Quote From: comeagain1I have to relate a story.
When my eldest graduated from University, we had all gathered for a formal dinner to honor her. My ex husband was there with both his current girlfirend and the shackup he created a child with. As we sat in this very nice place with family (translate that as older members raised in a more polite society) the shack up, holding her child lifted her shirt and whipped it out.
For those of us raised in a more gentle way this was not only offensive but horrible. My mother ( in her late 60's) and my grand mother (in her mid 90's) were terribly emabrrased. Not only for themselves, but for the woman with the baby. I could see by the look on their faces they knew that this woman had not been raised in a home where discrestion is appreciated and expected. As the baby fed, the smaking sounds permiated the table. There was no attempt to cover up.
My daughter, trying to be gracious, attempted to direct attention away from this woman, but she too was embarrased by this woman's lack of respect for others at the table. Whether you agree or not, for us, this display turned a wonderful celbration of my daughter graduation into a moment that was uncomfortable and not remembered fondly.
As you would ask us to be respectful of your "right" to feed your child when ever and where ever you want, I would ask that you might be respectful of people that have a different value system from the one you were raised with.
Ps. Yes, I was providing her with the food...... the whole meal was at my expense as it was a graduation dinner.
I fully support breastfeeding in public, but what you describe is a little different scenario. If I'm at somebody's home, I don't nurse at the dinner table. I'll excuse myself and go to another room, the living room, for example. I learned early on that if I didn't get over my fear of nursing in public, I'd have a very lonely life the whole time I'm nursing. When my daughter was 2 weeks old my mom invited the extended family to her house for dessert to meet the baby. She started to get fussy and I went to one of the bedrooms to feed her. When I finished, everyone was gone. I felt so isolated.
Now that I've gotten over my discomfort, I don't have a problem feeding her in public. If I'm in a restaurant with my husband I'll feed her. I don't put a blanket over her head, but I make sure that I'm covered. I don't see why anyone has a problem with that kind of situation. We're not talking about "Girls Gone Wild". This is nothing more than a baby needing to eat.
