Nursing in Public {#BFBlogHop}

After Charis was born, it took a good six weeks before I was comfortable nursing in public.  My first time nursing her in public occurred August 29, 2010-at church.  Since I was no where near comfortable with breastfeeding, I excused myself and went into the entry way, where I could still hear the sermon.  If I had to nurse Charis during Sabbath school, I would take her into the 2 & 3 year old class and nurse her there.  I felt comfortable with the 2 & 3 year olds because some of them had seen their mothers breastfeed a sibling, and they had been breastfed themselves, plus the teacher was a girl who was just going into college.  So, thank you Emily for letting me barge in.

After a few months, I began feeling much more comfortable nursing Charis in public. At first, I still nursed her with a cover, but then I felt more comfortable {and less noticeable} nursing her without a cover.  Most assumed I was just holding a baby, instead of feeding a baby.

A few things you might want to consider leaving in the baby bag for those times you are out of the house and need to nurse your baby:

• Nursing cover: in my opinion this is not necessary, but many women are more comfortable using it while breastfeeding a baby.  My rule is: Do what you are most comfortable nursing your baby.  If that means, you want a cover, then check out the Planet Wise prints from Diaper Junction; they're so cute.
• LilyPadz: These are AMAZING.  I suffered from embarrassing leaks the whole time while Charis was breastfed.  I had a pair of these.  They use pressure to help control breast milk leakage.  When I remembered to wear them, I did not have any visible leaks.
• Nipple cream, such as Earth Mama Angel Baby's Natural Nipple Butter:  This helped tremendously when Charis was first born, but even as her teeth came in, I occasionally had to apply some nipple ointment.
• Water: To stay hydrated.  

Do you remember the first time you nursed your baby in public?

Are there any other products you would recommend? 

This post contains some affiliate links.

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