something happened in vegas – no more nursing cover!

In the lobby of the Bellagio.

I didn’t bring my nursing cover with me to Vegas. I feel like that was the culmination of my journey towards being comfortable nursing in public. When I first had the gnome, I nursed in another room. Then I was able to nurse with a cover. It took me about 6 months to nurse uncovered, even in places where I was completely comfortable. But over the last month, something changed.

I noticed it when I was in Chicago at the beginning of the month, my cover became more of a pain than anything else. I dreaded using it. So, I just stopped using it. And I made a decision to just not take it with us to Vegas. And, I didn’t miss it at all. With the exception of a couple nip slips (one witnessed by my father in law – not as awkward as you might think), everything went really smoothly.

The Gnome’s Dad – “Look! She’s hand expressing milk!”

I know some people are just totally comfortable nursing in public uncovered from the get go. And, more power to them. It took some work for me to get there. But I always wanted to be comfortable with it. There are several reasons why I think that it’s important:

• I want to be able to feed my baby whenever he is hungry, where ever he is hungry. Bottle fed babies have the right to be fed on demand, and breastfed babies have that right as well.
• If I’m not comfortable nursing in public then no one will see me nurse in public. If no one sees me nursing in public then it won’t be viewed as “normal.” Breastfeeding is the normal way to feed your baby and it should be viewed as such.
• I hate that we’re told, “breast is best but only when it’s done in private.” And, we are told that. Not always in words but definitely in actions and in reactions to women nursing in public.

For the record, no one said anything to me and I didn’t get one dirty look. A few people did double takes but I’m pretty sure it was because they couldn’t tell whether or not I was feeding The Gnome. I was! And I did, pretty much everywhere. My 7 month old still eats every 2 – 3 hours and I am so glad that I didn’t have to stop what we were doing to find somewhere private to feed him.

In the Luxor

I’m also glad it only took me 7 months to be comfortable nursing uncovered in public. It takes some people several babies to be comfortable, and some women never are. Hopefully the more I nurse in public, the more normal it becomes so that no one has to feel uncomfortable ever.

How do you feel about nursing in public? Do you do it? Covered or uncovered? If you enjoy reading about The Gnome, like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter! While you’re at it… check out our Networked Blogs box in the right sidebar and consider joining through Google Friend Connect, will ya?