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?