Nursing covers for discreet breastfeeding

[Orissiah]

As a shy person, I would like to breastfeed in public (including in front of my family and friends and in the park etc) but would like to do so discreetly. I know I can use muslins or towels or sheets or pashminas but am considering one of these Bebe au Lait nursing covers which gives full cover as well as space on top to look down at baby:
shop.bebeaulait.com/shop/originals

Anyone had any experience using these? I've found them for sale at maternityandnursing.co.uk/Bebe_au_Lait_Nursing_Covers-details.aspx

Thanks,
O

I'm afraid I think they are awful - like having a big sign saying 'Look, I'm breastfeeding under here!'

Just practise before you go out and save the cash

I don't mind people knowing I am breastfeeding, just think these covers look quite "ergonomic" and gives good cover while allowing me to protect baby from sun and make eye contact with her. I will definitely practice but I have such large and very dark areola (sorry if TMI!) that few tops will cover them up :-)

i wear a vest and a stretchy top. pull top up, pull vest down and there is very little available to see, what there is is covered by babies head. they are very expensive for a bit of fabric!

well if you don't mind people knowing you're feeding, just feed!

you'll be amazed how little you need to show, really

and sit in the shade

It really doesn't matter how large your areola are - what isn't in the baby's mouth will be covered by your top. The vest-down-shirt-up method works very well. Also a vest under a button-through shirt works well (you unbutton the shirt from the bottom, leaving the top button or two done up, then pull the vest up from the bottom and opened shirt drapes itself conveniently around you and the baby).

Wait until you've been feeding for a few weeks before you splurge out on such things.

Oh, I like the vest-down-shirt-up method, thanks! I just bought a bunch of button ti-shirts from Gap to wear with vests underneath and hadn't thought of this technique (assumed I would have to simply unbutton the ti and then pop my boob over the top of the vest! Any more tips?

H and M do an excellent range of tops for breastfeeding so you can just sneak your nipple out of the gap and latch the baby on. I b/fed while wandering around Boots yesterday and no-one was any the wiser as you couldn't see any skin/nipples etc... They are al pretty reasonable. I also got a couple of tops from Mothercare (NCT range Bamboo) which are good, but these were more expensive. The vest underneath and top up as mentioned above is also good - as is a bump band if you had one while pregnant as this covers the gap nicely.
Good Luck.

You can absolutely breastfeed discreetly without any of these things which look bulky and awkward.
Personally I would not have got along with anything that involved pulling your boob out of the top. I found the best thing was to wear tops you pull up, just hoik it up on one side, baby covers your boob and tummy and until you get practiced at the art, try a muslin (of which you will have plenty anyway!) over the side of the baby's head.
Can see why a button up shirt might help in early days but I fed through the summer of 06 which was very hot so it was just vests for me! (I worried more about what you could see breast pads through but Gap had a lot of layering vests that year which was great).

I use vest up / vest down too.

Today I was feeding in the doctors' waiting room. Midwife called me in and I got up, wandered in to her room with her and had been chatting for a few minutes when she asked me to pop him on the table - she hadn't a clue I'd been feeding him all the time we'd been talking and was very surprised when I unlatched him to put him down!

good luck, orissiah, and remember that while you're practising you can always use a muslin in any case. if you're anything like me you'll have a muslin permanently attached to me for the first six months to catch all manner of pukes and spills. plus... at 'hooter hider'.

Why on earth would you want to put an apron round your neck to feed your baby? If you want to feed discreetly then I wouldn't buy one of those.... everyone will point and say 'why has she got an apron round her neck'. (Or pinny, in my neck of the woods )

I bf two just by wearing loose shirts, baby was under shirt (with stretchy vest pulled down under), and I could make eye contact with him by looking down the neck of the shirt.

Honestly some people will try to sell new mums all sorts of crap.

i believe they're often used in the states... they are v weird about women over there.

It isn't easier to begin with, but with practice in front of a mirror it can be done discretely without anyone noticing and in any case other people are more embarrassed than you (that's what I decided 2nd time)

I end up with a few tops bigger than usual anyway so lots of room for boobs to be hidden.

Good luck with breast feeding.

Agree with the other posters, this is a stupid marketing gimmick and not necessary. (Actually a wonderful markeing gimmick because they are making LOTS of money on this creation.) Wait until AFTER you've already breastfed and then see if you think you need it...you probably won't. Agree with AitchTwoCiao that you will still be using a muslin, blanket or something else to wipe spit-up and spills.

However, I also take offense with AitchTwoCiao's second post. Since you're such an expert, where are these used in the States? Tell me where they are "often used in the States." Where have you seen them used in the States? You have been all over America, right? What US cities have you visited and observed where so many women are using them? I live back in the US at the moment, and I've never seen one except on the racks in chic, upscale and expensive baby boutiques. (However, the 'cheap' version will probably make it to Wal-Mart one of these days...) Since the US population is over 300M people, I'm sure some women are using them, but I've never seen one being used.

You must also be able to explain what you mean by the stupid comment, "they are v weird about women over there." I could make an equally stupid comment..'some weird English woman invented this thing' because an English woman DID but I don't make blanket, across-the-board comments about a particular person depending on where they are from.

As an American, why don't you mothers in the UK (not all of you...just ones making stupid narrow-minded comments) quit harping about other countries' hangups and work on demanding the right to breastfeed in public like Scotland is able to do? While it may not be totally against the law (is it or not? not clearly defined) to breastfeed in England, there is NO law guaranteeing the right to breastfeed either. This always bothered me more than anything while breastfeeding in the UK. In the US, a lot of states have a law stating that you can breastfeed anywhere you want and no one is able to tell you to leave. (Of course not all states do this as we are like 50 countries about some things), but in most states no one can tell you to leave a place because you are breastfeeding.
Please clarify what you mean by your comments. Thank you.

Expat I do agree that these sheets are not necessary and actually, I did consider using them for the same reasons as the op. After looking at my friend (who is Canadian and so yes they do use them ALOT in the states and canada)using them, I felt that because of the bright colours they come in, they actually make it more obvious you are breast feeding.

If you use a blanket or muslin it just looks like you have it handy for baby if sick/ to wrap baby in etc iyswim. I say that they actually draw more attention to you.

I find its more discreet to use either a breast feeding top, have a blanket around babes head like a hood, use a normal baggy top so it easily pulls up and sit with my side to the back of the chair/ against a high arm of the chair. You could also use a bump band under a top to limit exposure of your stomach, just put it on in the loo if its too hot to wear all day, before feeds while out. HTH

oh LOLOL expatinengland. a bit of an over-reaction, non?
btw i'm in scotland, so i don't really need to get campaigning for protection i already have, ta.

my 'odd' american SIL would go for something like this. She's a californian and in my opinion they are a bit 'odd' there (but thats only my opinion so a masssssive generalisation on the whole of California I suppose.)

My BIL did actually say they (and he included his wife here) do have some hang ups about BF in the states.

I have seen them bundle a crying baby into a car to drive half an hour home instead of feeding in public (in front of us gawping Brits).

I would nt bother with this product. As others have said just practice a bit at home until you feel confidednt, and treat yourself to something nice with the cash you've saved.

expat, we in England have the right to breastfeed in public.

we also have a right not be harassed.

Lots of people out there do not understand the difference, including bfing women so. However, if someone tried to stop me bfing my now 3yo in public (not that she asks anymore but you get my drift) I would tell them to feck off before I called the police for harrassing me. And if it was the police, I would take his number and ask for the name of his boss and phone him.

What we don't have in England and they do in Scotland is the legal protection to not be harassed in public because we are breastfeeding.

oh, OP, a surely your baby's head will be larger than your aerola, so i wouldn't fret about any of it being on show.

I've always been more bothered by displaying any of my big belly than my norks. I have a range of fab and very cheap cotton boob tubes (size 8 I think!) that I wear under my top and cover the gap under boobs and over belly. I can thus turn any top even a strappy vest into a breastfeeding top voila! One of the many joys of breast feeding is being able to whap your bap out to sort your baby instantly with no faffing about - why complicate things with a portable tent? Promise very very few people will notice what you're doing and it's doubtful if many or any of these will object. I've been waiting for years to give an earful to someone but I've only ever had positive comments. Having said that for DD's first 6 months I used a freedom ring sling and could feed her hands free walking around! VEry very discreet - I looked like I was wearing a big scarf and I remember in quiet shops sometimes having to explain there was a baby in there making the slurping/farting sounds!

I'm sincerely glad you have protection in Scotland. It's too bad the others have to worry about being asked to leave a restaurant, coffee shop or shop. I mean what would happen if you were asked to leave because you were breastfeeding and you refused? Would you be arrested? I always want to know, but I'm unable to get a clear answer. BTW, I love where I live in England and have never heard of any problems, but so many friends either have had a problem elsewhere, or know someone who did.

For this reason too, I would not wear one of these because it 'shouts'...Warning: Mother Breastfeeding" and I think it's less discrete along with what the others say. Just my opinion.

ATC, why do you ignore the questions I asked? No, I don't think it's an over-reaction to ask what you mean by "the US being weird about women." Which part of the country are you referring to? What State(s)? If you make such a blanket statement, you should be able to explain yourself. How would you feel if I said, "Scotland is weird about women"? I would never make such a silly comment, and I don't think that at all. We all have our good and bad points and I love our differences and being able to live in a foreign country.

I want DD to grow up in the states because the UK doesn't support women in sports for the most part and I think it's very sexist compared to the US in this way...not in general, but I live here so I know what I'm talking about. Netball? Please, that's not even a professional sport, but lots of fun. Girls in the US have so much more opportunity to compete in sports. DD may hate sports, but at least she will have the chance to play real sports in the US if she desires. (BTW, Love Paula Radcliffe..you go Girl..and will hope she wins the Gold.)

ATC, I get the distinct impression that you have never been to America, because you won't answer where all you've seen these being used.

I'm not surprised the English woman who invented these things is doing well with sales in the US. We all love the 'best new thing' out there in the way of gadgets, but I can't imagine people really using them for long. They will be a fad for awhile, and maybe if they didn't look like tablecloths or aprons, they would be more popular. Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong and all new mothers around the world will use them.

Please, ATC, being the US-expert that you are....Do you think sales are highest in rural areas of America? The North, South, Midwest, the West....?

Sorry, but I don't like general comments being made about anybody. Everybody has their opinions, but back up what you mean. Thanks.

Yes, CA folks can be a bit weird, but a tie-dye version would really do well there...and the 'tablecloths' might do well in Alabama and Mississippi. Ha! Seriously, we could have a lot of fun determining where they might be popular.

(BTW, I lived in CA a long time and might be weird too..probably am.) My MIL from AL and is very weird...scary weird...

I'm in SW UK and weird people here too....HA! You guys are right..it's stupid to call the "World Series" world...

No hard feelings...just sensitive about blanket comments...my sin is picking on people from West Virginia...almost all Americans do that and it is wrong and not fair. It's a beautiful state and many fine folks there.

expat: what i think is sad is taht a country has to pass a law to pointedly protect something that is legal anyway as an inducement to encourage women to breastfeed since its citizens are so ignorant.

granted many women in England feel taht they need this same law that Scotland amd many US States already have. This fear and need comes from the sad state of breastfeeding in these countries.

as I said in my last post which pointed out your misconception but you have failed to acknowledge,

it is legal to bf a baby in public in England.

It is also illegal to harrass a woman - and that includes asking them to leave a place, stop, cover up, go somewhere else in order to bf.

What England doesn't have is a law which specifically states that it is illegal to stop a woman from bfing in a public place.

A law like that is more a statement about the culture in which it exists than about any thing else.

I used one quite a lot and i really liked it! I stopped when she started pulling it aside but I did find it really handy actually.Fed in the middle of IKEA on one of their sofas and a bloke sat down next to me and didn't notice I was feeding until I got the baby out.I have big breasts and often wear dresses buttoning up at the front which means everything is out when I need to feed and although there were places where I felt fine about this ,there were others (like IKEA on a weekend)that were so full of men that I felt awkward.I also found it good for making a little quiet place for dd to feed without distractions.I was living in central London and it was hard to be anywhere not full of people and noise.With the bebe au lait thing I could look down at her and she could see me but not all the other stuff around,it felt nice,like a safe little nest!

Should add I was quite happy at the thought it would make it obvious I was feeding (although it didn't,in fact).I just didn't want blokes gawping at my knockers.