I was thinking about this today and wondered if other people had experienced the same?

[CrawlingInMySkin]

When I bf my two children I had a few negative comments but thinking back the majority were off women.

I had rushed into mcdonalds (I know but my dd was really screaming and it was freezing out and this was the nearest place) when I was sat down a woman on the table near by was giving me evil looks and called a younger boy (late teens) over and said to him that I was offending her and her husband should not have to look at that. The boy looked at me confused and said he didn't understand her husband looked mortified. She said 'that woman feeding her baby'.

The young boy looked at her and said 'well this is a place to eat miss and if someone feeding offends you I suggest you dont go to places where people eat or drink'

Sil used to give her husband daggers if he didn't leave the room when I was feeding and kept suggesting I express in front of visitors.

Many times over the years I have heard women say things like breasts are for your husband and while feeding is ok it should be done discreetly so other men do not see your breasts. But I can only think of the odd event when a man did something offensive about feeding I wondered if I was the only one who had experienced mostly women being funny about breastfeeding. What about others who has been most negative men or women?

I never had any negativity unless everyone going quiet and looking like shocked rabbits whenever I said I had to feed counts. I always left the room, it was never discussed but I knew both sets of parents, in law and my own would have been mortified if I had fed in front of them.

Basically it was a case of ignoring it at all costs. Don't know what would have happened if had ever just got on with it in front of them, probably a mass explosion I should think .

I like seeing women feeding in public, I always think good for you and would relish the chance to step in if someone ever said something to her.

Hot water is stupid company policy. When I was managing coffee shop I used to say 'no but I can give you a cup of hot water to drink' as obviously that was allowed...stupidity.

I never had anyone tut or the usual stuff but a young aussie lad made a comment to his mates then started singing a made up song about me breastfeeding my DS - it went 'Oh look at that baby sucking on her tit, it's turning me, on, ooooh who's sucking your titties tonight...'

doesn't cover it tbh. The thing was I was 14 stone and don't have particularly impressive boobs, was 6 weeks post birth and looking like shit. To have been actually turned on by the sight of me...well I worry about him in that case. If he had been closer and I hadn't been struggling to get the hang of BF/6 weeks post natal I would have ripped him a new one.

My family are generally anti-BF - my grandparents especially. My Grandma is constantly trying to get me to switch to FF and we're only 6wks in with DS2!

Apparently, FF is so much easier and better and makes for a more settled baby - she seems to forget that we FF DS1 and none of that was true! The latest bout of emotional blackmail is that "DH won't get to know his son" if he can't bottle feed him

We have now told her that DS2 is allergic to formula - massive lie but she's relentless and we can't think of any other way to shut her up without literally never speaking to her. Sad.

Ericnorthmansmistress how awful you must have felt so uncomfortable, although I giggling slightly at your reaction to the boys

mil's mil suggested i'd be 'more comfortable sitting upstairs'. her husband said 'don't hide away hippy, its the most natural and beautiful thing in the world'
I love my mil's fil
I later told him he had more sense than his son (ie my fil) who was like a jack in the box when i was bf. he couldn't get out the room fast enough with dc1 but now i'm bf dc2 he seems almost relaxed by it all!

"Oh the starbucks thing is because of having just hot water around and the health & safety aspect, not really about the feeding."

WTF!? (At Starbucks, not carrotsandpeas). This is a cafe which sells COFFEE and TEA. The water doesn't have to be any hotter than a hot drink.

Ericnorth that sounds really awful, he sounds like an absolute dicksplash. With serious mummy issues if breastfeeding turns him on!

Yeah it's stupid isn't it. I imagine some harrassed parent somewhere (probably the US) knocked over a cup of hot water on their baby and sued the organisation. Seriously, you can give plain hot water for drinking, but not bottle warming...mad.

The boys with mummy issues yes it was fucking weird and horrible, but I was so shocked by it that by the time I could react they had passed me and I almost thought I was imagining it. I was on Brighton beach but behind a sort of hut facing the sea, so not in the middle of people. The funny thing was that I had been chatting to the GF of another market trader who was a real gorgeous hippy type and she had been BF moments before with her halterneck undone and both perfect boobs on display I thought he must have been looking at her until I looked and she's finished, put them away and walked off...

I only ever got old ladies saying 'oh how lovely, wish we could have done that in our day'. That lad in McD's sounds absolutely brilliant, perfect reply!

My friend is odd about it and it makes me uncomfortable. She has made no bones of thinking bf is disgusting (for years before I was even pregnant) but now I find she should keep a lid on it because if I ranted about ff being disgusted I'm sure she would take offence. I don't think she realises I find it insulting. If I need to feed around her I move away, just for an easy life.

I suspect it is her problem really, not mine.

Eric, there was a gorgeous hippy girl at my baby group who went in for halterneck off both out feeding

No one has ever said anything negative to me, which is a bit of a pity really as I'd love to get outraged at them.

My sister emailed me when two weeks after I'd given birth to say that she found breastfeeding so gross she couldn't even say the word, and that it meant you could never get away from your baby. She then suggested coming for a visit, and I pointed out that perhaps it wasn't such a great idea as I was breastfeeding. She then got offended.

But that's my sister for you...

My MIL ff all her children and my SILs ff. Didn't entertain notions of bf. When I was pregnant SIL told me she wouldn't be in the same room as me when I bf. When I had DS it was a different matter and she wasn't bothered in the slightest. Plus her DD kept wanting a closer look and now bf her dolls! My MIL also commented on how easy it seemed and said she wished she'd given it a go.
Up unitl DS was 18 weeks I bf everywhere and infront of anyone. Hopefully seeing other people bf so easily will make anyone thinking about want to give it a go.
And I never got any bad comments. Only nice smiles :)

I'm b/fing No. 2 and have never had any negative comments. The truth is, most people, especially if they happen upon a b/fing Mum, don't even realise what she's doing - they just think she's cuddling the baby (well, at least before they get big enough to twist and turn and come off!).

This is what annoys me about all the cat's bum, 'it's OK as long as it's discreet' - if you ask someone when the last time was they saw someone feeding indiscreetly, they wouldn't be able to tell you, or could maybe mention one time - so it just goes to show you exactly how discreet normal breastfeeding actually is if it isn't even noticed!