being Ladylike has nothing to do with actual motherhood. Enough with the Madonna comparison. Time to GET REAL about the job. I've been puked on, peed on, pooped on, experienced bouts of explosive vomiting, food dumped all over the place, and that's just with one child. I sympathize with those who have gone through baby & toddlerhood more than once. I have immense respect for those mothers who have more than a single child.
As for nursing in a restroom --- UM -- where does one sit? On the dirty floor????? I haven't been in any rooms of rest with comfy & clean chairs lately. Are there any that exist in the mundane world? "Somewhere you can have privacy" Try that little feat with arms full of hungry child in a public locale such as a mall or elsewhere. It's extremely difficult to do.
My munchkin just turned two and she's a real angel despite her rough health history. She's severely allergic to milk. Because of this, we are still a nursing couple. It has it's ups and downs, but overall, she's healthier, more secure, and better nurished than any other option. She was on a 60-90 minute feeding schedule when she was an infant, so we had to nurse in public.
Once she outgrew her preemiehood at 12 months, we rarely did so. She HATED having her head covered, and very insistent about pushing up my shirt to place her hand on my breast. We just went to the comfy car with the nice a/c. LIfe was much easier that way.
This past week, I was travelling in Paris environs with hubby, tot, & mum-in-law. Well, we nursed in public. VERY PUBLIC. Posh places like the Mars room at Versailles, Notre Dame Cathedral, Musée de Cluny, the RER train, a boat on the Seine river, oh, and my favorite.... Musée d'Orsay where she zonked out and we put her in a soft backpack then carried her through the museum.
Thankfully, everyone we encountered was much less judgemental than some on here. My child was peaceful, calm, and rested in some very stressful places thanks to being able to nurse. I am a large breasted woman and those very nice slitted shirts actually show more and require intense fussing with, than just bringing up the bottom and tucking everything around my child's mouth. Covering her head would have been ridiculous. The only time anything was in danger of 'showing' was when she was attaching herself onto the nipple. But that's what's large hubby's are for -- to block lookyloos who can't control themselves. No skin ever showed -- Can't say that about the Teenyboppers and fat older women going around braless in tank tops.
To answer someone's snide questions about teeth and when to stop... I really don't know what the issue is about teeth. She got hers around 10 months -- 4 at one time. She had gone through the guppy biting phase at 6 months and learned to open her mouth when mommy asked her to. We dealt with it and moved on.
Regarding stopping -- I figure we'll be done by next year at age 3. Hopefully, her milk allergy will have lessened (no it's not lactose intolerance) and she'll be big enough to fill in the nutritional blanks with more food. Since we're not currently travelling with its inherent stresses, it's only 3 times a day anyway. No biggie.
