I didn't breastfeed any of my children.
I've got used to the occasional GASP, the subtle headshaking and muted tut-tuttings over the years and I make no apologies for it. The thought of it actually made me feel quite queasy and want to lock 'the girls' up and throw away the key!
I have a friend, on the other hand, who utterly loved every single moment of it and was distraught when she finally decided to stop (and I'm talking years here not months!).
She's one of these women who are very strong and confident in their own skin so wasn't remotely phased about breastfeeding in public and couldn't care less if someone too offence; she wasn't over the top and didn't 'put on a big show' but she didn't curl up in the corner and try to hide either.
It's a thorny issue! Denise Van Outen admitted to giving up breastfeeding early for fear of being papped whilst doing so and the resulting pictures being published in the papers.
Okay so lesser-famous mothers don't have that to contend with but they DO have to face the rest of it - the stares from some, the surreptitious sideways glances from others, the barbed comments not said to you but uttered loudly enough for you to hear - you get the picture.
So what are you to do?
Don't go out until your child can sit at the table and eat a chocolate chip muffin along with the rest of the Starbucks patrons - that's one option. Don't breastfeed at all - that's another, but what if you WANT to!?
I came across this 'breastfeeding apron' this morning and I when I saw the title I had to investigate further - it's not, thankgoodness, a multi-tasking cooking pinny that allows you to cook and breastfeed at the same time!
It's like a bib that you attach round your neck, it hangs down covering your front and baby and boobs are squirrelled away underneath. I think I'd prefer to call it a backless smock though, it sounds more glam' and less like you can't drink a skinny latte without dribbling it down your front!
But what I want to know is this: is this money for old rope?
You can achieve the same results with a light muslin square, right? Or, if you're handy with a sewing machine, make something similar of your own for a fraction of the cost (I know this one is priced in US dollars, but there must be an equivalent to buy with our Great British pounds!), or is this sort of item pure genius and only going to make the lives of breastfeeding mums easier and less stressful?
Regardless of the answer, there is still the bigger question to answer: why, in the modern times we live in, breastfeeding aprons/bibs/backless smocks/tents even! are necessary? WHY is breastfeeding in public still such a taboo?!
Answers and opinions on virtual postcards please - enquiring minds (mine!) want to know.
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