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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

i saw a real life hooter-hider

316 replies

wahwah1270 · 12/07/2009 22:35

in an uber baby friendly south london pub today, the sort of place where no one bats an eyelid that i feed one year old dd, a woman put this ridiculous lime green hooter hider on to feed her young baby son. if she hadnt worn the hooter hider i doubt i'd have noticed her feeding. i sooooooooo wanted to tell her not to bother with it but bit my tongue. am i alone in not getting the hooter hider concept?

OP posts:
Morloth · 23/07/2010 10:16

It doesn't matter that they draw attention.

I don't think I have been sneery. Just talking about them, and if you are intending to buy one because you are worried about people clocking that you are BFing then it would have the opposite effect, if however you don't mind people knowing that you are BFing but don't want to bare any skin, then they are a good idea.

As long as no-one is dictating what I wear/do I just don't care what others get up to, I do enjoy chatting about shit online though.

RobynLou · 23/07/2010 10:19

I've bf DD for nearly 3 years now, the first time I fed her out and about DH held up two muslins like a tent around us - it must've looked hilarious! but DD was only a week old and we were finding our feet. for quite a few months I fed her with a muslin draped over my shoulder/chest if we were out and about. it was my security blanket.

when you've got to the stage of having fed for ages and its a totally natural and easy thing to do it's very easy to forget how vulnerable you feel in those early days.

So while I think 'hooter hiders' are possibly a bit unnecessary and mainly yet another way to make more money from mothers and babies, if it helps a woman feel more comfortable bfing then fab.

PrivetDancer · 23/07/2010 10:20

sorry, I didn't mean you were being sneery, morloth, I was just agreeing with other people further up (e.g. scottishmummy)

Lots of other people made the (valid) point that they're like a big arrow saying I am breastfeeding too, so that wasn't specifically to you either really, although clearly coming straight after your post it rather looked like it was

RubyBuckleberry · 23/07/2010 10:24

i can't believe they are actually called 'hooter hiders' i thought that was a dodgy joke. for that reason, i'm out.

AhickeyfromKenickie · 23/07/2010 10:29

I used a shawl when BFing DD in public because I wanted to, basically! I would never use a "Hooter Hider" though, because the brand name is so bloody awful, as are "Udder Covers"! There was a thread on chat a while ago where a MNer suggested alternative names... "Titty Tent" was my favourite

RubyBuckleberry · 23/07/2010 10:30

just read thread. anything which helps mums feel comfortable breastfeeding in public / breastfeeding full stop is a good thing imo.

also the 'drawing attention to the fact that i am breastfeeding' idea - this is a good thing. yes, have a look, i am breastfeeding. again, if it works for you, it is a good thing. the more people that breastfeed in public, 'hooter hider' or not, the better for everyone.

seriously, 'hooter hider'. can't get over that.

RubyBuckleberry · 23/07/2010 10:31

udder covers - is that for real?!?!?!?!

AhickeyfromKenickie · 23/07/2010 10:35

Scout's honour, ruby
www.uddercovers.com/

RubyBuckleberry · 23/07/2010 10:37

oh my word - udder covers. i despair.

RubyBuckleberry · 23/07/2010 10:38

They actually look quite nice in the pictures but 'udder covers'! Whose genius marketing idea was that?!

Morloth · 23/07/2010 10:39

I like Hooter Hider, I like boobs and all the silly names for them.

One of the things I have been enjoying about BFing is the magnificent set I have been carrying around.

They are huge. Breasts are multi-purpose, nothing wrong with viewing them lightheartedly as well as practically.

AhickeyfromKenickie · 23/07/2010 10:44

Totally agree breasts are multi-purpose (which is why I never understood the M+B "funbags" issue) but "Udder Cover"??? I'm not a bleedin' friesian!

RobynLou · 23/07/2010 10:45

that udder covers site is hilarious! the poses some of those models are in and the pouts! methinks they are more accustomed to modelling underwear than nursing covers!

Morloth · 23/07/2010 10:48

I don't mind the cow jokes, when I have a let down at home I often say "Got Milk!", after reading Politics of BFing though, I prefer to compare myself to a Tiger.

MotherofPearl · 23/07/2010 10:49

I do sympathise with the women who feel uncomfortable BF in public, but my worry is that all these covers, hiders etc just perpetuate the idea that BF is somehow shameful/unnatural/weird/creepy. I can't help but imagine the disbelief and probably hilarity that women from say, most African countries would feel, if they heard about the hooter hiders. Most other cultures don't seem to have the strange hang-ups us silly Westerners do about BF

StarExpat · 23/07/2010 10:51

Morloth I doubt anyone buys a nursing cover in order to hide the fact that they are bfing or to make sure no one "notices" it's about what makes each woman comfortable. Some are comfortable without it some with it.

Morloth · 23/07/2010 10:53

It isn't up to individual women to get their kit out if they are not comfortable with it in support of the "cause" though.

Anyone suggesting they should be worn needs a smack in the head, but if people want to wear them then that is their choice - as with any clothing choice.

AhickeyfromKenickie · 23/07/2010 10:53

I am in awe of the shininess of the Udder models' hair... and the fact they're not wearing stained Pyjamas

dickyduckydido · 23/07/2010 11:01

I would use an udder cover cause it obviously allows you to 1) wash AND style your hair 2) put on make up and 3) choose a co-ordinating outfit. I have 2DD and I don't think I've done any of the above for about the last 4 years....

Morloth · 23/07/2010 11:10

You could be right StarExpat, but most of the people I know who like/use them (and I live in Nappy Valley SW London so have seen them around), say that they don't want anyone to know they are BFing.

dicky, I think that with the Special K advert, I have tried eating Special K for a fortnight and have neither dropped 2 dress sizes, had a red swimsuit turn up, nor have I been diving off a yacht as a consequence. Is clearly false advertising.

MummyBerryJuice · 23/07/2010 11:10

Me too, me too dicky!! And it obviously makes you look like a gorgeous 22yo model

Morloth I think you're right. There is a danger that new mums may perceive a cover as a necessary accessory to bf in public, which would be the wrong message to get across. However, as others have said, we should be careful to not create a situation where there is yet another thing to judge mums on. Live and let live I say.

(As an aside - the brand name is really Hooter Hider, is it?)

CakeandRoses · 23/07/2010 11:13

Gah! Just when I think there's nothing left unjudged on MN, now we're actually criticising what women choose to WEAR when they're breastfeeding!

This is the thread that has really shocked me - far more than bumsex, swinging, 'bf is creepy' et al.

What next? A thread slagging off a woman bfeeding in public with a bit of her post-preg tummy showing?

I wore a smaller, less 3d version of a hooter-hider because a) DS1 was a wriggler/grabber and would latch off and on showing bits of my body I didn't want to show b) DS was also v distractible and had to be covered in order to complete a feed.

I wasn't at all worried about people knowing I was feeding him but that didn't mean I was happy for them to get an eyeful of my breast and stomach.

And whilst, I don't personally care what other women show or wear when bf, I think it's nigh on impossible to bf without any cover and not show some flesh - every woman I've ever seen bf without a cover shows the underneath of her breast (at the very least) at some point - fine if you're comfortable with that but I'm not.

Five2one · 23/07/2010 11:16

I'm glad the vast majority of people posting here are comfortable enough to bf in public without feeling self-conscious.

Lack of confidence was part of the reason I didn't last long bfing DS1 and didn't at all with DS2. I stayed at home A LOT when DS3 was bfing.

I loved my cover when DS4 was very tiny. It gave me confidence that I wasn't exposing nips inadvertently. I think it also helped DSs 1&2 (teenagers) get used to mum bfing.

Now DS4 is over 5 months old he grabs the cover and starts playing with it (I only use it in public now). It must look like I've got an alien trying to burst out - not very discreet lol.

You can get plain generic covers on ebay if the patterns aren't for you

Soapsy · 23/07/2010 11:20

Loving the term 'udder cover' - DS1 calls my boobs my udders, because I explained to him that it's where cow's milk comes from way before DS2 arrived. So, logically to him, they're mummy's udders now I am BF

Wear what the hell you like, whatever makes you happy and lets you get on with it comfortably [shrug]

I have a variety of tops designed for BF, so I don't think I flash anything when out and about. Not sure I'm coordinated enough to manage getting DS2 latched on, and any form of cover over me without really drawing attention to myself, but fair play to those who are.

alysonpeaches · 23/07/2010 11:21

What is a hooter hider? I know its some sort of tit concealer but I would like to see what it looks like. Not that I want one, I am age 50 and unlikely to BF, just amused at the title.