Post
by knitster » Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:53 pm
While I think that breastfeeding in the middle of a loading area is bizarre and unnecessary, and I think that women who whip all their business out without any regard for those around them are crude and looking for a fight - I will say that I breastfed my baby everywhere *but* the baby care centers when we were at WDW a few weeks ago. With 3 kids (ages 9, 5, and 10 months) and 2 parents, it was absolutely ridiculous to think that I could hike my way over to a baby care center every time I needed to feed the baby.
However, I am very, very discreet when I nurse. I have absolutely no desire to flash any passersby. I can't tell you how many ride exits I sat and nursed while my husband took the older two on the ride. Mission:Space, Dinosaur and Expedition Everest come to mind. Though at Dinosaur and Everest, I was just sitting outside, not *at* the ride exit.
I think it's really easy for people to have the "just go to the baby care center" attitude when they don't actually have kids and have never been faced with the decision to either A: nurse where you are or B: haul a screaming, hungry baby all the way across the park just so that you don't offend anyone by feeding them in public. I mean, at Mission:Space, for instance, my son had woken up just as I entered the exit area and he was screaming bloody murder because he was exhausted. So my choices were to nurse him there or hike over to the baby care center while he screamed his little heart out. Not only would that have been impractical for the obvious reasons, but it also would've caused all sorts of problems once the rest of my family got off the ride as my cell phone had died so my husband would've had no way of finding me. So, I sat on the bench right outside the exit, positioned the stroller in front of me and fed the baby.
I am definitely not one of those women who goes to "nurse ins" and insists on putting breastfeeding pictures on the internet. I much prefer to breastfeed in the comfort of my own home. Unfortunately, life - especially life with 3 kids - doesn't always allow for that, so I do my best to feed the baby wherever I am without making anyone around me uncomfortable.
All that to say - I think women who are discreetly breastfeeding (in a sensible place, not in a loading area :eek :) should be left alone and those crazy "whip it out for the world to see!" women should be ushered off to a baby care center. I just hate that all breastfeeders are lumped together into exhibitionist category. Some of us just want to feed our babies whenever and wherever they're hungry and not be noticed.
