Pun not intended.
I am totally comfortable breastfeeding in public. Do I relish it? For the most part, no. Oh sure, I have many pleasant memories of nursing my son in various parks and beaches. My favorite memories of public nursing are in San Francisco and Boston, for sure. However, nursing a newborn while keeping an eye on a 21 month toddler is vexing, to say the least. While Anjali is latched on for dear life, Arun is running around like a mad man. It becomes a very tenuous game of keeping him near me and keeping her latched on. It's not too bad for situations and places where I am familiar with the surroundings and can have a game plan. A particular childen's discovery center we go to, Wonderscope, has a toddler area that is contained. Arun can run free, but can't actually escape too far. I just plan to breastfeed while we are in that area. The malls are a bit trickier. We have one mall that has a nice nursing area in the Nordstrom's store. The problem is this - while I don't mind, I know gals who are not comfortable going into fancy-schmancy department stores and therefore, may be intimidated by using the Nordstrom's mother's room. The other mall nearby has a play area in the food court that is somewhat contained. However, it is crowded, noisy and often full of obnoxious kids not being supervised by their parents. Every single time I am there, I have to jump up at least a few times to save Arun from getting pummeled. And I do NOT feel comfortable nursing in my car in most places - even my local Target. I feel like a sitting duck for purse snatchers and carjackers. It doesn't help that 2 years ago, a guy died in our Target parking lot because a purse snatcher ran him over with a car.
Today was stressful - we went to the Children's Museum of Kansas City. Not only was there NO contained place to nurse Anjali, the museum is located in a mall as well. I was able to keep Arun contained in the stroller by chucking chunks of Larabar at him, but it was stressful once the Larabar was finished since I had forgotten to throw some Hot Wheels into the daypack.
Still, breastfeeding overall is easier to do while on the go. I can't imagine having to pack formula, bottles, etc. When we head out the door, I just pack water and a few Larabars in the daypack - then, we shoot out the door.
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2 comments:
I had no clue that you were doing another booblog... :-)
Glad to hear that bf in public is good except for keeping Arun entertained.
another thing to have to over come. Glad to have this to read so that I know what I will potentially be up against.
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