On the Front Page
Kathy Rausch
Greenland
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 20 No. 4, July-August 2003, p. 135
My first public
breastfeeding success happened on Independence Day, when Samuel was
just one month old. We drove to a fireworks display with acquaintances
who did not have children of their own. I sat and nursed through the
whole display using the blanket-for-cover technique. The fireworks display
ended before Samuel finished nursing and he stayed latched on as we
walked to the car. Neither the couple we were with nor my husband realized
I had nursed Samuel throughout the fireworks display.
I felt like
a breastfeeding pro for the first time on a subsequent day when I was
babysitting for two 10-year-old boys. We had just been on a walk and
were flying kites in a big park near our house when Samuel needed to
nurse, and I didn't have anything with me to use for cover. But I had
heard of a way to breastfeed discreetly without the blanket. I had read
that it is more discreet to nurse by lifting up one's shirt from the
bottom, rather than unbuttoning from the top down. It seems funny now
that I didn't think of that myself, but it was an "Aha!" for
me back then. This has become my primary nursing "cover-up"
technique, so I now choose clothes accordingly when I shop.
Somewhere along the way, probably when Samuel was about six months old
and didn't want to be hidden under a blanket, I stopped using the blanket
completely. Instead, I learned to keep my spare hand up close to his
face when I breastfed him in public so I could quickly cover my breast
with my hand or pull my shirt down if he popped off for a view of the
surroundings. By this time I was comfortable breastfeeding wherever
we went, and did not look forward to the day I would have to pack "real"
food for snacks, since I loved being able to grab the diaper bag and
go.
When Samuel
was around 14 months old, I started to feel uneasy about continuing
to nurse him. I had always planned to nurse for at least a year, but
now he was older than that. He showed no signs of slowing down, as my
neighbors' children had done before this age. We still both enjoyed
our nursing relationship, and I had no idea of how to get him to sleep
without nursing, so I wasn't ready to initiate weaning myself. Fortunately,
I had formed a playgroup with two other mothers from LLL whose babies
were born the same week Samuel was born, and both of their girls continued
to nurse too, so I knew we weren't the only ones.
A "nursing
in public" event I never anticipated was a turning point for us.
One morning when Samuel was 17 months old, I went on a guided nature
tour with another friend and his eight-month-old son. The walk was about
four miles long, and when we were about a mile from the end, Samuel
decided that he was not about to stay in the stroller (buggy). Since
he could walk, and the group pace was slow, I decided to let him out
to run next to us, but that didn't work either. He was ready to nurse
right then, and I could stall no longer.
My friend, Ed, began pushing the empty stroller since his own son was
in a baby backpack, and I just knelt down and latched Samuel on, then
stood up and continued walking and talking with him in my arms. My sweatshirt
kept us discreet. The naturalist who was leading the walk was about
six months pregnant, and I had to smile when the conversation turned
to the benefits of breastfeeding, since we had just possibly avoided
a tantrum thanks to breastfeeding.
Just as we neared
our destination, I looked ahead and saw a photojournalist snapping pictures
of us as we approached him, and my first thought was, "What do
you think you're doing! I'm already nursing a toddler in public, I don't
need to explain myself to a reporter, too!" Samuel was mostly asleep,
but wouldn't let go, so I just resigned myself and walked on. The photographer
came up to us saying, "Your little guy sleeping makes a great shot!
Watch for your picture in the South County Journal tomorrow," and
he took our names. I'm not sure he would have said that had he realized
that "my little guy" was nursing!
Our picture
made the front page of the paper the next day, and the only people who
noticed that Samuel might be breastfeeding were friends who also nursed
their babies. I did tell my friends and family the rest of the story
when we forwarded the picture to them, though. Somehow since that point,
I just haven't worried much about nursing in public!
If someone had
told me years ago that I'd have breastfed children in church, in restaurants,
during a job interview, as I taught music classes, and presented at
professional workshops, and everywhere in between, I would not have
believed it. Mothering is definitely a process that changes us as our
little ones grow, and I think that breastfeeding is the best teacher
of mothering skills. I'm so glad that I've had the support of Leaders
and other mothers in LLL to encourage me on my mothering journey.
Last updated Tuesday, August 29, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:54 UTC 2007.
