NHS breastfeeding DVD freaked me out!

LOL. Hooter Hiders. That is a terrible name!

They look useful although it kind of looks like a shower curtain around your chest. Hee hee.

I think they look a little too tent-like for me.  I'm probably going to try to make do with a blanket. 

We were at a party over the weekend and one woman was breast-feeding her baby while in conversation in the living room.  I was pleased to see it but DH was a bit freaked out...not in a 'horrified' way, but more in a 'whoa' sort of way.  She did cover up at one point but you couldn't see anything even when she wasn't covered. 

If you follow the links on the page they have a more subtle hooter hider that isn't quite as shower curtainesque... the thing that appeals to me is that it would hold the blanket away so you could make eye contact with baby and not worry about breathing. 

We were at a party over the weekend and one woman was breast-feeding her baby while in conversation in the living room.  I was pleased to see it but DH was a bit freaked out...not in a 'horrified' way, but more in a 'whoa' sort of way.  She did cover up at one point but you couldn't see anything even when she wasn't covered. 

All my mates publically breast fed, so I know that if I was do it at a party, no one would bat an eye but I'd have to cover up simply for my own unease at exposing myself. I've seen all my friends breasts but I'm not really up for returning the favour.  Don't get me wrong, I don't see anything wrong whatsoever with breast feeding in public and support it 100%, I'm just not comfortable with doing it myself. I'm boob shy.

I know I'm going to be the odd one out here but...

I did the BF thing for about 7 weeks, but due to problems with DD not gaining weight and was actually losing weight, trying everything, being told that she was latching beautifully and to just keep going, feeding her every 45 minutes for up to 2 hours at a time...the last straw was when she developed oral thrush that our Health Visitor diagnosed as 'milkspots' and then passed it to me which made feeding her excruciating for both of us...

We (my husband and I) discussed it at length and decided that formula was going to be a better way to go for us...a week later she had gained 1 lb (from a birth weight of 5lbs 15oz, she dropped to 5lbs and stayed there until we switched her from BF to FF) and was no longer in danger of being classified as FTT.

Although BF was in our plan in the beginning, DH and I regret putting DD through it for as long as we did since, to our knowledge, it did nothing to help her and was only painful and too stressful for me. I contribute this as a factor in my PND...and I feel that it was the HV's that kept telling us that it was 'the best thing' and to just keep going no matter what...it was not what was best for us.

So don't think that you've failed or that you're not a good mom if for you it just doesn't work out. Which is what I was told by other mom's in my baby group and my HV. I was actually told by another mom that I was a complete failure because my daughter was born by C-Section (breech baby) and I had quit BF...

All my mates publically breast fed, so I know that if I was do it at a party, no one would bat an eye but I'd have to cover up simply for my own unease at exposing myself. I've seen all my friends breasts but I'm not really up for returning the favour.  Don't get me wrong, I don't see anything wrong whatsoever with breast feeding in public and support it 100%, I'm just not comfortable with doing it myself. I'm boob shy.

Yeah, I was mostly impressed by this woman's confidence.  I think I'm going to be pretty shy, too. 

WebyJ, I don't think you're necessarily the odd one out.  Lots of women aren't able to breastfeed. 

I bought an Udder Cover (another horrible name) and Oliver absolutely hated it. He never liked being under the cover, or the blanket. Sometimes I'd use a blanket and just put it next to his face and kind of lift it a bit so anyone sitting in front of me wouldn't be able to see anything, but as he got older, he didn't want the blanket anywhere near his face. He also went through a phase where he'd pull away from the breast after every few seconds too look around, then continue nursing. Thankfully, that didn't last very long.

Also, using blankets and covers actually DO call for attention. Whenever I'd start to pull the cover over my head, or the blanket over my shoulder, it'd make people look to see what I was doing. But, if I just pull the baby close to me, lift my shirt a little while the baby's face is pressed against my breast, nothing would show and it just looked like he's sleeping against me. People can't even tell I'm actually nursing.

And oh yeah, hiding belly rolls is a must, so I bought a couple of nursing tanks, in different colors, and wear them under my tops.

Once you get used to it, it becomes natural and effortless. Oliver & I are both pros, now 

I know I'm going to be the odd one out here but...

I did the BF thing for about 7 weeks, but due to problems with DD not gaining weight and was actually losing weight, trying everything, being told that she was latching beautifully and to just keep going, feeding her every 45 minutes for up to 2 hours at a time...

I had to take the little one off the breast pretty early on for this exact reason.  She kept losing weight, and they were threatening us with incarceration in the Germhaus (as I call the hospital).  We were in an out of the hospital every other day as inpatient for this reason for the first two or three weeks, and it was maddening.

So now I express off and supplement with formula, and her weight gain is pretty much back on track now.  She's still a slender and tiny thing, but now the NHS isn't worried that she's gonna keel over on us any moment now.  I'm hoping to try again with the breast on the next one, but that'll depend on if we have this sort of dramafest again. -__-

The question of mixing breastfeeding and formula is such a good one.  With my first baby, I didn't have enought milk and baby wasn't gaining weight.  However, I had been scared by the advice that once the baby got used to the bottle, she wouldn't want the breast anymore.  Actually, I supplemented with one or two bottles a day and continued to breastfeed until about 1 year- it worked beautifully.

Yes, I don't know why mixing is so rarely considered.  With my first baby I combined breastfeeding with bottle feeding.  I went back to work when my son was six weeks old and I found expressing milk more difficult to fit into my (kindergarten teacher) schedule than I'd anticipated.  My son had formula feedings while I was at school and he breastfed the rest of the time.  Everybody told me it had to be all or nothing with breastfeeding but the combination worked fine for us.

When the school year ended six weeks later I decided to try to resume fulltime breastfeeding although I was told I would never be able to produce enough milk since I hadn't been expressing.  But after a few days (maybe a week?) of having to supplement, we were back to only breastfeeding.

It might not work that way for many mothers and babies, but it's an option to consider.

OH - I just remembered another great breastfeeding accessory - my sling!  As Marie2Cymru was saying - the blanket does call attention - even if people can't see anything - but a sling actually made it possible to kindof cover and like she said people didn't know I was breastfeeding it just looked like a baby in a sling across my chest

So don't think that you've failed or that you're not a good mom if for you it just doesn't work out. Which is what I was told by other mom's in my baby group and my HV. I was actually told by another mom that I was a complete failure because my daughter was born by C-Section (breech baby) and I had quit BF...

I can't even comprehend how a person could say something like this to you! That's really shocking. I hope you told her off something good 

I can't even comprehend how a person could say something like this to you! That's really shocking. I hope you told her off something good 

I didn't actually, I walked away in tears and never went back. But, it was most likely a factor in my PND, thinking you've failed in your own mind and then having someone say it really made the failure real for me...it's taken a long time to realise that she was so wrong and that I was wrong for thinking it as well.

Which is why it's important to remember that you can plan all you want for your baby & pregnancy, but to know that if things don't go to your plan, that you've not failed...all you can do is what is best for you and your baby.

don't fret about feeding in public. i was nervous the first few times, but, hey, the kid's gotta eat, right?

about 97% of birmingham has seen my tits by now.

Another plus of slings - they're not hard to learn to use and once you get the hang of it you can walk around shopping, lunching, etc and have handsfree nursing where no one can see a thing!

I was actually told by another mom that I was a complete failure because my daughter was born by C-Section (breech baby) and I had quit BF...

Jeezus. What a cowbag.