Breastfeeding in church

[Soozey1]

Hi all

I have an 8 week old baby and am breastfeeding him but he does take a bottle in the evening too. I am going to church for the first time in ages and am wondering if it's ok to breastfeeding in church?? Or should i give him a bottle? My initial reaction is 'of course' but thought I should just ask to get an mn answer!

Thanks in advance
Su

yep, done it and sort of sprayed Dh in the process once. also- had major leakage when we went to church when DD was 3 days old. didn't really expect my milk to come in that abruptly! through Breasty pads! ( wore doubles ever since in total fear of a recurrance!)

Your instincts are right op (as they will be most of the time!!)

Go to church, feed your ds when he needs it.

Enjoy

xx

End up doing it most weeks - have only ever had very lovely comments and smiles. Did slightly flummox one bloke though who came up during the passing of the Peace and started to stroke ds4's head as he was merrily feeding away- he apologised later for disturbing his meal.

Baroque How on earth do you play and feed at the same time? I have BFed in church and have occasionally had to play the organ (last resort, I'm not really an organist, I'm a violinist who plays the piano a bit, but there was absolutely no-one else) Can't imagine how you manage it! Respect! (As my DCs would say)

lol baroque, I've done that! 1st hymn au lait....

frantic - I continued to play the bass line with my feet, and alto and tenor lines with my right hand - and then just missed out the tenor line so I could support DS3 will my left hand.

Baroque Wow! that's all, just...wow!

Yep, I breastfed at LO's christening! And at evensong in our local cathedral. my vicar told me it was fine to feed in church, though.

If anyone criticises/ comments just ask them how did they think Mary fed Jesus?

lol frantic - needs must and all that (well I didn't have to go back and play that soon - but given how fantastically good they've been to me there I did it - and because I love doing it).

Mind it had a knock on effect with DS3...........once he was a bit older and old enough for someone to take him into the creche for me (just off the main church in the choir vestry behind a huge curtain) he used to get absolutely distraught when I started playing anything- as he associated the sound of the organ with me. During the long quiet bits he was absolutely fine - but as soon as I struck a chord on the organ hysteria broke loose..........many times they ended up taking him for a walk around the local area in his pushchair .

(he's nearly 4 now and quiet happuly runs off to Sunday school hehe)

Its a lot easier to breast feed a baby than give them a bottle. I always fed my dd2 often sat in second row so dd1 could see the only people that can see are people diagonally behind as you latch on as everyone is looking forward. I found it one of the easiest places to feed

"frantic - I continued to play the bass line with my feet, and alto and tenor lines with my right hand - and then just missed out the tenor line so I could support DS3 will my left hand."

think you meant treble and alto line with right hand....

(sorry!)

also, there are some pieces where the tenor line is quite high, so it can be done with a span (i know you're a short-arse, but I was playing a piece last night where the tenor, alto and treble line were within a 6th - obv this will not always be the case )

in my last choir, one of the sopranoes used to BF her baby under her robes!

yeah yeah yeah whatever Nickel

Personally, I chose not to. I thought that some of the older people in the congregation wouldn't feel comfortable with it and so decided not to. Both DSs fed very quickly so I just left the service for a few minutes and sat in the creche before going back in again. There weren't any problems with me going out and coming back in again as I sat near the door and I didn't miss too much of the service. Having said that, if I went to another church where I didn't think people would have felt uncomfortable I'd have done it.

Hope you enjoy tomorrow.

I think my first ever BF-in-public experience was in church, at a wedding :)

not a problem in my experience. my church has an area at the backs with books for small children and they are generally child friendly. as are other churches I have seen.

shame you felt like that jaffa :(

Gosh, the bar has been raised very high has it not? :)

I now fully expect to hear from a clergyperson who has delivered a sermon while bf in the pulpit! Nothing less will impress me now.

(I think bf while conducting a wedding, christening or funeral might be taking multi-tasking a tad too far, though :) :) )

Presumably a clergywoman?
Or are you expecting a lactating male?

talking of conducting - I bet conducting, as in conducting the choir, would be harder than playing the orgen - you can't use your feet when you conduct, cos it would look a bit silly
and you do need to use both hands - one to count the rhythm and one to show dynamics. Plus, you're standing, not sitting, and the movement might make the baby pop off the nipple.

If there was any objection to you breastfeeding in Church, I would find another Church!!

Jaffa - how do you know that the older people would feel uncomfortable with it? Have they said something to someone else? I'm sure the vicar would not be amiss at reminding people about tolerance and suffering the little children.

never mind the little children, it would have been the rest of the congregation that suffered if DS had been hungry at 10 days old :o

Ha ha TikTok!

Go for it Soozey!

Jaffa I know what you mean, I never fed my DD in church either, though I'm sure no one would have commented badly. Still BF at 13months but I've still not learnt to be that discrete so mainly at home now, which suits us fine.