BF in front of work colleagues dilemma

[megadude]

Hi Everyone,

I'm currently on maternity leave and the time has come to do the whole bring the baby into work thing. I've emailed my manager about when a good time would be to come in, and she has replied suggesting a team lunch in a cafe that's part of my workplace (I work in a museum).

The thing is, this is my 2nd child, and I'm perfectly happy BF in public, but I'm having a little hesitation about doing it in front of work colleagues in case they feel awkward. As it's lunch, I know it's likely DS may wake and want a feed.

I'm very pro BF, and I don't do bottles, but I know from returning to work last time it felt like I had time travelled back to the 1970s as far as some attitudes go.

I feel quite torn between sticking to my guns and doing what I always do, or dodging the lunch idea - waddaya think?

How old's the baby? Can you give him a really good feed just before you go in for lunch? Or bring a scarf/muslin with you?

I'd just go and BF when needed. It's lunch in a cafe not a meeting in your offices - you wouldn't be disturbing/distracting anyone from their work if you BF. I mean obviously you'd be as discreet about nipple flashing as possible, use a muslin etc, but other than that I really wouldn't worry.

Nursing cover/scarf/blanket - problem solved. If anyone has a problem, it's their problem.

Sounds perfect to me! Public place, muslin over the shoulder and plenty of arms available to burp baby afterwards.

Awkward would be a massive open plan office with no private meeting room and work phone calls taking place

I wouldn't worry. I breastfed in a team away day during the meeting and in a meeting with my then boss. It was only after the latter that I wondered if that was appropriate or not - but as he used to work for Baby Milk Action, I figured that it was absolutely fine.

I've done both - given a feed just before meeting colleagues so the baby would go through till after I'd left, and also feeding while out in a cafe/ for lunch. I've also been out to lunch with colleagues when they've needed to feed. I would think that a museum cafe would be a good place to feed, so go for it. Or if the baby's feeds are predictable enough, suggest timings for lunch that mean you could feed beforehand?

Thanks everyone. I only began to hesitate at the idea after a work colleague came in with her baby and needed to breastfeed in a small office, and my previous manager put a note on the door to warn a male colleague not to come in. At the time I found it weird that there was a shared assumption in the office that a male colleague should not see a colleague breastfeed.

When I had this a few months ago, a lunch get together with my all male colleagues, I accidentally left a boob out when my ds switched to the other one. Oh dear. They're grown ups though, they'll get over it.
Act like it's not a big deal and it won't be a big deal.

Sunflower, think I will just do it and set a good example.

I took DD to a conference with me when she was 4.5 months old (I'm an academic). She was going through her 'thrashy-screaming-pulling-off-every-2-seconds-to-have-a-nose-around phase' then. EVERYONE at the conference got flashed at least once. So, pretty much the entirety of my international network of colleagues has seen my breasts. Oh well...

So, go for it and feed your baby as you would otherwise. As Sunflower says, if you act like it's not an issue then it won't be...

And not that you, or your DC, has any responsibility to be a poster child for breastfeeding, I think it's good to do things like this. It 'normalises' it, bridges the gap between maternity-leave-world and working-world, etc. I had many people come up to me at the conference saying how great it was that I'd brought DD and that they wish they'd done the same when their DC were that age...