Old School/New School Mom: Busted Nursing At The Grocery Store

Friday, February 18, 2011

Busted Nursing At The Grocery Store

I was on my way home from the playground with the two kids today, and stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things. The minute I entered the store, Samara started crying and I knew she wanted to nurse.

A cashier kindly helped me push the stroller (where Ari was happily sitting) over to a bench where she said I could feed my baby. I took Samara out of the Moby Wrap she was in and plopped her on my left boob, her favorite of the pair. I didn't bother to cover myself, because Samara was blocking the majority of my boob with her head.

The cashier took the Moby Wrap, placed it over my boob and Samara's head. Then she said
"People really don't want to see that. It's better this way."
I looked at her for a split second and said:
"Oh, I really don't care." I meant I didn't care about part of my breast being exposed while nursing. It's highly likely that I'll never see these people in the grocery store again, and I really don't care what they think about me.

But she was insistent that I cover myself up. Personally, I find being covered up while nursing

Uncomfortable, because I can't maneuver properly.
Unpleasant, because I can't look at my baby while feeding her
Unnecessary, because I'm not doing anything wrong, and if you're offended by me nursing my kid, perhaps you should look the other way.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the ovaries to confront this woman so I just smiled, nodded and nursed uncomfortably.

My mom once told me that she was yelled at for nursing baby me in the middle of Macy's Herald Square.

Have you ever been shamed while nursing in public?

6 Thoughts:

AmandaFeb 18, 2011 04:31 PM
I never nursed in public uncovered but STILL people would give me dirty looks, like "I know what's going on under there and it grosses me out." Seriously, this country sexualizes breasts WAY too much.
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mominsanityFeb 18, 2011 05:57 PM
I haven't because, unfortuantely, I have huge issues getting my babies to latch on. I have pumped exclusively with both of my babies. But last summer, a woman was breastfeeding her baby at the local ice cream parlor and was kicked out because of it. Needless to say people boycotted!

If boobies weren't as sexualized as they are, it wouldn't be a huge problem. Time to tame down GQ and the like eh?! ;-)
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tina.ariFeb 18, 2011 08:26 PM
Yep, I was at the mall when my son was still nursing...I forget what department store we were in, but I couldn't find anywhere to sit down, so I asked if I could use the dressing room...the attendant told me I could use the restroom because they were busy and didn't want me to take up a dressing room if I wasn't going to try on clothes!!! I gave her such a dirty look; I was so mad that I couldn't even say anything. NO way was I going to a restroom that I didn't even want to use for it's intended purpose to feed my child! I can't even remember exactly what happened, but I did end up in the dressing room; I still wasn't adept enough to get him situated without some major maneuvering at that point. I finally got the hang of it and could pop him on and off like a pro...got a interesting look from the UPS man one day, LOL!!

What I don't get is the fact that we can flash our breasts in some super low cut or teensy shirts or have our a$$es hanging out of some booty shorts, but people have a problem when a mother breast feeds? I just don't get it.
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AmandaFeb 18, 2011 09:13 PM
I have never had anyone give me a hard time about nursing in public - perhaps another perk of living in Vancouver? I'd probably have the exact same reaction as you, though, polite on the outside while fuming on the inside and wishing I could come up with a perfect, scathing remark that would put the ignorant commenter in their place!
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AmandaFeb 18, 2011 10:06 PM
Portland, where I live, supposedly has more breastfeeding mothers than any other state - and still people here can be douches. Even though everyone here is supposed to be into all "natural" stuff, people have a problem with it. There was a big "nurse-in" at a restaurant here, and like 30 moms all went in and breastfed at once to piss them off. This restaurant was known for kicking women out for nursing.

I definitely nursed in fitting rooms. I was once in a JCP fitting room for an hour (because yeah, that's how long my kid took to eat, JOY!)
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saraFeb 19, 2011 10:45 AM
i have actually never had a prob with my 2 years of nursing. Ottawa is pretty nursing friendly. whenever there is a anti-nursing comment or someone asked to leave a resto, it usually makes the front page of the paper. it is a pretty big deal. i even nursed on a beach in a bathing suit once....
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