Breastfeeding

[Lauren6554]

Hi ladies ,

Quick question ...

I'm thinking about breastfeeding , however is there any techniques to do it in public as I can imagine having to take my bra off very annoying and can wear the bras straps very easily , i.e. make them very Slack with having to take then out?

Are there any alternatives to this or do you just have to deal with it?

Thank you , I appreciate all the advice and help I can get

You get special bras called nursing bras, you can also but dresses and tops for nursing to make it more discrete.

Nursing bras have a clip at the top of the cup, you just unclip it and there's your boob! Once you've had a bit of practice, you'll be able to unclip quickly while holding your baby and not exposing a single bit of yourself.

I didn't like nursing bras though, I just used to slip the strap off my shoulder and release the boob that way.

Get the Anita underwire nursing bras. They are fab. Wear a vest under your shirt too and pull that down and your shirt up.

Matenity bras. They unclip at the top of the cup, so just the front folds down. You can combine with a breast feeding top or just lift up your normal top (with a breast feeding vest on under neath if you want to keep your yummy covered

Agree with others, nursing bras are the way to go

Ditto the above. Strappy vest top with loose top over it. Pull the outer top up and the vest down and you hardly reveal anything. Nursing bra if poss, but this technique can be done with a normal bra that you can just pull aside.

I was VERY nervous the first time I breastfed in public, but ended up doing it for nine months, all over the place and never had a single negative comment or look. Good luck!

Watch out for bras sold as 'maternity bras'. IME they're meant for pregnant women and not for nursing, so they don't have the drop-down flaps.

Hi , ok these sound good ,

Even with the flap down you are still exposing your breast?
Are there any other ways to hide your boob than to cover it with a cloth or t shirt?
I've been reading that it can make he baby distresses and hot so latching on my be more difficult.
Sorry for all the questions , I'm just nervous about the process .
Also what solutions do you have for leaking? Did you use disposable leaking pass or stick with the re usable and washable ones?

Thanks again!!

What I tended to do was have a loose muslin over my shoulder and then unhook bra and latch baby underneath, then I was completely covered - as I became more confident I didn't use the muslin as much as I got quicker at latching and baby's head covered the nipple.

I got a mixture of disposables and reusables, but the disposables worked better due to the waterproof backing when out and about and reusables for home when a sudden leak didn't matter.

Also, if you have one of those netted bags for washing tablets save them for washing and drying your pads, one managed to block my washing machine waste water pipe

Lansinoh breast pads are much the best.
You can drape a muslin or similar over your shoulder but very quickly the baby's head is enough to hide you breast - people looking at you won't be looking down and getting the view you do. And actually most people are hugely gormless and won't notice you feeling at all.

Ok that's great , thank you !
You've given me so much help

I will let you know how i get on , please keep me updated on any other pregnancies and any tips you may have .

Thank you!

I bought an apron looking thing that goes over your head with a plastic wire so you can look down and see baby but no one can see you. It is about £25 from boots and was worth every penny. People can see very little when you breast feed but it just makes me feel so much more comfortable when I am out. For a lot of people I think they would feel it was a waste of money and use things like a muslin square but for me I enjoy my coffee much more with it!! Also the nursing bras are great. Strap tops under clothes and H&M do a nursing range.

Ps there's a whole breastfeeding thread under feed the world

You'll probably have a lot of practice at feeding at home before you start doing it out and about - try in front of a mirror. I bought reusable breast pads off amazon, which are fine but quite big. I like the shaped disposables (J&J) and I discovered these too late! Your choice might depend on how much you leak though, so you might want to start with disposables and see how you go.

I wondered about this before I had my baby but in fact it's quite easy. I personally think that it's more noticable if you make a fuss about covering yourself up but nobody notices if you just quietly pop baby on your boob. When she was tiny I wore breast feeding vests with supportive built in bra and a loose top over. Enjoy. bf your tiny baby while you both look at each other and feel the love and connection is magical. I feel all misty eyed in nostalgia! x

Breast feeding in public seems very daunting at first and is something I tried to avoid at all costs, however, as time goes on and you and baby perfect the technique it really does come as second nature.

My DS is 13 weeks and I now breastfeed anywhere and in front of anyone. I don't care who sees my breast or nipple as I no longer see them as sexual objects but just as a feeding device. Once that frame of mind set in I just completely stopped caring about public feeding as I no longer see any reason to feel my breasts should be hidden from view.

Give yourself some time, don't worry about it because as another poster said sometimes the more discreet you try to be the more obvious it can actually be which I learnt for myself. Trying to attach a baby whilst fiddling around to try and cover myself wasn't easy and more often than not I couldn't get DS to latch on because he and my breast weren't in the optimum position - this always led to more faffing around and more stress. Now I just pop my breast out, pop DS on and it takes about 10 seconds, and once baby is feeding hardly any breast is on show anyway.

But like I said it can take a while to feel comfortable about doing it in public and until that times comes then do whatever techniques work well to enable enjoyable feeding for you

It is a bit nervy feeding in public at first but after the first few goes you're fine.
I am rather over blessed in the breasticle dept and rather than buy nursing bras i bought normal under wired bras and bought a converter kit on ebay. I would save that until you've established feeding as your tits develop a mind of their own size wise to begin with and under wires need to fit if you're feeding.

You don't see anything even without a cover. I wore a vest top underneath whatever i was wearing and pulled one top up or open and one top down. Dd's head and fat body hid the rest.
i strongly suggest spending a few weeks getting feeding down before going mad with days out, those two weeks I spent topless at home really helped

Everyone has goven great advice here.

I keep the baby's head in front of my nipple when I'm about to feed him in public. I also remember that most people aren't looking or caring what I am up to. Most people are glued to their smart phones.

I was terribly nervous with my first child and used to closet myself away. I built up my confidence gradually and will happily feed anywhere.

I wear boobdesign tops as well as nursing bras. That is just for my own comfort.

I have never had a word said to me when feeding in public. Bad or good. 4+ years of bfing now.

Muslin cloth under arm pit instead of over shoulder I found gave me a bit more control over boob coverage whilst latching on.

Your not over thinking this, it IS awkward especially at first but with practice and as baby latches more easily it's fine...and eventually you're likely to be more bothered about consoling screaming baby than flashing a bit of flesh.

The baby's head will cover most of your breast. Honestly most people will walk by and not even notice your bfing!

You get used to it quickly. I was bf DS today whilst in the waiting room. The midwife came over to me and chatted abd didnt even notice he was feeding.

I remember the first few times bf in public, feeling so exposed as my nipple was out of the bra- something that had never happened in public before! I felt like all eyes were on me. They weren't. I have large boobs and find special bf tops a faff. Stick with a vest underneath and a loose top to pull up. A muslin to hand for leaks and possetting. 8 months into it now and he's strong and wriggly but ill discreetly bf him anywhere without a prob.

I gained confidence by feeding at baby groups, and had I known about bf groups I would have practiced there first. Also, at home, with friends round. They were great and looked away while I was fumbling around to get boob ou and baby latched on. It does take practice but you'll be fine.

• yes to muslin under arm too as pp said

The fabric on a nursing bra covers the top and bottom of your breast, your top and the baby's head will do the rest. I got stretchy vests in Zara which were very good for keeping my tummy covered if I pulled my top up. You can also get nursing tops, though I never thought them necessary.

Different breast pad suit different people. I found NuK the best, followed by Johnson's. Boots and superdrug just seemed to bunch up, and we're uncomfortable.

You will soon get your confidence up! I found people rarely realised I was breast feeding, and if they did pass any comment they were lovely and supportive.