Happy Earth Day to all the crunchy folks out there!In celebration of the planet, the creators of Bebe Au Lait nursing covers have launched the new "Simple" line of fantastic Hooter Hider covers made from Organic Cotton. Savvy mamas now have the option of "going green" with the new cover, featured in a variety of colors--raspberry, peacock, buttercup, steel, and willow.
I can't wait to pick up one of these before our next bambino! Enjoy!
14 comments:
What an innovative product. Here's my question for you breastfeeding moms out there. When I was nursing my baby, I never used a covering when I was only with other women, esp young moms who also breastfed. I wore Glamourmom nursing camis that were pretty discreet and kept my tummy covered while my shirt covered the rest, at least I think they did. Then I started to notice other moms covering up with these "aprons"(even with only other moms), and started wondering if I was being too "immodest". Basically, how much covering up is enough? Breastfeeding is such a natural process, I find it frustrating that I feel like I have to hide in a bathroom or buy a product like this for public breastfeeding, much less for nursing with other moms.
Hmmm, I was just going to say the same thing. I think that if there are moms out there who are really uncomfortable with public nursing...well I'd much rather they use a product like this then not nurse obviously! I also think if you have a baby who is easily distracted then this could be great (although my guy would always bat away any attempt to put any cover over his head).
I also think, and this may be too rah rah la leche (which I tend not to be but...), that since I am comfortable nursing, I don't mind if other people noticed. Maybe if more folks noticed it wouldn't still be such a stigma in certain locales, and groups. Just a thought.
I love this thing!! I have used it a lot with my second...so easy to nurse and not have to leave the room at parties or with family gatherings etc. Sometimes it makes my baby not as distracted and helps put her to sleep too....this might be a good excuse to get another one!!
I usually use my Bebe au Lait when I'm in the company of men or in a public place, like a playground or restaurant. If I'm just in someone's home and it's only other moms, then I don't bother with it since Maria does get really annoyed with being covered up sometimes! I do feel much more modest when I use this cover, and wish that I had had it with my first!
I don't nurse while in the pews at church - I usually go to a room in the back that is very private - mostly because I don't want to be a distraction or to embarrass others. But perhaps it's more of a distraction for me to walk up and down the aisle to get to the back of the church to feed my baby, and I should just stay in the pew and use my cover. Any thoughts??
Anonymous, I think you're right on with your thoughts on nursing in the presence of other women. I remember nursing our oldest on a plane while thanking the good Lord that I had two grandmotherly women sitting on either side--as I struggled to be modest, one said, "Oh honey, don't worry, just go ahead and feed your baby." Relief! Breastfeeding is a beautiful, natural thing that I totally embrace in its elemental form. Maybe I'm less modest than I could be, but I think you're totally in line nursing around other women.
I think the covers are great for addressing OTHERS' insecurities. I nursed once at a restaurant table and made one of the guys there with us totally uncomfortable bc his wife was extremely private and had never nursed in public. A Bebe Au Lait cover would probably have eased all of his (and my) subsequent nerves!
On the subject of nursing in church, I'm always one for doing what's best for the mother/baby team. If I had my choice, I would use a cover in my pew--still being modest, but doing so in a Church that supports life!
Thanks for your comments. Kat, my priest always says that you can't be open to life and yet get irritated with kids at church! I think that goes for breastfeeding too, and done discreetly, is sometimes the best way to keep baby quiet and not miss most of mass!
Just to be persistent, I think it's so unfair that bottlefeeding moms can feed their babies anywhere without worrying about modestly, while I'm missing conversations, meals, etc because I have to worry about it. I know it is uncomfortable for lots of men, so I just wish breastfeeding were more the norm so that they would be used to it, I guess! I must be living in the wrong culture :-) In the meantime, I might just give in and buy myself a hooter hider for my second baby.
I tend toward over-modesty, but nursing is the one exception. I find it frustrating that men and women will gaze at a sitcom or advertisement billboard outright showing 2/3 of a woman's exposed breast and think she looks beautiful or hot, but it seems that the same people won't even make eye contact with me while I nurse (covered) in the corner of a public room because they think I'm doing something gross under the blanket. I think this is, among other things, a product of our contraceptive culture: women's bodies aren't for babies, they're sterile objects of adult pleasure. I think it's good for our culture for moms who are comfortable nursing in public NOT to go to great lengths to hide themselves, but to be confident, natural and modest. And if some curious but scandalized guy happens to see a half-inch of skin when my baby tugs at the blanket, well, I figure it's probably the most rightly-ordered half-inch view of breast he'll ever see.
Just some input from a non-mother: I believe breastfeeding is important for mother and baby and is not something gross or embarassing. At the same time, I feel uncomfortable when people that wouldn't normally undress in front of me breastfeed in front of me -- even when only other women are around.
At a bridal shower at my home last fall, a guest that I had never met before spent most of the gift opening time with her shirt hiked around her shoulders breastfeeding. The feeding itself would not have offended me at all if she had made any effort to cover herself. It was clear that even the other breastfeeding mothers in the room were uncomfortable. I even felt more comfortable when a friend of 20 years covered herself with a blanket while feeding her son than I would have if he were uncovered.
I just think if you are with people around whom you would typically not go topless, a cover for modesty is courteous. Don't assume that someone who is awkward around bare breasts is simply opposed to nursing or anti-child. Maybe they would just appreciate a little modesty. Just my two cents. :)
I recently heard a story about Padre Pio--and I don't know if it's apocryphal--but it's worth repeating because I think it captures the tension between wanting to be modest and wanting to feed our babies naturally--according to God's design, which exposes to some degree our breasts. Anyway, Padre Pio was famous for admonishing women for immodest clothing and behavior, especially in church. One day, as he left the confessional, he saw a woman breastfeeding her child in church. Others were there as well and waiting to hear him admonish this woman for what they saw as clearly immodest exposure. He walked over to the woman, touched the baby on the head, and said, "Buon appetito!" How could you resist?!!
I LOVE the Bebe Au Lait cover! Thanks for bringing the new "simple" line to my attention!
As far as the modesty issue goes -- I can say without a doubt that I am VERY immodest. Probably a result of growing up with three sisters and being an athlete all of my life -- changing and showering in locker rooms in front of other women. Dispite all of this, when it came to nursing, I wanted to make myself and others around me as comfortable as possible -- especially in the beginning, when breastfeeding was somewhat awkward. It's one thing to breastfeed your 6-month old in public -- who can find your breast and latch on like a pro. But a 6-week old is a little different and nursing your tiny one can involve a lot more work! This sounds ridiculous, but the Bebe Au Lait cover totally changed my life! I felt comfortable nursing in front of my father-in-law and brothers-in-law, at church or in a restaurant, whatever! I would recommend this cover to anyone who nurses or plans to nurse their baby!
Thanks, B-Mama!
I sympathize with the reasons a mother might use this, but am I correct that mothers would use this only very infrequently? I wonder because it is so important to a child's development to be able to look at the mother while nursing and touch her face. I always try to cover my breast while nursing in public and have never had complaints, but I have never covered my child's face. It would seem a little rude to the child, no?! And if done often might discourage the mother-child "conversation" that goes on verbally and through eye contact. Just wondering.
With my fifth, I have come to really enjoy the opportunity to "leave the party" to be alone with my baby to nurse -- even at his baptism last week, surrounded by close friends and family, it was nice to take a few moments to feed him upstairs alone in my room. This is some of the only alone time I get with my baby, and it is also a nice chance for me to rest.
That said, at a lunch recently, my friend used this and was able to modestly nurse while I had to leave the restaurant, right now my baby won't nurse covered up, but I have heard it is much easier with these sorts of covers.
I am not (yet) a mother, but feel nursing is beautiful and natural and generally awesome. I did want to mention that as a woman I feel uncomfortable being in mixed company when a women present is nursing and isn't covered up with a blanket or something. I surely don't think it's a matter of shame! But that in a room with mixed company (especially when peole are of who knows what kind of formation or spiritual health) it bothers me to be present when a woman's chest is exposed. Long ago, I used to date a man who struggled with pornography, and situations like I just described were agony for me.
I agree that it IS the most "rightly-ordered" glimpse of a breast a man could have, but I did just want to share my perspective. I think these nursing covers would really alleviate those concerns.
I may be ignorant, but is a nursing woman with a little skin showing (I'm not talking about full breast exposure but just a little by the babe's mouth, for instance) an opportunity for a man to fall into sin? If so, I'm sure playboy would have caught on to that somehow... Seriously, are there any men out there who can comment on that in case I need to make wiser choices in my breastfeeding gear in the future? I generally have thought a breastfeeding woman and baby could cause a man to be uncomfortable, but I never thought they could cause a man to fall into sexual sin. Comments?
Post a Comment