Breastfeeding in public

Every now and then I come across a story in the news about a woman being asked to leave an establishment or cover up because she's breastfeeding.  These stories make me raging mad!  In Minnesota and most other states, (but, frustratingly, not all) breastfeeding is legal in any public or private location (so, yes, that means restaurants) and breastfeeding is exempt from any public indecency laws.  I don't care whether you think breastfeeding is disgusting or if public breastfeeding is okay in one location, but not another, or if a woman should still cover up "out of respect" no matter what the law says.  Sorry, folks, breastfeeding is protected under law. Period.  So I would hope these women had the courage to tell these busybodies to go mind their own darn business or put a blanket over their own heads if they don't like what they're seeing. 

Regardless whether the law protects the right to breastfeed anywhere, perceived perception by strangers, or even a woman's own friends and family, is intimidating.  I know the stories of bad experiences and my own unease about potentially exposing too much flesh when I was still new to breastfeeding were what made me so anxious about feeding my baby in public.  I was always so afraid of Oliver waking up when I was out and about and wanting to be fed that instant.  I'd meet friends at the mall that first winter as a mother to walk and would make the trek far out of my way to find the lounge of a restroom to feed him even as I passed 100 benches along the way.  And on top of that, I'd pull out my nursing cover even though I found it hot (for me and baby) and cumbersome to use.

Within the span of the year I breastfed Oliver, my comfort with breastfeeding quickly increased until it felt like second-nature.  And I stopped caring what others thought.  The nursing cover that once gave me the much-needed confidence to breastfeed in public went mostly unused.  Now I wonder if the cover had brought more attention to the fact that I was breastfeeding when in reality, without one, few probably even noticed what I was doing.  At least Chris's cousins didn't this past Thanksgiving when they swarmed me to get their first peek of a "sleeping" Soren.  They cooed at him as they leaned down just a couple inches above his face to get a better look (you know, since he was turned towards me with his face pressed against my breast) and a few seconds passed before they realized that he was not only awake, but eating.  Only then did they scurry out of the room.  I had a good laugh about the irony.

I'm glad to say that I haven't had a single bad experience, not even a dirty look, (although I've seen plenty of kids, young and not so young, stare) directed at my public breastfeeding.  This gives me faith that our culture's opinions about breastfeeding are indeed changing.  Or maybe public opinion is simply coming full-circle.  I was sitting on a bench at Target last week feeding Soren (cover-less) when a woman who I guessed was in her late 80s walked past, stopped and asked how old my baby was.  I thought it was unusual for a stranger to make small-talk with me while I was breastfeeding, because most people are too embarrassed to look at me, let alone talk to me, (Chris's cousins case in point) under such a circumstance.  She made remarks about what a precious age and how lucky I was and as she turned to continue on her way, said, "It's so nice to see that."