Breast feeding and friends opinions

[HannahG315]

I'm 22 and my first baby is due any day now. I'm the first of my group to have a baby and am being told-

If you breast feed in front of me I will leave
Don't sat its natural, so is taking a crap, but I don't do that in public
Etc etc

So far I have said, look there's many things that put me off my food, but they're not expected to go bad hide in the bathroom. If my sons hungry, he will eat. End of.

These are women who have, and still will, flash their boobs for a free shot but me wanting to be able to publicly breast feed is repulsive??!

Not sure if this is a rant or need for support, but I feel myself getting really angry at the comments and I don't want to be sat out for coffee one day being criticised for breast feeding and loose my top I that moment....

How do I stand up for myself without getting personal??

I suspect these are friends that you won't see so much of once baby is born. Sorry about that.

You are entitled (under EU law I believe) to feed your baby anywhere. The only place of contention is a swimming pool IIRC. I'm not sure anyone actually agrees on that one ... Anyway, your friend is entitled to leave if she thinks it's disgusting. She obviously had a warped view of what her breasts are for.

A lot of people will feel uncomfortable if you're sitting with your tits out, feeding your child or not. Most women master feeding discreetly relatively quickly or cover up using a muslin or a breastfeeding cover (great for me when my ILs came to stay at 3 weeks old).

I had my DS at 25, so not that far away in age and I didn't see much of most of my friends. Pooey nappies, sleepless nights and sick don't really appeal when you're out partying every weekend. You will all be on the same page again eventually but for now it's a waiting game.

How you give your baby milk is also really something that people are concerned with for the first few months until they're eating solids. They'll get over it and learn more about it when the time comes. Try to ignore in the meantime.

Thank you!

I know I just need to crack on and when I'm drowning in baby care I'm not going to give a fluff about anything else.

Xx

Congratulations :)

I think it's really said that people are saying such horrible and offensive things to you about how you plan to feed your baby.

There's nothing remotely disgusting about breastfeeding and it's nothing like taking a crap.

If my sons hungry, he will eat. End of.

That's the spirit :)

And he will be hungry. Lots. And you will feed him all kind of weird and wonderful places.

And some assholes might think it's disgusting, but they're wrong.

And their sad, limited little brains will just have to deal with the fact that there is nothing they can do about it.

And you can just ignore them because they don't matter in the slightest.

Best of luck, and enjoy your baby.

And here's a tip: breastfeeding, despite being natural, doesn't necessarily come naturally to all of us.

By the time you see women out and about breastfeeding, they've been practising.

Don't feel like a failure, or like all is lost, if it's hard to get it established.

Lots of us felt that way and we were wrong. :)

Your friends sound horrible, sorry OP

I'm a similar age to you and have only ever had one negative-ish comment about bf from a friend (she said that she saw me as a giant udder, thanks )

Don't give a damn what anyone says, and if one of your friends suggests you go to the toilet to feed them (as happened to me) ask them if they'd like to eat their lunch in the toilet

If all else fails, squirt them in the face

Squirt them in the face!- hahaha this made me chuckle a lot!

Look up "embarrassed" by Hollie mcNish on YouTube. It will inspire you x

I just watched it Melanie and posted it to FB :)

Just gave me such a boost that even the baby must be feeling the vibe because he's just starting kicking wildly! :)

Hannah, you're ace, and you're going to make a brilliant mother.
Your friends are idiots, and I hope they change their attitudes once they actually see you. It might surprise them to realise that no one cares that you're feeding. I've fed my baby everywhere and either people just don't notice or they're just not that interested (imagine!). There's nothing to see anyway except the back of a baby's head.

Hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well, and congratulations!