i saw a real life hooter-hider

[wahwah1270]

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?

Am I the only one who thinks the Bebe au Lait thing looks like a pop up tent?

I'm just horrified by some of the comments on this(albeit old) thread. How dare any of you ridicule whatever it is that other mothers are doing to feel comfortable breastfeeding in public?

I only discovered hooter hiders/breastfeeding aprons/whatever you want to call them with DD2. I think they are brilliant and made me feel much less isolated than I did first time round. Just bloody wish I'd had one then, would have saved me all that awkwardness & panicking about finding somewhere to BF DD1. I actually breastfed her sitting on a public toilet on one occasion.

Now of course i"m delighted that so many of you are comfortable getting your boobs out in public (yes, yes, that's what boobs are for etc). I'm not. Never have been, never will be. Never managed to get the draped muslin thing to work either, DD would invariably grab it and pull it off just as I was holding my boob and trying to get her to latch on.

So I, for one, am delighted at this particular aspect of the "marketisation" of BF. And if it makes more people breastfeed, why on earth would anybody be bothered by it? There really is no pleasing some people

I think also the problem with all this is that people are worried special apron thingies will become the norm and women will feel more or less forced to cover themselves rather than go about their bf business freely.

So what boffinmum? It works for some people. Why poke fun?

Oh my goodness. So what would you like boffinmum? For no one to use them? So that would put more women in a position of not feeling comfortable bfing. Lovely...

Yes, wouldn't that be awful boffinmum far better that those who already feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in public stay that way (and probably BF for less time as a result)

I was not one of the people poking fun. I genuinely think these items are expensive and look odd, and are both playing on women's insecurities and also exacerbating the overall othering of the bf woman, as though her breasts are unacceptable in some way. It might be a personal issue to some women, but here we have a good example of how the personal can also be political. In a broader sense, it's about the power of big business, making money out of women, and the control of women within society. It's about a lot more than a flappy bit of fabric IMO.

I hope one day for a society which is so supportive of how women look after their babies, and in which mothering young children is so respected, that you can do what you like without fear of censure or shame, including feeding your baby yourself.

I had such a difficult time with bf for the first 16 weeks (!!!) with other issues having to do with nipples, latch...etc that if I didn't have the nursing cover, I doubt I would have been able to carry on since I needed to get out with my baby for many reasons unavoidable.

When I got it I was so relieved. It was hard enough removing the silverette and making sure no cloth touched my nipple (or excruciating pain) and then get ds latched on... To have the cover there no muslin to faff with, I could get on with it. I also have other reasons for not wanting my breasts at all exposed. I hope everyone knew I was bf when I wore the cover. I was proud to bf!

Ok, point taken boffinmum. However, I found this a godsend. Maybe the work that needs to be done is to ensure that this marketing is balanced with information and support? Seems silly to just not create products that are so helpful!

I have felt the need to use one of these, but I know the difference between a baby that feeds well, and one that constantly wants to look around, stopping every minute, and with milk gushing out (tmi, I know). Some people here say that it's easy to BF without showing anything off, but with a very fidgetty baby it's very difficult.

I have been in uncomfortable situations and I wish I'd had something better than a muslin, as he kept on pulling it down. I used to keep a muslin in my free hand so that I could cover up the exposed nipple in a split second (not because of modesty, but because milk was gushing out).

DS1 was very easy to feed, he could latch on without me even looking at what I was doing. But for DS2 to latch on (even at 4 months, 5 months, 6 months!) I had to lift up my top right up and try to get him to latch on and sometimes I had to do it two-three-four times during a feed.

I did without any form of cover because I really didn't care about what people thought, but I owuldn't judge another women for covering up.

I meant I have never felt the need to use one of these!!!

And the pop up tent post in particular among others - that's poking fun at it.
If I said similar to an outfit you were wearing I'd be making fun of you. And if it was the only outfit that you felt truly comfortable in, and you told me that, it would be quite mean of me to say it looks like a pop up tent on you.

Using these BF covers isnt always for mums modesty. I have BF all three of my DC and all of them have gone through a nightmarish stage where they are more interested in whats going on around them than feeding. These covers are a fantastic way of focussing the LO to the job at hand and means that if they are off and on constantly you don't have to worry and anything that makes me calmer ultimately makes the feed go more smoothly. When we are feeding we should be concentrating on our BB not making sure the world and his wife isnt being offended by arranging clothes....plus who wants to wear TWO tops in the summer....hot enough already with my hormones! So infact for me the cover is about making the feed better- I couldnt give a hoot what other people think! And i'm sure when he stops messing around for feeds the cover will remain in my bag...but at least its there for emergencies if my baby isn't playing ball - rather that than having to leave wherever I am and find some quiet, dark room.

Also it goes without saying that I am very proud to have BF all of my children. But as all 3 were premature ranging from 32-36 weeks it has been far from an easy ride especially in the early days. Any tool that makes BFing easier for any woman is great in my book from covers to disposable breastpads to pumps thay all have their place and am sure all have prevented many a woman from giving up BFing before they are truly ready. A cover and/or any other inventions that make it easier to feed your fussy/distracted baby whilst reading to your toddler and cutting up cake for your older child whilst you are out having coffee is welcome in my life!

I think anyone who ridicules a woman for wearing something to cover herself whilst feeding is probably a self righteous bully who would jump on someone who didn't BF at all.

The "hooter-hider" isn't particularly attractive and it does draw attention but the same applies to a mother flopping her great big tit out to feed her newborn baby.

I didn't manage to BF for long but I did feed in public whilst I was BF. I would never question a woman's choice to give her baby the best start whilst feeling comfortable.

I agree monkeymission but no doubt we'll get posters saying "well I for one was able to do all of those things and bf and I don't care if my breast is visible to anyone..."etc. Before it's said - good for you. It's mr that easy for everyone. Yes it would be unfortunate If all women thought they were an absolute necessity - giving little credit to a woman's intelligence tbh... But, isn't it nice that we do have such products, which enable women to carry on for longer than they would have without them?

insidious message is there is a right/wrong way to bf.and concealment use of bf accessories appears to be wrong (for some) and boy dont they like to drone on and scoff about hahaa i saw a hooter hider.stoopid mum using that

I didnt like flashing my norks when BF DD so had a massive muslin cloth which I used to use. DD wasnt a wriggler so it worked for us, but each to thier own.

The name is bloody hideous though, I assume its supposed to be funny but if I had one I wouldnt tell people what it was called

Nipple shields? Check? Spare breast pads? Check? Lansinoh cream? Check, right lets hope that it only takes 3 attempts to latch on and that nobody sees my bleeding nipples. Personally I would have found a hooter hider handy but preferably in tasteful black. As it was I used my kari me wrap for 6 months.

It would be prissy for me to use a Hooter Hider (oh, what a dreadful name) because I can feed disceetly without one. But I've got, er, a moderate bosom and have no idea what it's like to feed in public when you have large breasts.

That name is AWFUL. 'Hooter' is a throwaway, blokey and pretty disparaging term for a breast, surely? However, I would love for everyone who wanted to breast feed to do so for as long as they wished to, so if this helps you: of course you should have one (or whatever else it takes for you to feel comfortable.

But my gut feel is that they are unnecessarily prissy (sorry: it just seems so odd to entirely conceal the process) and that the name 'Hooter Hider' reinforces the idea that a breast's primary identity and purpose is sexual.

Really hating that name.

I suppose I meant: there are other ways to keep your breasts out of general view. Ones which don't cost £35 or have such a ridiculous brand name.

if accessories help anyone bf,why knock it.

the well i never needed one/just waap em oot posse hardliners are funny.so emm what disrobe the bf mums forced emancipation

this is the one I had for the car, I had it in brown. It folded up nice and small as well.

Actually I think the "marketing" of bf can possibly encourage people to bf. Pregnant women do like to shop for baby gear and there is so much more gear to buy for bottlefeeding!

Fine, somethinganything, go ahead and say exactly what I was going to only much better. I feel the same way; whatever makes the women comfortable enough to feed their children this way is fine-IMohsohumbleO, of course.

Those dastardly Americans! What will they do next?!