Have milk will travel

By Kelly

I'm flying with my two kids from Ohio to Massachusetts this weekend. We'll be in the air during the 15-month-old's most active time of the day. Brilliant plan, that. Several people have asked me if I'm concerned about flying into a major metropolitan area so close to the elections. They want to know if I'm afraid we'll become victims of a terrorist attack.

I'm not. What I'm afraid of is becoming the victims of yet another anti-breastfeeding attack. The one thing that will guarantee to comfort my daughter, hold her still in my seat and keep her relatively calm as we wing our way along the North Coast will be curling her body into mine and nursing with abandon. If only everyone around us could remain calm and comfortable in the face of our public display of lactation.

Unfortunately, the older my girl grows, the more we are met with open disdain when we nurse in public. It's nearly impossible to nurse invisibly the way we could when she was an infant, tucked silently beneath my shirt, cuddled in a soft blanket. Now she's all pudgy hands kneading my flesh like it's pizza dough and her name is Luigi from the Bronx. She hums and sings into my breast, making exaggerated gulping and swallowing sounds, while her feet reach for the top of my head.

Already I can see the nervous glances of the flight crew, and hear the critical voices around me whispering and mumbling about indecent exposure, and too old to be breastfeeding, isn't she? Already I want to jump up and shout at these ghostly strangers: Relax! They're boobs, not bombs! They feed my baby, not fantasies! I know. I'm a touch defensive.

Thank goodness it's only a two and a half hour flight. There's a chance, however remote, that she'll sit easily on my lap and talk to our neighbors across the aisle and in the seats in front of us. Maybe the bag of pretzels and flimsy plastic cup of ice and ginger ale will keep her interest. Maybe with a mini-bottle of Stoli, it'll keep my interest. Ha ha! Just kidding.

If not? Passengers of Flight 216, Akron to Boston, you have your choice: Shrieking She-Ra of the Skies, or the slightly less noisy Lactation Contortionist, a.k.a The Milk Jug Juggler.

Comments

[Kristine]

15 months is really very young, and it seems like people are SLOWLY getting used to older nurslings.

This is the conversation I had with my oldest child that made me realize it was *really* time to wean him:

"Mama, nurse a while?"
"No, sweetie, remember you only nurse at bedtime; nursing is mostly for babies."
"Please, mama, please! (assumes bargaining voice) I'll keep my pants dry all day..."

Eek!

[Mary Ann]

My husband and I give strange looks to moms bottle feeding.

[Michelle]

I was all set to have people look at me and say things while nursing a toddler in public and no one has. Maybe things are turning around a bit. But I agree with everyone else...squirt a little in their direction or say "what are you looking at?"

Nursing on the plane will reduce the ear popping and screaming.

[Anne]

I live outside LA and never had a single bad experience breast-feeding in public. Food courts, outlet malls, airports, beaches, you name it -- half of Southern California saw my boobs. And I nursed until my son was 22 months. Cover-ups didn't work for me, my son wriggled right out of them even as a newborn.

I once did squirt a woman on the plane, poor soul. I apologized profusely and she plastered a frozen smile on her face and was stoic about it.

The dumbest remark I ever heard was a store clerk asking if maybe I wanted to nurse in the restroom. I gave her a quizzical look and asked, "would YOU eat in that bathroom?"

That pretty much settled that.

[Goldberry]

My doctor told me that she recommends breastfeeding until about 2 years old. Personally, since the thought of ME breastfeeding repulsed me, I found that to be WAY too long.

However, I do know many women who LOVE breastfeeding and it benefits mother and child. I think if I saw you sitting on the plane, breastfeeding, it would look natural.

[Susan]

I breastfed my daughter until 18 months and my son until 14 months (he self weaned). I never really got evil looks from strangers but I did get comments from family members. My immediate family was great but the more distant relatives liked to tell me how my daughter was way too old to still be breatsfeeding. I just ignored them - I only had to see them once in a while so it was easy to do.

If anyone says anything to you on the plane, either ignore them or turn around and tell them it's really none of their business. People almost never expect to be told point blank to 'butt out' - they expect you to ignore them or cower to them. If you give them a sufficiently strong response it may keep them from doing it in the future.

Best of luck for an uneventful flight!

[Robin P]

Have a good flight. The foliage is beautiful here!! Wait til you see it.
If anyone gives you a look on the plane, just ask sweetly, "Oh, I'm sorry, did you need a squirt in your coffee?"
Everyone's a critic. Have a great trip.

[laurijon]

We have a right, right, right to breastfeed in public!!!!

Living in NYC breastfeeding in public has never been a problem. In fact, most of the moms in our playgroups started out breastfeeding and we've always felt comfortable doing so in public. I always thought I'd stop breastfeeding at 6 months, but 6 months came and went. Then 7 months, nine months, until finally I decided to continue until she turned one.

My daughter just turned 11 months, but she's big and looks older than her age, and recently I have noticed a few 'looks' while breastfeeding in public. Which, I'll admit, has made me feel a little self-conscious about it. Most of the moms in our playgroups now bottle feed in public even if they're still doing one or two breastfeedings at home.

I've always felt nothing but pride in the fact that I'm breastfeeding. And that by breastfeeding I'm providing my daughter with the best nutritional/intellectual start in life. Part of me is a little sad that it's going to end in another month. Yet another part of me is looking forward to the changes that milk via sippy cup will bring. Each of us must decide for ourselves how long we wish to breastfeed our oun children. And noone should be made to feel self-conscious about it.

P.S. On a recent trip to Los Angeles in July when my daughter was 7 months old, I found it strange that women there seemed self-conscious about breastfeeding even very young infants in public. Most of the women I met used extensive cover-ups, like ponchos, in july, in the heat! And of course, there I was, nursing while wearing a little cami top!