing it in cafes and such. Some mums I know said they have to go somewhere private to feed. So I was just wondering if people are secretly shocked but not saying anything :)

I never used a cover. Think it would have drawn more attention to me tbh

I fed both of mine without using covers. The two tops method works very well.

I just saw a woman bfeeding at the self checkout in Asda. Not a care in the world. Still doing her scanning. That's exactly how I want to be when my DS finally comes

I never used a cover either. I think covers actually make things more uncomfortable for everyone (including the poor baby who just wants to feed) as it sends the message that the mum is doing something private that needs to be hidden. IME if you just get on with it, often nobody notices that you're feeding at all - it just looks like you're cuddling the baby.

I had a cover but only used it in noisier places to cut out distractions for DD. She generally gets on with it but gets pinchy and bitey if there's a lot going on. Quieter places I didn't cover.
Feed your baby and if anyone doesn't like it, it says more about them.

YANBU, carry on as you are.

I don't think most people notice a woman breastfeeding. The first few times you do it in public you feel really conspicuous, but the reality is most people are too absorbed in whatever they are doing to notice you, and if they do notice they will be happy that the baby is being fed and not crying.

IME breastfeeding covers just draw more attention to what you are doing.

I've breastfed my babies wherever we happened to be when they were hungry - in cafes and parks, on trains, at a barber's shop, in my office one time when DP popped in with the children... I don't think anyone noticed or cared, and if they did it was their own problem and they (wisely) kept quiet!

Yanbu at all.

I've spent over 7 years of my life breastfeeding so far. When the dc get to around 18 months I try to only feed them at home, but pre that age, I feed them wherever I am and I have never used a cover. I've only had a handful of negative comments- more than a handful of disapproving stares to be fair, but with those people I stare back, and most of those came when we lived in a crappy small town in the Fens.

No cover here with either of mine. Over a year each and no one batted an eyelid anywhere.

I never used a cover either i think its possible to do it discreetly without covering a baby in material. Not judging mums who do use covers if it makes them more comfortable, but i didnt want to play into the notion that bfing is something to be ashamed of. Ive never actually seen anyone get their whole boob out to feed or be indiscreet about it.

Covers definitely draw more attention. You've probably not seen other people feeding without a cover because it's barely noticeable whereas a cover makes it much more noticeable.

I did it for 14 months and never got any comment other than the offer of a drink and one woman insisting I not get up even though I was in her way so I didn't break the latch!

I never used a cover and I BF beyond 2.

why would you. you dont put a blanket over your head for dinner, don't you?

I breastfed both my children without a cover and no one cared. And I'm not in London either so even in the frozen north people don't give a stuff.

Not onlydid I never use a cover, I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone else use one! I've breast fed three babies for roughly a year each. I did use a muslin or the wrap sling at stages when they were prone to randomly let go to stare about mid feed and when I was first getting the hand of it with dc1.

By dc3 I fed whilst walking along :o but that was in Germany where most mothers breast feed in public (bottle feeding seems rare in the first few months, thou extended breast feeding is also uncommon). I didn't think twice as I had two other small kids and no time to worry about what others thought. I doubt anyone noticed tbh.

Unless people look straight at you they probably don't register that you're breastfeeding.

I've only felt uncomfortable breast feeding once - in my own home with dc1 where my mother followed me when I went to feed dc1 to sleep and started at her face/ my breast whilst stroking her head while she fed! One of the most awkward moments of my life! Feeding in front of uninterested strangers is a doddle

Until I had ds i'd only ever seen my sister bf. Now I see women all over the place doing it! Obviously they have always been there but just so far off my radar I never noticed! Most people don't. Those who do don't care.

With ds I didn't like feeding in public. He was mix fed so I would give him a bottle if we were out and about or go to a feeding room. When I had dd, ds was 19 months old and I didn't give a shit and fed her everywhere- much easier! I didn't use a cover.

How you feed is the norm for me and for most women I see around feeding.

Sometimes I've fed in a feeding room, not very often at all, just because my DS was getting easily distracted and I needed a quiet place. I also used the breastfeeding room at LEGOLAND Windsor, not because I wanted to, but because it was really busy, raining heavily, and I couldn't find a place to sit down inside without having to queue. I didn't like being hidden and separated away from the rest of my family, but the baby needed feeding!

If anyone ever tells you that you have to feed somewhere else like a private room or a toilet, the law is on your side and you can say no to them.

I tried covers but all that ever happened was that I ended up tangled in yards of fabric with an angry, shrieking, hungry banshee in there with me. Discreet it was not

I just used to turn my back to the room to latch on then carry on as normal. Only ever had one negative comment (easily shamed into silence with a huge smile for me - they clearly thought I couldn't hear them talking about me in scandalised tones but I have batlike ears at times) and many, many positive and supportive ones. The only person who ever really flapped was my mum, she was too self-conscious to bf and I think she felt embarrassed on my behalf until she got used to it. She meant well though.

YANBU, it's absolutely fine.

I honestly think bf covers are the least subtle item ever invented. They really are SO, SO crap.

You possibly haven't seen people bf in cafes because you just don't notice it. I could only feed mine when he was really tiny as once he got to a certain age he was too nosy to concentrate unless we were at home. But when he was little it just looked like I was holding my baby- I doubt many people actually noticed I was feeding him.

No one cares. Literally, no one. No one is going to be bothered because you are feeding your baby. The most intrusive thing to happen to me when bfing dd2? A lady offering to unwrap my cake as I was struggling one handed. The most intrusive thing to happen to me whilst ff dd1 after suffering lactation failure? A mum at a mum and baby group looking at me with disgust, listening to my story of woe and telling me 'hmm, I breastfed twins, you have no excuse. Lactation failure is a myth.' I'd built bfing up to be such a big deal after feeling like a failure with dd1, but I quickly realised there are no prizes awarded. Healthcare professionals are as nonplussed when you answer 'breast' as they are when you say 'bottle' when they ask 'how are you feeding?' I felt so crap about bottle feeding dd1 I assumed they said nothing out of politeness. When I said 'exclusive bfing' with dd2, I genuinely expected a 'well done' but they didn't care. Feed your baby. No need to be a warrior, it is just feeding. On the rare off chance that you run into a moronic idiot who is judgemental about your feeding choices, tell them to fuck off to the far side of fuck. I wish I had with bitchy 'I breastfed twins' woman.

I'm one of the whole boob out crowd. Started of for convenience/practical reasons - baby had a bad latch so needed a good view of her and boob to get her on properly -but now it's a conscious decision to normalise bf and desexualise boobs. Why should I fuck about with two layers of clothing in 30 degree heat so the top part of my boob is not exposed while I feed - a part of my boob which if exposed in a low cut top causes no-one under 70 to have a fit of the vapours? No nasty comments yet,a few tits and stern looks - I find a toothy grin and sometimes a small wave deals with that

A few TUTS, FFS.

I feed my 18 month old anywhere and everywhere. Full breast out, tiny bit out, whatever I need to do depending on what I'm wearing and what mood the kid is in. I've never had a negative comment anywhere. Never used a cover, baby won't allow it. Do what you need to do

I don't think you'll find anyone on MN who will say YABU.