Funny things people have said to you about breastfeeding - Page 2

[Snowflake777]

Originally Posted by Almi 

Yeah, I like the whole "you're STILL breastfeeding?" comments.  It's just kind of like....screw off, thanks? 

I know, and of course the frequency increases the longer you breastfeed. So rude and annoying. No wonder I stopped NIP after 1 year old.

[Almi]

So true, I'm starting to get more and more self-conscious about NIP because I'm afraid of getting comments and looks, but then I think, "Well, better this than a screaming babe." 

Surprisingly, last time I nursed them in public I think I was at the mall even, and I got nothing but smiles and, "Are they twins?"

[guatemama1]

Originally Posted by purplerose 

A mom of 2 who was in my nursing(LPN, not breastfeeding) class said, "I ain't never lettin' no baby suck my titties!" She went on to work at an OB's office. Another mom of 2 said, "If God wanted us to breastfeed, he wouldn't have invented bottles." That was something I couldn't even think of a response to.

No way!!

This whole thread is so interesting...I'm 1 month into breast feeding for the 1st time and just amazed at all the misinformation and crazy crap out there BF'ing women have to deal with! Makes me wanna be more loud & proud about it! :)

[AnkaJones]

A few fun ones recently (re: my 6 week old son),

"Well, you're going to stop nursing after a year, right?"  -- an MD I work with... she was totally open though when I said, "Well, we'll see how it's going and do what's right for us.  The WHO recommends two years, at least."  I got the feeling she just had thought everyone weaned after a year, rather than being judgemental.

"Are you sure it's good for a boy child to see your breasts?"  A rather elderly, distantly related male relative.

Anka

[erigeron]

Both my mom and MIL breastfed their kids so they know a decent amount about it. Though my mom was mystified as to why I had seen lactation consultants and had a breastfeeding pillow--"We didn't have any of that and we just breastfed." She said I self-weaned at 8 months, and that "most kids end up switching to formula eventually." That activated my stubbornness, and now I'm determined she won't have formula! Haha. They probably didn't pump milk a generation ago either? I don't know.

[AnkaJones]

I was walking down the street today with my 2 month old in a sling nursing.  Very acrobatically, he managed to arch back moving the sling so we were no longer quite so private, lose the nipple, and start crying hysterically.  It took about 2 seconds to get everything discrete again.  Anyway, a guy half a block away realized what I was doing and yells (yes, from half a block away and on the other side of the street),  "Hey, you cant BREASTFEED on the SIDEWALK!!!"

In any other situation I might have blushed, but as it happened, I was passing in front of a porn shop with dildos and vibrators, as well as a wide selection of BDSM equipment on panoramic display.  But clearly what was disturbing the decency of my side of the street was nursing my infant.

Jeez.

Anka

[Anna Phor]

Of course you can breastfeed on the sidewalk! It would be extremely unsafe to breastfeed in the middle of the street.

[AnkaJones]

Originally Posted by Anna Phor 

Of course you can breastfeed on the sidewalk! It would be extremely unsafe to breastfeed in the middle of the street.

Oh, I wish I would have thought of that at the time!!!  I could just imagine the look on his face.

[tincia]

LOVE this thread! I don't have any really crazy stories but my friend was told by our mutual pediatrician that if breastfeeding was so difficult then why was she still doing it! He even went on to say that boobs are for husbands to play with not for babies!

I get a lot of "when is it time for him to eat?" well, let'see, how about when he gets hungry? I can't believe that just a generation ago it was common to strictly enforce a 4 hr. schedule..my little guy would spend hours a day screaming if he could only eat every 4 hours!

[pumpkinhead]

My favourite comments were when little ones asked which one made the chocolate milk or which one made apple juice :)

[elizaMM]

I was alone in line at a department store sporting my "I make milk, what's your super power?" button on my purse.

"Are you a dairy farmer's wife?" asked a middle aged woman with her tween girl by her side.

She was very positive when I explained what it meant. To her credit, we were in Wisconsin. She was "a dairy farmer's daughter" so was just looking for a commonality...

[texmati]

Originally Posted by elizaMM 

I was alone in line at a department store sporting my "I make milk, what's your super power?" button on my purse.

"Are you a dairy farmer's wife?" asked a middle aged woman with her tween girl by her side.

She was very positive when I explained what it meant. To her credit, we were in Wisconsin. She was "a dairy farmer's daughter" so was just looking for a commonality...

lol!!!! This is so funny!

[erinby]

First post: I have to share this one!  I was nursing my 22 mo old (don't know what the "d" is for in dd? so I am not using it?) on our living room floor while playing with my 5 yo niece and sister in law.  As soon as my girl got in my lap my SIL said " let's go, Elsa has something she really wants).  Offended, but unwilling to deny my babe her snack/cuddle time, I nursed her in front of them.  My (formula fed) niece walked all around my body, "where's the bottle?"  "why is she sucking on you!" "how is the milk in there?".  Became a pretty educational moment as my SIL (who I love, she is simply caring for her kids in a different way) and I answered her child's questions and realized, here goes : my niece thought I somehow had cow's milk flowing from our refridgerator into my body!!!  She had no idea mom's make milk.  It was totally disappointing but handled well by both adults and now she knows!

On the contrary, my daughter, now 23 mo was disgusted last week when we talked about how yogurt and chocolate milk come from a cow!  Proud my little one knows she not a calf.

[APToddlerMama]

My 60 year old uncle made sure to inform me when I had my son that I needed to really watch my caffeine or I'd have issue with let down.  His expertise apparently came from growing up on a dairy farm...lol.  Ironically, all of my otherwise pretty crunch-less relatives on that side who did grow up on the dairy farm were super pro-breastfeeding. 

[funkymamajoy]

More then one person has asked me why I don't stop nursing my toddler and give him some real food. Apparently, it doesn't occur to people that kids can have both.

[tooraloora]

I had one lady who had seemed reasonably supportive of breastfeeding up until I mentioned my DS was getting ready to cut his first tooth. She said, "Uh oh! Time to wean! I bet you're really going to miss this." I responded with, "No, there's no reason to miss anything. I'm not weaning." At first she was shocked, but then she gave me a knowing look and changed the subject. The next time I saw her, he had two teeth and we were still breastfeeding. "Huh. Still going? When do you plan on switching him to a bottle?" When I said, "I don't" she was appalled.

My favorites are from my 6 year old DD. When DS was new, she insisted that I needed help with breastfeeding, and that she should hold my breast for him because "that would be better." She was stuck on it for the first couple months. When he was a little older, she informed me that if anything ever happened to me, I didn't have to worry about him going on that mommy cow formula stuff, because she would breastfeed him for me.

[AnkaJones]

Funny you mention teeth and the expectation of weaning.  I had been having this ongoing discussion with my aunt that usually started with my aunt, who BFed her two children, saying "Oh, nursing is so special.  You'll miss it once he gets teeth and you wean."  Anyway, after she had said this several times on different occasions, and I began to value my nursing relationship with my son more and more, I finally said, "you know, I don't think I'm going to wean when he gets teeth."  "Oh no," she argued, "they scrape on you, and they're really sharp when they first cut."  We had that discussion several times, and each time I just dropped it after a bit.  Then one day I said, "Look, I've read all this stuff that says it doesn't really hurt, and I'm going to wean when it's right for DS and I."  Suddenly she got this very soft, intimate look on her face, leaned in, and whispered, "You know, hun, don't tell anyone because I'll deny it, but I nursed my daughter until she was four years old."

Pretty cool, huh?  We've had a special bond over that ever since.

Anka

[sarahr]

My then 18-month old was throwing himself at me. "Daddy, get off couch. Mommy, nurse on couch, please," he said. My mil commented that normally she thinks babies should be weaned when they can ask to nurse, but ds "became verbal too early." Or maybe that standard is stupid?

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by guatemama1 

No way!!

This whole thread is so interesting...I'm 1 month into breast feeding for the 1st time and just amazed at all the misinformation and crazy crap out there BF'ing women have to deal with! Makes me wanna be more loud & proud about it! :)

I know what you mean, it has been a while since DS stopped nursing but I feel as strongly about it today as I did at the beginning.  I am blessed to know several pregnant women right now that are really interested in learning more about BF.

The ignorance and outright anti-breasting feeding attitude I encounter in the hospital was shocking to me.  Had it not been for one particular nurse, I don't know that I would have been able to hang in there.  My lacatation consultant (an employee of the same hospital) explained it as the labor and delivery department has such a huge turnover in staff (apparently it is much more demanding than other areas) that they can't keep the great nurses around long enough for them to become true advocates of breastfeeding.

The one thing that sticks out in my memory is a shocking (to me) number of male friends asked me and DH if DH "tried it" or "likes it"  These were partners of women who breastfeed multiple children, supportive men that weren't, I don't think, looking to start some sort of conversation for sexual kicks.  Is this some secret guy festish or fantasy?

I had a really rocky start, something that completely took me by surprise, so I try to strike a balance between being 110% positive as well as honest but in a caring way, sort of a "hey, I am sure it will be great for you but in case it isn't, here are some resources you might want to know about ahead of time."

[BabySmurf]

Well, I'll throw this in here since it just happened:

I just had to take DS to the ER (he's doing fine now ) and DS was understandably distraught.  The male nurse that was helping us out was super supportive and kept making positive comments, which made things easier, but the ER doc was really uncomfortable that I was exposing myself and wouldn't come in the room while I was nursing.  He asked if I wanted him to close the curtain for more privacy, and when I shrugged and said it didn't matter he said "wow, you are REALLY comfortable with yourself!" and looked at my DH in surprise.  As if my first concern were other people around who may or may not notice that I was nursing my babe  .  Proof that some people really don't "get" it, even when they are in a room full of people who do.