Do you ever see anyone NIP in your local stores/restaurants?

[joeysmom1729]

I am yet to see a mom in the area I live NIP, all that you see is bottle feeding (Including bottles propped in the mouths of tiny newborns!! ) and it's just so upsetting. I feel like the only one who NIP in any of my local shops. What about you guys, what have you been seeing?

[camomof5]

Not me I have never seen it in person before.

[kythrah]

nope, i never see anyone NIP either (well except for myself of course)

i also never see anyone babywear other than myself...

out here it seems the sad norm is to bottlefeed and leave your baby in it's bucket seat/stroller/whatever... i've seen lots of bottle propping too

[WNB]

I saw another woman NIP in Starbucks a few weeks ago. I was also nursing, lol, and happened to look up and notice that she was too. I was enjoying the air conditioning for an extended visit, so was in one of the peripheral chairs away from the store center, but this woman (YAY) was pretty much right in the center of the shop nursing her walking-around baby. (I'm not really good enough at this Mom business yet to be able to tell how old babies are by looking at them, so "walking-around" is my best estimate.)

[charmedbeing]

Yes - I've seen it around here. Just recently I was at the Aquarium during lunch time and there was a mom and a newborn breastfeeding over lunch with her friends. There were 100's of people around. It was nice to see. Also during reading time at the local library there was a mom breasfeeding her baby while sitting on the floor next to her toddler. This was a room full of kids, moms and dads.

[hipumpkins]

I see it ourpark all the time for newborns. I don't see older nurslings and I cant think of a time I saw one nursing not in the park..not a restaurnt or anyhitng. I guess thy're pumping for thaose situations

[NotTheOnlyOne]

I dont see anyone besides myself do it.... I just mastered it well enough to feel comfortable in public... I HATE seeing bottles propped. One of my friends actually commented that I always hold (or wear) my baby and was surpirsed that I never bring his carseat carrier inside when we do bible study. She also told me to let him CIO to get him to sleep at night (he's 3 months old!!!!!) I said to her (she is a very nice Christian woman, btw) "you didnt let your kids CIO when they were this age, did you"? I thought she was kidding!! She said "of course I did!"

[AmyG]

I see women nursing in public from time to time. Not very often, but I don't really go a lot of places where people nurse. I go to Target and the grocery store, but most women aren't there long enough to need to nurse.

I saw a lady nursing a brand new baby in a Christian book store the other day. She had on one of those nursing cape things. I usually try to encourage women I see nursing in public, but I was afraid she may not want the attention, as she was so covered up. I don't know, though. The baby looked like she was probably 2 or 3 weeks old. She just may not have been able to latch the baby on yet without exposing too much flesh.

[hannybanany]

I see mothers NIPing around here all the time... At the soft play area in the mall, in the food court, at story time at the library and bookstore, parks, etc. Mostly little babies, though -- not a lot of older ones.

[LilMama23]

I've never seen anyone NIP before (except myself lol).

[forshure]

The only women I see NIP regularly are already friends of mine, and most of my friends tend to be LLL mamas, slinging mamas, etc.

As far as stranger NIP sightings, I have witnessed NIP a grand total of 5 times in the past 12 months:

• a woman nursing her DC at the Lincoln Park Zoo under a receiving blanket...
• another "under cover" woman nursing in a travel plaza in Indiana...
• two women nursing at a neighborhood festival for locally-produced food (!) and one of them was tandem-nursing an older toddler and a younger babe...
• a woman nursing in a local coffee shop...
• another woman nursing at a Kindermuzik demonstration at Barnes and Noble while one of my LLL acquaintances was nursing her 13-month old twins!

Also, when I was pregnant, I saw a woman nursing a toddler in a restaurant which was very inspiring to me as a future nursing mama.

But the lack of NIP is really bizarre to me! I live in a large metropolitan area with a decent BF rate. (I mean, we're not Sweden but still...) My BF-radar is highly sensitive whenever a mom and babe are in the vicinity. And I go a whole lot of places---parks, on the train, to the zoo, to the suburban pumpkin patch, to BRU, to thrift stores, to Thai restaurants, long walks in my neighborhood, grocery stores, local shops, etc.

If we truly had a BF culture, I would see nursing so many times a day that we wouldn't even be talking about it on a message board!

[Meredith&Alexander]

Not often. When I do, odds are I know them!

[lurve]

come to think of it, umm, not in years... how sad is that!

[kissum]

Yep, I see it a lot. I think the town I live in though is fairly crunchy. Most of the time it is people i already know, but occassionaly a stranger. I always smile at them.

[scoobers]

It's pretty common in these parts (NorCal).

[Finding Serenity]

Not common where I live but I get positive or neutral reactions whenever and wherever I've bf in public. Wait till they get a load of me tandem nursing a nb and a 15 month old, I wonder if anyone will say anything then!!!

[coloradoalice]

I have seen it, most of the time it's my friends. When it's someone I don't know they are almost always under a blanket!!

I never cover up. Neither do my friends.

[calicocj]

You know, I never thought about it, but I don't either... Except when I'm around other similar mama friends. Ditto on babywearing... It was a lot more prevalent when I lived in a semi-crunchy part of a college town.

Frustratingly enough, I saw a woman NIP when I was touring the Alamo ( ) but then sitting right there next to her was her SO, and he was puffing away on a cigarette right next to the baby and an older child : That made no sense!!

[Mama Poot]

I've only seen one mom at Ponderosa. I see a good deal of babywearing at Wal Mart, which is encouraging. I honestly don't look, so I'm possibly missing a lot of people.

[Jazzmin]

There is a lot of NIP here. Just today I was at the Y and the childcare lady was nursing her DC. DH asked her if it was her DC She said "no, I am a wet nurse." I think he was embarassed after that.