I guess I shouldn't be annoyed at a nursing room, but I am.

[rcr]

I was at a Toys R Us in NYC (the one at Times Square), and I had to nurse DS. I went up to the third floor because I knew there was a chair at the top of the stairs there, and there was literally no place in the rest of the store that was not crawling with children. I found the chairs and sat down, but DH had gone the other way to look for a chair, and came back with a store employee who said that they have a nursing room. I said, I am fine here, and she said, oh, but we have a nice nursing room, you should go there. So I followed her into the back of the store, into the employee office area, past a few more offices, and into a small cozy room with a rocking chair, some kids toys, and a footstool.

I know that I should be happy that they have a nice nursing room. It took a lot for me to get comfortable to NIP, and I know that nursing rooms are extremely helpful to people who are not comfortable with NIP. But now that I am comfortable NIP, I am a little annoyed about having to go behind closed doors, especially in a very out-of-the-way place like in the back of the employee office section.

Does anybody else feel the same?

[Britishmum]

I would smile nicely, and say that I am fine where I am. I refuse to go anywhere special to nurse. I am uncomfortable with the notion that there needs to be a nursing room, implying that women who nurse need 'privacy'. Now, if they want to provide a comfortable sitting area alongside other baby care facilities, that's fine, but having a specific nursing area makes me uncomfortable.

But that's just me.

[fek&fuzz]

Maybe your DP said "My wife needs somewhere to nurse" so she thought you wanted a room?

[Limabean1975]

Originally Posted by fek&fuzz

Maybe your DP said "My wife needs somewhere to nurse" so she thought you wanted a room?

Sure sounds like that to me - and perhaps she just thought it was a really nice room, and as opposed to being pushy, was encouraging you to check it out?

I've seen some nasty "nursing rooms" and I've seen some lovely ones. As long as I'm not being told I HAVE to go in there, I appreciate the comfort, soft lighting, and convenience of a decent nursing room (eg diaper table; toys for older kids, etc).

[odenata]

I don't think moms should be made to feel like if they want to nurse, they have to nurse in a certain place, but I like nursing rooms being available. My dd, and most nursing toddlers I've known, go through a phase when they are so distracted by everything that it's hard to nurse somewhere that isn't a bit private, so it's nice to have the option.

[hollycat]

i would feel fine nursing most anywhere and i would LOVE a room with a cozy rocking chair in a busy store full of kids at christmas to nurse. i say thats a wonderful thing.

[mytwogirls]

Originally Posted by hollycat

i would feel fine nursing most anywhere and i would LOVE a room with a cozy rocking chair in a busy store full of kids at christmas to nurse. i say thats a wonderful thing.

Oh me too. I can see where the OP is coming from though, it would irk me, but I would take a cozy, quiet area, especially this time of year.

[yamilee21]

Two years ago, in September of 2006, we had a nurse-in outside of that TRU to protest that they tried to force nursing mothers to only breastfeed in a dingy room hidden somewhere in the basement. How interesting that their "improvement" to that policy has been to make a nicer nursing room hidden away on the third floor. I've nursed both of my children in that store several times since the nurse-in, but we were always moving around since they were always in baby carriers anyway.

[mimie]

I love the nursing rooms at BRU. They are so comfy. When DD was a tiny little thing, NIP was very difficult for me, mostly because NURSING was still so difficult. It was so nice to have a comfy chair, with a boppy ready and waiting and be able to really open up my shirt to get the proper positioning, etc.

When DD was older, I just nursed her in the rocking chair section - also very nice. I got lots of friendly smiles from pregnant women browsing the chair section.

[Layna]

I think it's awsome that they have a nursing room. There's alot of mothers out there that are uncomfortable NIP. I used to be one of them. I remember being at Walmart and just wishing that they had somewhere I could go to be comfortable and around less noise.

It'd be one thing if they told you that you HAVE to use the nursing room.
If she told you "you should use it" in a "you should use it, It's awsome" kind of way, I wouldn't think that she ment anything except my comfort in mind.
And if I didn't feel like moving, I wouldn't. But it's really nice that they have it there as an option.

[KnitLady]

I can understand being annoyed a little in that exact situation. I'm assuming you felt like you were ushered to the other end of the earth to "do that".

On the other hand, I really like nursing rooms for the most part. I've used them several times, and DS has actually nursed to sleep and ended up napping for an hour plus in two nursing rooms. One was in the worse nursing room ever. It was at an airport and it was dirty and brightly lit, and only had a folding chair, changing table, sink and toilet. Soon as DS fell asleep (and I had a long time until the flight), two cleaning ladies came in, carried on a very LOUD conversation while one lady was in the one bathroom stall having a bowel movement. Yeah, I was a bit annoyed there! Most I've been in have been fairly nice though.

[guestmama9920]

Originally Posted by Layna

I think it's awsome that they have a nursing room. There's alot of mothers out there that are uncomfortable NIP.

that is me but in the sense the chairs are too high, have to lean over DD etc. I'm happy to do it in public just find an hour of NIP = pain to my back

[CEVmommy]

I appreciate that they have a space available, but I would not appreciate it if I was forced to use it. I have used the nursing room in BRU before and thought it was fine. I have asked for the nursing room at TRU and been taken to an employee conference room with no comfortable chairs. They made an effort though. As my baby got older, I got better at NIP in a carrier and didn't feel I needed to use the rooms any more. If someone had told me then that I had to use the room, I would probably be offended. In this case, it sounds like maybe the employee was just feeling really proud of their nursing room and wanted you to see how great it was.

[rcr]

Originally Posted by KnitLady

I can understand being annoyed a little in that exact situation. I'm assuming you felt like you were ushered to the other end of the earth to "do that".

That is exactly how I felt. Thanks.

[Justmee]

Originally Posted by hollycat

i would feel fine nursing most anywhere and i would LOVE a room with a cozy rocking chair in a busy store full of kids at christmas to nurse. i say thats a wonderful thing.

Me too! It seems to me she was just letting you know of a room, rather than demanding you use it. Maybe she was a little insistant that you see the actual room, but I didn't get from the OP the employee was being nasty about it. Now if she would have insisted you use the nursing room and said she was getting a manager if you continued nursing there... that I could get upset about.

[KirstenMary]

I would have asked her, "Are you offering me the room as a comfy alternative, or are you telling me I have to nurse there if I want to nurse at all?" That would have cleared up any confusion.

[mrsdocmartin]

Personally, I love nursing rooms. I have a really distractible toddler and NIP is really a nightmare with him. I can definitely see why someone would be annoyed by the idea that nursing needs to be hidden out of sight though

[Romana]

I love having the option of nursing rooms. That said, I would NOT leave where I was comfortable to go to one because an employee suggested it. I would say, "Thanks, I'm comfortable here," and if they persisted or insisted, I would start getting legal on them.

I've nursed both in the nursing/rocking chairs at Babies R Us and in the nursing room. I used the nursing room if I wasn't wearing nursing-friendly clothes and wanted to privacy. I also used it when I was nursing my first and she still screamed at the breast a lot and I just needed privacy and fewer distractions to make it work.

I would not be annoyed about the presence of the room, but you have every right to be annoyed if you were pushed into going there when you were happy where you were. It's not clear from the OP if the employee was insisting or just trying to make you more comfortable (and certainly sometimes employees can get a little overzealous and irritate the customer they're trying to help).

[tessa67]

I thought it sounded like she was proud of their nursing room and happy that it was available to you.

[smeep]

I HATE nursing rooms. Granted, some women are too uncomfortable to do it publicly and would rather supplement in public if there isn't a nursing room, so having them at all is better than not. But I would prefer a nursing section (not closed off, shut up away from everyone else)...or at least a simple, "Oh, no problem! Nurse where you like, good for you being happy doing it wherever." as a reply rather than insistance that you go all the way back to the employee area to feed your baby because, OMG, you're feeding him HUMAN MILK OUT OF A HUMAN BREAST!