Mag's 'breast-feeding' cover adds to debate

I was a very active fetus.

Okay, since a couple of you have posted yours, here's mine.










Told you they were for natural biological functioning!

I guess I was never aware of the quality of Squinney's axillary tail.

Bear hinted at such things, but I thought it was just drunk talk.

can you make milk with those pd?











[size=7]can i watch?[/size]

Things are getting kinky here!

Just found this, interesting!

This was a huge source of angst for me when I was breastfeeding. I understood that there were people who were disgusted with the idea of me breastfeeding my baby in their vicinity -- they were quite obvious about it. My choices, however, were a) stay home (I had just moved to a new city and knew nobody) b) be prepared to breastfeed at a moment's notice. From first signs to boob-in-mouth I'd usually have maybe 5 minutes if I wanted to avoid a complete screaming fit, which also tended not to go over well with the masses.

I overwhelmingly went to "child friendly" places with lots of other moms and babies, but there were still always people who were offended. When the baby was nursing, nothing showed, but Ms. Socialbaby had this patented move where mid-suckle she'd rear her head back and grin at whomever she could see, upside down, leaving me completely exposed. I believe that other babies compliantly stay in place but she's never been one to pass up a chance to schmooze.

Can you guys imagine actually breastfeeding in a bathroom? How does that work? There is one comfortable way to breastfeed -- sitting down, at a certain angle. If you're standing, your arms start killing you in no time flat. So you sit -- where, on a toilet? Does it have a cover? No, so do you just sit like you have to pee and then try to keep the baby from prodding you in sensitive places with a free foot? Do you sit down on the bare toilet with your pants on?

I did it, of course, but it was... yucky.

My local mall had a breastfeeding room -- I went to my local mall a lot, in those days. (Not that there was anything else to recommend it, except that it was not my house.) Peace be upon the providers of breastfeeding rooms. May they multiply.

I worked out a system similar to what Chai mentioned -- I started with a blanket but the baby would get way too hot and WAY too annoyed and it would be a huge struggle to keep it on her. I eventually settled on a thin cotton pareo with a high-contrast black and white print to hide what was going on under it. Easy to pack, too. Great.

She tolerated it if she was super-hungry, but would constantly be trying to get it out of the way and it was just this big stressful thing and it would make me so upset that this had to be such a big deal. Who CARES?

Thought of all of this when I was at the airport, was thinking of starting a thread on it. I was eating on an upper level with a central cut-out/ courtyard that had clear plastic guardrail things around it. A mom across the way was looking around and trying to figure out if the coast was clear for giving her baby some food. She (the mom) was clearly disconcerted that there was no particular protection offered by the guardrail/ fence. I wanted to send here some sort of "it's OK, don't worry about it" vibes, but my attempt at eye contact seemed to make her more anxious -- sozlet was off with E.G. and there was nothing indicating that I wasn't one of those "don't you DARE" people. So I averted my eyes, and thought again, who CARES?

Absolutly.

I, for the life of me, can not figure out why breastfeeding actually disgusts someone to the point that they would go out of their way to make the MOM feel bad.

That poor woman, trying to HIDE so she can feed her child..




Just irks me.
It really does.

Are things getting anymore enlightened with this nowadays? Personally, I can only remember ever seeing woman breast-feeding in public a very few times.

I'm presuming the uptightness still exists.

It's been legal for women to go topless in Ontario since 1996.

There's an occasional topless female busker around downtown here, but the weather isn't good for it much of the time - either too cold or too hot.

Breast-feeding in public doesn't seem much of a big deal to people here. You see women breast-feeding fairly openly - even in the food courts in the business towers.

The whole issue seems old skool <shrug>.

There have been bare boobs in and on mags in Germany going back to at least the mid-1970's.

Man I wish I lived in Toronto about 5-6 years ago...

Actually that's a good point, I remember less agita in Chicago proper, the few times I made the trip with baby, than in Naperville and surrounding 'burbs.

Oh good. By the time I got back this weekend, I thought this thread had died. I wanted to weigh in with Shewolf & Co.

I breastfed my son until he was 13 months old, and only stopped because I had to do some radiation stuff that would have passed through the breast milk. I am a BIG advocate of breastfeeding.

That said, I gave up on trying to breastfeed in public after a couple of very embarrassing incidents where men were openly ogling me. I tried moving to private areas, but one even followed me. It was creepy, and I felt threatened.

Bathrooms were awful, as Soz said. And noisy. Mr. Socialbaby (nice one, S!) was too distracted by all the different people coming and going.

Before long, it was a moot point anyway. You see, my son was 10 lbs. 1 oz. when he was born, and his growth rate the first year was off the chart. By the time he was 4 months old, he was 20 lbs., and I could no longer hold that much weight in my arms for long enough. I nursed him lying down in bed. It was wonderful. Sometimes those were the only rest times I got all day. (He wasn't a regular napper.)

Nevertheless, I strongly support women who breastfeed in public or private. It's the best thing you can do for a child, and it ought to be honored at all times.

This seems to be a singularly US-centric issue.

(Warning! Breastfeeding picture ahead!)


































The caption?

[/quote]Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez talks with people who were affected by flooding in Araira in Miranda state, about 50 km (31 miles) from Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, after floodwaters receded following a disaster that has left at least 15 people dead. (AP Photo/Miraflores, Marcelo Garcia)[/quote]

Not even a mention that the woman is breastfeeding while talking to the president of her country.

WWBD?

(What would Bush do?)

Re: Mag's 'breast-feeding' cover adds to debate
That photo above is wild, isn't it?




I read through most of this thread, don't know if anyone addressed this part of the article or not but the fact that this woman is still nursing a 3 year old reeeeeeeally creeps me out. I've never understood that.

I just want to address the problem of nursing mothers finding somewhere private -- if you're in a department store or a mall, ask to use a changeroom if they don't have a breastfeeding room. I was a nursing mom back in the 80's and was never turned down if I asked nicely (especially if infant was starting to protest -- LOUDLY). There's usually a chair and if you're travelling with a toddler as well you can lock the door and contain them. As far as breastfeeding in public. I always found it way more discreet to feed a soon-to-be-screaming infant under a light receiving blanket -- most people didn't notice but a shrieking child would have everybody looking! I don't think it's fair to ask an infant to "wait" on the other hand if a child is old enough to ask for it in the check out line at the grocery store for instance, it's definitely time for a lesson on "a time and a place"

I think these people need to grow up and get a life. Seriously.

A breast is NOT sexual when there is a baby attached. God did not create breasts for men. He created breasts so that babies could eat. Dipshits.

I don't think you should whip it out in a restaurant at your table or anything...but you shouldn't have to hide in the corner either.

Re: Mag's 'breast-feeding' cover adds to debate

Most of the world breastfeeds quite a bit longer than those in the US.

Ah yes, it was this thread. I remember.

Here's the picture I'd wanted to post back then. Public art: a sculpture on Erzebet Square, smack down in the centre of Budapest. Right on the corner between the second busiest piece of road in the city center (to the right of this photo) and a favourite little city park thingie (on the left).



Then again, you should see the artwork they have in the Calvin Square metro underpass..

Methinks its a commentary -- or perhaps a logical extension -- of the building behind it. Gotta be.

I so wish I'd said that...