Nursing In Public ~ When It's Time to Stop... - Page 4

[BellaClaudia]

I also stopped when I was uncofortable at stranger's looks.. you can't educate everyone eventually and it is after all somehow unpleasant..

so we resolved to public places: bathrooms, dressing rooms, nursing rooms..
and car also is an option.

when I did it? I don't know it was gradual transition but she could talk really well.. so probably around 2..

how?

I started as a fun joke.. I said that we have to start going to some hidden places to nurse because many kids look like they want to also nurse mama
and so it feels like they might come and join.. so ..
that hit a good note.. of it is ALL MINE>. and DD would do everyting
to protect her right to do so..

and so we were looking for places.. and she was happy...

sometimes she was super upset or hungry and she would try to rip my shirt in public but that was only few times and I did manage to ask her to
wait and do it in private , once I promssed that we are going NOW
she was fine with it.

Now she is 4 plus and sometimes she wants to nurse in public when tired or alikes.. so I simply say.. okay I defenetely can nurse you but lets find a private place so that is that.

good luck and congrats on your nursing!

[calpurnia]

We aren't CLW but this post caught my eye.

My dd is 20 months & I just decided to stop breastfeeding in public. If it were just feeding her I would continue for a while longer, but she *needs* to have my other breast out of my bra for fiddling. She is no longer satisfied with slipping her other hand in the bra to get to my nipple, it has to be completely out. It is driving me mad, & I don't feel comfortable sitting around with a baby on one boob & the other one hanging loose in public spaces. YMMV.

[fruitlove]

Originally Posted by Starflower

I NIP'd until DD was around 3+ years old. She is big for her age and looks a year older. No one ever said anything or bugged me, but we're in a pretty BF friendly area.

Eventually, I started feeling uncomfortable. I didn't refuse completely, but I would ask DD to wait until we got to the car or something. We nursed in the car a lot. If she had a knock-down drag-out fit, I probably would've NIP'd but otherwise, I'd ask her to wait and then we'd leave to go nurse.

In her preschool class of 4-5 year olds, (she was 4) I nursed pretty much every day after class in a chair at the back of the class while the other kids waited for their parents to pick them up. All had been nursed but no one remembered. The kids liked to watch and ask questions. No one ever bugged me or DD really - it was just something we did.

DD is pretty much done now (she is 6 years old) but once in a while may ask for a comfort nursing at bedtime. But it's rare.

I love reading posts like yours about breastfeeding children in public. So encouraging. Thank you!

[sageysmom]

Still nursing 4 1/2 yo in public. I like to let him know nursing is normal and feel like it is a service to others to see nursing is natural.
Had some issues surprising more when he was younger than now. He knows he needs to be respectful of mommy's body though so if for some reason it won't work he is okay with that.

[sweetpeppers]

My son just turned 3, and I still nurse him in public. I do feel somewhat self-conscious about it, but I figure that is more my problem than his. I've never had any one say anything to me about it. Mostly during the winter, at least while we were in NJ, he nursed under my sweatshirt (which he loves) so no one really knew what he was doing. Now that we are in FL, I wear a tank top most of the time, and he has unrestricted access. So I'll be carrying him through a store and he'll be exposing me while I'm walking into the checkout line. That's annoying. Generally though, if he wants to nurse, HE WANTS MILK! It's hard to put him off even until I can sit down.

[ElliesMomma]

Originally Posted by Enchanted Gypsy

My DD is two years and four months and I plan to let her wean herself. However, I do still nurse her in public on demand, but am starting to have thoughts that maybe I want to start only nursing in private. I was hoping some folks could answer a few questions for me....

1) At what age ( if any) did you stop public nursing..
2) HOW do I go about breaking this to my child who I know will be heartbroken ?

Thanks for any and all advice..

i'm still nursing, and she's almost 4. if i ever nurse in public, i am extremely discreet. the reason being, that i don't want to incur any public wrath, that would make *her* feel bad about nursing. i have stated to her that i can't nurse her here in front of all these other kids, b/c then they would want some nursing too, and i can't nurse all those kids. besides i have told her, a lot of other moms have told their kids that's it, no more nursing. but for my kids, i'm letting them decide when they want to stop. (to which she says she will never stop LOL).

[GwendalynsMommy]

I think it's a very person decision. I still nurse my 3 1/2 year old in public occassionally. It certainly isn't often but if I feel like she really needs it (falls and gets hurt, having a long day etc) and she asks then I will let her. Although I do find myself trying to go to a bit more secluded area than I do when I'm nursing my 17 month old.

[Saarland]

I will not stop nursing in public. Why should I ?

My son is 31 months now and I do nurse him everywhere he wants to. I do not see a reason to change that. Why should I ?

This is a decision you need to make on your own. Everybody will feel differently. But I think it is important that you make that decision based on what you want and feel to be right and not because you feel pressure. I know a few moms who felt like they had to stop nursing in public because of other people.

By the way, I am also planning on letting him nurse as long as he wants, but I must admit sometimes I am worried he might never want to give it up. Morvryn loves to nurse and to nurse and to nurse. We are pregnant with our second baby and I think he might even want more if he sees the baby nursing, too.

Any stories about how and when your children just had had enough?

[jendodd]

When my daughter was about 2 I would tell her that of course she could nurse, once we got home. She didn't seem to mind! The only time that she fussed was at a LLL when all of the babies were nursing at the same time

[Katie T]

If/when dd2 wants to nurse when in public I let her but she is so busy when we are out and about she rarely asks.

Maybe if she is still nursing at 3 a may limit it if it gets frequent but at the moment I don't see that being a issue since she is fine without it.

[claddaghmom]

There's too many aspects to this issue! It's a bit overwhelming.

First, I worry about what I would convey to my daughter. I can't think of anything that would be a message I want her to internalize. Giving up in the face of opposition, believing but not practicing, NIP is "bad," females are not equal to males, etc etc....

But then, on the flip side, I think things have the opportunity to get really bad with an older nursling. I feel like we have "protection" in some form up to 2 years, because that 2yr marker is repeated by so many health organizations and medical "experts." So if someone gets a bee up their behind and calls CPS b/c I'm nursing my 2yo, I don't think I'll be having any problems. But what about a 3yo? 4yo? 5yo+? At what point does it require more proof while giving you less innocence? I would not NIP at the risk of involving accusations, investigations and who knows what in my child's life.

DD is only 16 months, though, so I haven't thoroughly researched the risks and laws of childhood nursing.