ON NURSING IN PUBLIC

This post is sponsored by Disney Baby. I'll be joining the Disney Baby blogging team next month, and look forward to sharing these kinds of stories (projects/ideas/etc) with you over there! Stay tuned for more details!

this a post about nursing. in public. with your boobs.

after being infertile for two years and struggling to convince my body to even get pregnant in the first place, i felt such pride in my fat baby and my two little boobs that could. who'd have thought my not-even-an-a-cups could do all that? to this day, huck's two fat thighs are two of the things i'm most proud of in this life. i did that!

once huck had a few weeks of life under his belt, we started spending long afternoons walking around the city. he got his best sleep in the stroller and i felt my most calm when i'd had a chance to walk around. we'd usually be gone over a nap and at least two feedings. we'd make good use of a series of public restrooms and retail dressing rooms i relied on to hide in any time huck was hungry and needed to nurse. then one day i just got tired of it. why should i hide nursing my baby? it didn't really make much sense to me. we were getting good at it and i could confidently nurse without showing skin, so why hide? so i decided: the next time huck was hungry, i'd nurse him where ever i was. i'd be discreet, but it would be pretty obvious what we were doing and i was prepared to return a few stink eyes if necessary. in new york it is fully legal to bare your chest to nurse your baby in public (as if that even needs to be a law), and though i had no intention of actually baring my chest to anybody, it gave me confidence. we were at the metropolitan museum of art the first time we did it. i figured, boobs should be a pretty friendly sight here, don't you think? nobody even noticed. once we were finished and i realized what we'd just pulled off, it was like my whole life got easier: i am a mom, and i don't need to hide it.

since then we have happily and proudly nursed where ever the dang crap huck needed to be nursed. i'm pretty adamant about my right to do it, although it's very rare that we'll nurse in public anymore now that he's older. it's my coolest mom trick i got. in case you are similarly ornery about your right to nurse in public, i thought i'd share some tips i learned along the way:

• button ups provide easier access to the boobs, but i prefer to wear roomy tops that lift up when nursing in public. a good drape hides most of the action and when baby is finished, gravity helps get you covered much faster than your fingers could work those buttons. wearing an undershirt you can tug down  helps if you're nervous about exposing your back or sides. i've found baby usually covers up your front pretty well.
• nursing bras are nice if you're a quick snap, but it's almost easier to wear a regular demi-cup bra so you can just tug on down to free the girls and tug on up when finished.
• nursing covers are super rad if you're positive you're going to accidentally flash the whole world, but in my experience they're like wearing a flashing sign that says "I'M NURSING! I'M NURSING!" i say as soon as you can ditch it, ditch it. and anyway, a burp rag or baby blanket (or even a napkin!) will do the job just as well in a pinch. (huck always hated his nursing cover, so it never stayed in place long anyway.)
• sometimes i'd sway a little from side to side while nursing. it calms me down if i'm anxious, soothes the baby if he's fussy, and adds to the illusion that, "what this? oh no, we're just snuggling."
• get everything ready before letting on to your baby what you're up to. for us, as soon as huck knows there's a boob in his future he is inconsolable until the second he's got it. so reach up under your shirt, adjust everything how you need it, position the baby, and then and only then lift up your shirt and secure your latch. (i've found you can cover your nipple with your free hand up until the second his mouth is in position to minimize any nip flashings.) similarly, the minute the latch is broken, free a hand to put everything in its proper place immediately. nursing in public is like being on an airplane in extreme turbulence: you put on your own oxygen mask on first.
• try to find a quiet corner, if you can. your baby deserves a distraction-free meal, and it's respectful to the other patrons and yourself. sometimes you just gotta do it right then and there, and when that happens, go with your instincts. and always put yourself and your baby first, and don't ever apologize.

i have strong feelings about a woman's right to feed her baby how she decides is best. bottle or boob, it shouldn't matter, so long as we aren't shamed into or out of our decisions. i don't like the idea that whether we nurse and for how long and where and when is a topic up for discussion. that time magazine cover made me so mad. it irritates me that women's breasts are over sexualized. i don't consider nursing to be an issue of sex or morality or modesty one bit. it's just basic human function and shouldn't be sensationalized. i fully respect women who draw the line at nursing in public and want to keep things private, i do. i don't discredit their feelings or beliefs at all. but for me, well, this is my stand. men go around playing shirts vs. skins at the basketball court on the corner in full sight of the world, and they don't worry about their nipples accidentally being seen for a flash of a second here or there. and theirs are purely decorative! ours are at least doing something pretty important. so i say rock it, sister. rock it! you've got my full support. as well as the support of the legislative branch of the new york state government.

go team!