can/should/would you breastfeed an upset 1 yr old in a public swimming pool?

[preggerspoppet]

By popping your boob out right there and then?

As long as they are polite about it, eh?

oh god I'd need them when feeding to help soak up the leakage. It would be running off me. I'd leak up to 3 oz of milk on one side in the early days.

err, i think we were all brought up in the same culture as you lynette and can't see why you are so upset, or should i say, angry and defensive about us thinking it is normal to bf a child when he is hungry.

pls don't get too wound up with us and keep your hair on, I certainly don't want that in the pool

Personally, I needed a LOT more support that that bikini top in the early days of feeding.

milk stains on bikini. lol. how badly do you think milk stains? how badly does lycra stain, anyone?

i was wondering about the breastpads too. must be a fashion statement for bfing mums at the pool.

or maybe she is wearing the breast pads just to make sure we noticed she is lactating. you know, in case we missed the baby on the other side.

gawd! mine were like boulders in the early days!

oh my milk stained if i didnt use a proper stain remover on it - particularly in the later stages of b/feeding. It's very fatty isnt it? Like getting lard or oil on clothes. Sort of.

Yes most of you were probably brought up in the same culture as me. I was brought up in a white middle class family, where breast feeding was seen as totally normal.

Not everybody in England today was, but hey stuff them. Let them learn how to do things the middle class English way now they are living here.

i didn't stain. i didn't leak past 2 weeks. the same thing that takes lard out of fabric would take milk stains out of clothing then. Fairy washing up liquid.

I have discovered that even if you think the stains are gone, they re appear several moths later. Like ghosts.

Most people who were born o/s Britain see breastfeeding as NORMAL and have seen older toddlers breastfed in their home countries.

FYI, the Koran recommends that all children be breastfed for 2 years and Muslim women do breastfeed in Mosques. ( I noticed further down you asked if we would bf in a Mosque)

In fact, Muslims give a woman who has bf for 2 yrs a lot of praise because they acknowledge how difficult it is to do and see it as a form of piety to stick it out.

Yes Lynette - me too!!! Heat seemed to do it.

I leaked throughout with DD who i fed til 7 months, and I leaked regularly during feeds and at night to at least 18 months with DS - who I fed until 2.4 yrs! I still got occasional spots of watery milk for several months after stopping b/feeding!!

i personaly didnt bf for various reasons but i do liketo see mothers bf in public as it should be more accepted by the general public.

i have a friend who is curently bf-ing her 2yo, her first self weaned at about 2 when she was pg with no2. She quite happily just pulls her top down and lets him sort himself out. when he pulls off she asks him if he's done, if hes not he'll re-latch if he is he wanders off and she sorts herself out. needless to say people see her nipples (shock horror ) but shes doing something good for her child why should she have to hide it away???

I htink what you did was exactly right, the same reason my dd had a dummy whilst in the swimming pool for the first few times, she needed comfort i gave it to her, simple as!

you did a good thing!

go anywhere in Latin America and no one gives a stuff whether you whip a nork out entirely infront of them. Even if you are El Presidente de la Republica.

I dont know if i would (not tried it) but i dont see a problem with it. Hate the comments re extended bfing i get as I am planning to feed ds2 for as long as he wants. Thing is people dont make huge comments about giving their dc a bottle for comfort at night so what is the difference other than it is the most natrual thing in the world to nurse your child.

Didnt read messgaes but yep, I BF DD2 at the poolside today I wasnt in my swimsuit as full of cold but after swimming with DH, I dressed her and feed her while DH and DD1 stayed in the pool

So yes I would !!

no way - just dont think it apprpriate but then i am shy about bf

Lynette, I understand the point you are making about consideration, I really do. Generally I like to think of myself as a considerate person, and pro-multiculturalism for what that's worth.

However, I really do think that this is an important issue, and one that overrides the imperative to be courteous - indeed, as I said below, in this case courtesy can actually be counter-productive, because it perpetuates the norm.

I'm sure you know this, but breastfeeding rates in this country are dire. And one of the main reasons for this is because women feel desperately uncomfortable about feeding in public, and about other people catching sight of their breasts.

This issue won't be addressed by us all perpetuating the status quo.

If I had breasts like that woman in the last link, I would feed like that in front on political leaders too. I think she's just showing off!

Oh and I have found that breastmilk strips the varnish off floorboards

I thought the breast feeding statistics in this country were so dire becasue it is so cold.

that pic is great kiskidee! what a fabulous picture...

true PW

LS

Can you? Yes absoutely
Should you? If you want to
Would I? No, not actually in the pool, but that's more to do with feeling uncomfortable in a swimming costume anyway. I'd probably get out and sit at the side with a towel round us. For my own security and warmth.

And FWIW, I wouldn't go swimming with 3 children on my own, no matter what age they were.