to breastfeed 15mo in public?

[Schwanengesang]

In the past week, I've been on holiday with DS at an overcrowded, too-popular tourist holiday destination, and in my own town (University oritentation week, full of students).

In that time while feeding DS out and about (nothing on display, any exposed boob completely covered by DS' head, but also not wearing a breastfeeding shawl) I have had:

(1) a grandfather tell me I should cover up when breastfeeding in front of his grandkids

(2) a grandmother say I shouldn't be breastfeeding when they can walk and talk

(3) a woman of grandmotherly age tell me I'll rot DS' teeth and he should be drinking real milk out of a bottle (I presume "real milk" comes from cows...)

(4) a child laugh and point, then try to push our pram into the lake, while adoring parents looked on and laughed as the child tipped the pram over down the bank

(5) another child decide to come up and try to push DS out of the way, as in batting at his head and climbing on my lap, in order to feed, while parents laughed and took photos and then told me their child had more right to be breastfeeding than mine because mine was too old

(6) a man come up and film me while his wife stood there giggling with her hand over her mouth

(7) a pair of young women walk by saying "OMG that's disgusting. It's like 5 years old" "God, why would anyone do that?" ("It" being DS)

(8) a group of young men say "oh shit that's so gross" "OMG she's going to have the saggiest tits ever" and pretend to vomit, while their friend made melon-holding hand gestures emphasizing the apparently saggy tits

Until the past week I'd been fairly good at ignoring any unwanted attention, giving a baleful eye to anyone who dared look affronted. But I didn't reckon with tourist season/ uni students and DS being a pretty big 15 months.

Is breastfeeding a toddler in public really that unusual?

There was a thread not long ago that questioned whether children need milk after they are one
Be that breast or cows milk
I don't doubt the benefits of BM
No one can say BM after 1 year is about nutrition it's obviously about the habits the child has formed same as using a soother or a blanket
There's nothing wrong with that obviously..

Weird. If you are bf then it has to be child led. There is no other way.

I've never had a negative comment about bf beyond six months except my mil, who thought it was pervy. I hope three dc later she doesn't think I'm a perv anymore. Who knows? Eh?

Bf is pervy? Does she know babies sometimes come out of.... VAGINAS?

@Lipniki you misunderstood my post completely if you think I was saying 'you MUST breastfeed' by pointing out WHO guidelines. I combi fed DS1 actually.

It may be unusual but it should be seen as normal and the comments you received were unacceptable.

I’ve breastfed four children consecutively for the past seven years (not all at the same time...) and have never had a single negative comment from anyone. So if anyone is concerned about BFing in public, don’t let this thread put you off. After one I fed less in public because feeding was less frequent but I think I probably fed number one over the age of two when out and about. Nobody has even ever batted an eyelid.

I have sometimes got some terrible, sometimes veiled comments on BF a baby in public, in a country where it is illegal to discriminate against a BF mother or shoo her from a cafe. Mostly from family and friends but also older people who didn’t breastfeed in the seventies:

-my doctor always told me to breastfeed for ten minutes on each side and every four hours. I wasnt able to breastfeed (surprise surprise), my body just didn’t make any milk.
-don’t carry your baby, it isn’t good for its back. My doctor (seventies person) told me a baby needs to lie flat on a mattress at all possible times. In a mother’s arms is just damaging (!!!)
-Any longer than six weeks is just spoiling the child and making it addicted to the breast.
-are you doing this for your own pleasure? You look very pleased ?????? Does it feel nice for you?
-and “of course I myself stopped at six weeks” + utter surprise and disgust that I was BF at eight weeks still
-that’s how lesbians are made (seriously!!!!)
-your baby will never be independent from you if you BF even vaguely on demand

. . . . . And hundreds more snippets of bullshit that my mind has tried to suppress. I am glad that I did the right thing for my baby and I, and grateful that I was able to do so. And that I never succumbed to social pressure. Second time round I think I will be better at deflecting the jealous harpies.

Oh, most of these weren’t actually from BF in public, but from BF in private and mostly at home/at the (pro-breastfeeding) in-laws. So I can fully believe OP that you can land in a bad area and meet awful people, many in a day.

Nitrobetty that has to be one of the nastiest things I've read on here! Assuming you are a woman and a mother, it's a dreadful, unenlightened and frankly weird thing to say!

Read it again and actually think that is in anyway a rational and reasonable thing to say.

Shame on you!

I remember breastfeeding my 18month old (at the time) for near enough the whole week we were in Turkey (ds was poorly and just wanted to constantly feed), didn't get anything awful like you, not even a bad look.

God I live a boring life

Wow. I am glad I missed nirobetty’s comment. Must have been very mean.

Terribly sorry to have inconvenienced anyone but I genuinely have had these comments, and many more, and hope that in years to come other mothers will have fewer snarks to contend with and will not be disheartened and are not pressured to give up if they don’t want to/not yet ready to.