Positive responses to NIP?

[Kavita]

So often we are talking about negative responses to NIP (with good reason, I might add!) but I thought it might be nice to have a thread with positive responses people have encountered while NIP! (Just to cheer us up!)

In the last two days, I have had two really positive encounters. On Sunday we were eating breakfast in a restaurant and DD started fussing and I went to feed her. It took me a moment to get her from DH and positioned properly (in a sort of small booth!) and there were two older ladies at a table next to us who'd been smiling at the baby. One of them noticed me fiddling with my shirt and said laughingly, as if she were the baby, "Hurry up mama, I'm hungry!" She also started telling me about her newest great-grandchild, who was born at home, and also said disgustedly, "I think that this whole 'controversy' about breastfeeding in public is just a big farce!!" It was nice to have someone be so positive! She and her friend went on to have their own lengthy conversation about breastfeeding!!

Then yesterday I was with DD in Starbucks, and I was nursing her (discretely, but obviously nursing.) At the table next to me was a man from Iraq, who basically wasn't paying much attention. Then a male friend of his (also from Iraq) walked in and joined him. The friend was kind of watching the baby and me. He asked me, "Is woman?" (which his friend who spoke more English clarified as meaning was the baby a girl.) I said yes and kind of smiled. Then that was it for a while. A few minutes later I switched her on the other side. It was chilly so I had us both wrapped in a shawl. The friend who spoke less English was really sort of watching me, and then he started talking very animatedly to his friend and gesturing with his hands and I had the feeling it was about me nursing her. It was kind of making me a little nervous, actually! Then the friend told me, "He says that this is the first time in this country that he has seen a woman feeding a baby from the chest--usually in this country it is with bottle." They both went on to say how wonderful it was to breastfeed, how good it is for the baby, how healthy and happy breastfed babies are, what good shape the babies are in when they are breastfed, how much they love their mothers, etc. etc. etc.! They were very approving! It was really funny actually--they were like THRILLED that someone was actually nursing!!

I am suprised that people here have thus far been so positive (or at least have minded their own business, ha ha!) as generally I have hardly ever seen other moms breastfeeding in public where I live (with the obvious exceptions of places like LLL meetings and homeschool groups and such.) Anybody else have any positive reactions to NIP they'd like to share?

[TanyaS]

I always had a fear someone would say something while I was NIP with my first baby. I quickly learned how to NIP and eventually did it everywhere. When he was older than 18 months, my worry resurfaced because he was a toddler. So at the height of this worry about NIP with a toddler, I was at the insurance company when he was nearly 2 years old and he was tired of waiting, probably ready for a nap, but I don't recall the reason for his meltdown. Anyway, it was becoming very difficult to handle. I was sitting across the desk from this woman and we were the only ones there, so I pulled him up, latched him on and all was quiet. I said "works everytime" to ease any discomfort either of us might have. She shocked me with what she said next: "I'm still nursing my three year old, so I know just what you mean."

me, after being so pleasantly surprised!

I was so relieved to hear that and from that point on I knew that my worries were unfounded and that I could handle it if it did happen. I still tell that story to anyone worried about NIP.

[zoebugsmom]

When my dd was new, about 2 months old, we were at an out door concert. When I started nursing her the woman sitting nearest me started talking about how she had nursed her now adult children and how wonderful it was to see a mother NIP. She also told me I didn't need to bother covering up. It was pretty cool. I can honestly say I've never had a negative NIP experience.

[MaryJaneLouise]

Me neither. I always get smiles, and occasionally comments like "I bfed all my kids and they were never sick a day in their lives!"

[JamesMama]

I've yet to get a negative response. I get a few embarassed looks but thats about it.

My favorite was when my mom and I were in Target and I was walking around nursing James, he was 7 months old at the time and smack in that 'distractable' stage, but he was nursing a bit and someone dropped something and he popped off and wouldn't latch back on. So I hollered for my mom, who was a couple steps ahead of me to take James so I could fix my shirt and my mom laughs at me and says "Why? Are you exposed?" I laughed and said yeah, and this older woman stops and says "Don't worry, it happens to us all." and then this older man walks around the corner, looks at all of us and says "Never happened to me!" it was all really funny, no one was negative, just really funny (funny 'haha' not funny 'weird') about it.

[nonconformnmom]

These are great! I love the two Iraqi men story.

I've never had a negative NIP experience - and I do it a lot. I recently nursed my baby while on a long flight, and got only approving looks from my fellow passengers, and even some nice comments like, "Oh, there ya go, she has it good!"

[kazmir]

I am on nursing toddler number 2 and have yet to have a negative comment. I have had some looks but that doesn't bother me.

When DD was about 19 months on New Year's Eve we were at a concert with another family who also had a nursing 22 mo. old. The kids both got hungry at the same time so we popped them on to nurse. A woman sitting behind us went on about how nice it was to see such good babies and how nursing is the best thing.

With this baby, we nurse evrywhere and I mean everywhere

[tinuviel_k]

I was nursing my daughter outside a jewelry store in my town, across the street from the farmers market. A little old woman came walking by, looked down, and said, "Now that's what I call fast food!" And gave me a big smile.

[1Plus2]

I love this thread! When my twins were really little, I had them and their then 2-year-old sister at the mall. We have clusters of couches in our malls for people to rest, talk, etc. so I sat on one of the couches. I nursed one baby then switched and was nursing the other one (I did NIP both at the same time but not often). There was an older man sitting across from me who kept glancing over but never said anything. I finished nursing the girls and got them tucked away in their stroller. I had to walk by the man when I left the couch area and he reached out and touched my arm to stop me as I walked by. He very sweetly said "You are such a good Mama". Made my whole day!

[KittyKat]

Ahhh... what a warm and fuzzy thread! Got me grinning!

Here's a couple:

When I was BF my 3rd, she was about one year old, but she's petite like me so she probably looked younger. Anyways, the point is, I was at the playground nursing her on one of the benches and this other mom walked by and said "Good for you! Nurse as long as you can!" I've seen her around she's a total lactivist.

Another time I was in the local pizza place, and there was another mom with a tiny baby boy. She had a lightweight blanket over her shoulder and was BF him. I went up to her to tell her how I was encouraged to see another mom BF, etc. She said she had nursed her DD past one year, and how much she enjoyed BF, anyways we had a nice Bf love fest, it was great.

Another time I was in a video store and wearing DS in the sling. This older woman and her teenage son walked by and she pointed me out and told her DS "I used to carry you around like that all the time." That was cool! Especially since you hardly ever see any babywearing moms around here. LOTS of stroller and bucket moms, every so often maybe a trendy Baby Bjorn, but I could count the number of sling-using babywearing moms I've seen on one hand.

Kathryn

[minkajane]

I went to an LDS church with my best friend. It's a 3-hour service, so DS got hungry halfway through the third hour. I was sitting next to a little old lady in a wheelchair, so I was a little nervous about nursing him, but I did it anyway, cuz he was getting really fussy. I nursed him on one side, and he fussed as I switched him. The lady looked at me, grinned, and whispered "He wants some more of that good mama milk!" It really made me giggle. Afterwards, she lectured me on the importance of never being embarrassed to nurse my baby. She proudly announced that she nursed all her babies.

I have never had a bad NIP experience. I've gotten a couple of funny looks and some teen boys craning to see my nipple when he popped off, but overall, very positive experiences.

[Meiri]

Back when DS was approaching toddlerhood, a retired gentleman friend shared how awesome he found the entire concept of nursing.

Had a stranger, mom, comment positively when he was about 2 and we were sitting on a hillside watching Native American dancers. Now I wished I'd stayed in the stands. We'd've had a better view.

I don't recall any specific moments with DD, though I've also got very few negatives too.

[etsba]

I also haven't heard any negative comments when I've breastfed in public.

A couple of times I thought I was going to only for the person staring intently at me (usually an older woman) to say something like "isn't that beautiful" "what a happy baby"
I should never jump to conclusions.

[mamamelia]

i've never had any negative comments and i nurse dd anywhere and everywhere. i don't even bother to cover up.

i've had a few people smile sweetly at us or say "breastmilk is so good for them - good on you!" and almost everyone we meet comments on what a happy little baby i have there. well duh! she is at mamas boob all day long!

one time we were shopping, and i saw a mama sitting on a bench waiting for her husband at the checkout. it was busy as hell and the bench was positioned right in front of the checkout line, so of course, everyone was staring. anyway, the baby was fussing and she wasn't sure if she should nurse. she sheepishly placed the baby into position and nursed him. her face was red and she looked really embaressed.
anyway, when we were done, i went up to her with a great big smile on my face and said "good on you for nursing your son!!!! i always nurse my daughter in public too!"
she seemed a little surprised, smiled back and said "thanks!" and then her red face started to go back to normal colouring. i like to think that i may have given her a little more confidence with nursing in public.

[MaryJaneLouise]

Originally Posted by etsba

I also haven't heard any negative comments when I've breastfed in public.

A couple of times I thought I was going to only for the person staring intently at me (usually an older woman) to say something like "isn't that beautiful" "what a happy baby"
I should never jump to conclusions.

Isn't that funny how the older women (60+) are usually ? Must be a generation gap thing.

[Fiercemama]

I've never had any negative NIP experiences. I have warm memories of 3 good ones.

I'm getting falafel from my very favourite place in town. Its run all by Muslim women, with covered heads. I nurse my DD while eating. The woman at the cash told me proudly how she nursed her twins to 18 mos. It was great to have that kind of an interaction with someone who is very different from me, to know that some parts of being a mother really are universal. An older Phillipino mother who worked in another restaurant also told me how she had bf her kids, and how healthy they were.

One time I was bfing DD when she was into her 2nd year in our local park. There was definately no one else in the neighborhood doing this. A middle aged man walked past me and said "good for you!". I was never sure if he was referring to bfing itself, NIP or nursing a toddler!

I haven't had the nerve to go up to other NIP mamas, unless they are nursing past infancy. I've made a point of doing that,and have had some nice chats with other mamas nursing their 3 year olds!

[maryeb]

Originally Posted by 1Plus2

I love this thread! When my twins were really little, I had them and their then 2-year-old sister at the mall. We have clusters of couches in our malls for people to rest, talk, etc. so I sat on one of the couches. I nursed one baby then switched and was nursing the other one (I did NIP both at the same time but not often). There was an older man sitting across from me who kept glancing over but never said anything. I finished nursing the girls and got them tucked away in their stroller. I had to walk by the man when I left the couch area and he reached out and touched my arm to stop me as I walked by. He very sweetly said "You are such a good Mama". Made my whole day!

this one made me teary! I too have only received positive comments, such as "it's so nice to see that" from a young woman seated next to me in a restaurant(she was early 20's, and with her dad), to a grandmother approaching me in the same place all happy and excited to see me nursing ds in a sling. she was so thrilled, and it made my day! Usually I get lots of smiles when I NIP, especially when walking the beach. Good thread! Mary

[alexsam]

I had DS on a cross country flight and he was fussing, so I started nursing. The young, hip guy in the seat ahead of me, chose that moment to recline and got quite an eyeful ! He muttered "excuse me"s and looked a bit embarassed. Later, as he was making his way down the isle, he was stopped right next to me while waiting for the restroom. He said something like "I apologize for intruding." I replied "I'm not embarassed in the least! It doesn't bother me one bit!" and smiled a "no big deal" smile. He had a big sigh of relief and then went into this great speech about how women shouldn't feel embarassed about NIP and and anyone who doesn't like it- it's their problem, and how hey "That's what boobs are for!". I was laughing so loud after he said that! I said "Amen, brother!" and we parted... I would never have thought this single, young, totally New York City hip guy was such a lactavist!

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I've never received any negative comments either. I have had several positive ones like "no wonder she's so happy, she gets the good stuff" or something like that. My favorite was when I wasn't actually nursing. A older woman who looked like she would be very conservative was fussing over how beautiful my dd was when I had her out in our sling. She started asking about the sling and said she would have liked to have had something like that when her kids were young. Then she pointed to my breast and said "look at that, when she is hungry she dosn't have to go vary far! Just pull your shirt up and away you go."

[JustVanessa]

What a cute thread!

Ds recently started to want to sit up facing me and nurse during the day. We were nursing in a coffee shop/book store a couple of days ago and nobody said anything. Then ds popped off the boob let out a huge laugh and started clapping. He had all the patrons smiling at him....and my exposed boob