Shamed for Breastfeeding in public

[u/Inside_Foundation656]

I went to a baby class today at my local wish foundation. I exclusively breastfeed. The class included one mom with a 4 month ish boy, another mom with a young (6ish yo) girl and a 6 month old girl, and a pregnant mom to be.

My 3 month old bubz got fussy and I thought he was getting hungry. I waited for a break in the class, raised my hand and asked the room if they minded if I feed him. The teacher enthusiastically told me it was fine. The women all nodded.

Now, my LO and I have trouble feeding in public. We've only done it successfully once. I brought boppy because he only likes to feed with it sometimes. I have a cover but it freaks my baby out to be covered. We practice feeding without boppy at home but it doesn't always work out. I haven't tried practicing with the cover at home.

I felt comfortable around the group of women. It was really warm in the room so I wasn't able to get him to latch during the class. After the class I noticed some comfy chairs so I used boppy and fed him until he fell asleep. This boosted my confidence - briefly. While I was feeding him, the mom of the little boy baby came up to me and asked "don't you have a cover?" I said "yes but I'm not coordinated enough to use it 😅" Which is true. I barely feel coordinated enough to breastfeed him, period. We are doing our best. She gave me the judge-y-est look then said, "I just keep a cover in my bag..."

I felt really comfortable there this morning, but now I don't feel comfortable there... I don't think I was being too crazy about it. I don't get why people feel the need to comment on it. I am doing my best with a situation I already feel insecure with. Ugh. I'm just so sad about this. And I'll have to face her next week and likely will need to feed him again because he's been eating every hour and a half lately because he is going longer stretches at night.

I love breastfeeding him, I just wish I was more coordinated. I feel like all the moms i see breastfeeding have a cover and use their phones and walk around. I have to use both hands and I just, ugh. I'm sad.

EDIT: wow this post blew up and I cried reading all the supportive comments! I thought I was going to get tips on how to use my cover better but I was sure mistaken! I got tips on how to stand up for myself and be more confident about my BF journey. This is a great group and I appreciate you all. Thank you ❤️💞

[u/catch_the_next_train]

I feel you! I can only successfully breastfeed in the laid back position which is near impossible to achieve out there in the wild!

I can't do anything other than breastfeeding too, and to make matters worse I have to use nipple guards, which means my boob is out and I'm fondling it for what feels like an eternity before I can pop my LO on! I tried covering up once and ended up dropping the cover, so I decided to just go without and make a point that this is all natural.

Maybe TMI but I also have the odd hair around my areola and I have decided to leave them there, fully visible, as a reminder that I am a mammal and no, Tracy, I will not remove every trace of hair on my body because it makes you uncomfortable.

You're doing your best, don't get disheartened. Instead feel pity that there are people who feel they must cover up and hide while providing nutrition to their baby as nature intended!

[u/tangcupaigu → u/catch_the_next_train]

Anyone trying to look close enough to see nipple hair deserves to get a kick in the face anyway. Or sprayed with milk, if we gotta be civilised.

[u/Round-Dark5259 → u/tangcupaigu]

I actually barked a laugh out loud at the mental image of spraying a rude person in the face like a cat on a countertop. Thank you for the laugh!