Do You Really Support Breastfeeding?

It’s a hot topic right now. Since I’m on the front lines of breastfeeding, I hear a lot about it. I remember when I was pregnant. A lot of my friends were pregnant too. We would sit around talking about our plans to breastfeed. I remember a friend said that she didn’t like the push to breastfeed uncovered in public. She thought it was flashy and drew attention to a woman’s body. I agreed with her. Then, my son was born and I started my breastfeeding journey. I took covers everywhere! I was always trying to remember if I had one clean and did I put it in my diaper bag…

When my son was about 4 months old he started grabbing at the cover. It became impossible to keep his hands off of that thing. I tried everything. In desperation I ordered a beautiful nursing necklace. I had been assured by many moms that they helped. It was a lovely wooden ring with his name burned into the side next to a tiny heart. I wore it at all times. For a few weeks, it worked. I was elated!

The nursing necklace/cover combination was fabulous while it worked! Then it didn’t work anymore. Once, after a nursing session at the park, I finally let go of the cover I had desperately been trying to hold over his head. His whole face was red. He wasn’t latching well. He had been pulling off and screaming as he tried to uncover himself. His little curls were soaked. It was 97 degrees outside that day. My poor baby was roasting under that blanket cover and could hardly eat because I was worried about what people would think. On top of that, everyone was staring at this screaming, sweaty, red faced child in my lap. 

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