Thanks, Bath, I didn't think I was being precious that I hadn't been looked after just a LITTLE bit (you know, not to mention that I gave birth to his firstborn son yadiyadiyaddah), and it didn't sound like you were bragging, just verifying that I have been a bit neglected!
Anyway, I was just reading a post on a breastfeeding forum about a breastfeeding image in the US being met with disgust from many people (women - the worst critics!). I can't keep this to myself anymore. I mentioned it to DP but I don't think he picked up on my dismay. This is the thing: I went to my committee meeting for my riding club on Tuesday night, for the first time since having Oscar. We haven't given him EBM from the bottle yet, so I took him with me, but also to introduce him to a committee I've been on for years. Anyway, he was getting cuddles from one of the girls (who loves babies) and he started to get a bit cranky. She said "he's probably getting hungry" and I agreed, to which another member (mother of two) quickly retorted "God, I hope not! You're not flopping it out here...or changing nappies". Now, I think she'd say she was joking if I were to bring it up. I think she was half-joking at best. My response was "I don't care about flopping it out, if he's hungry I'll feed him", but I was sort of drowned out by the varying responses of the others (which while they didn't condemn her words, didn't exactly say "flop it out if you need, we have no problem with it", but they were probably as caught on the spot too). So, I fed him, keeping it as discreet as possible - which I would have done anyway, but her reaction to an event that hadn't taken place at the time kind of made the actual event seem a bit more 'obvious'. My intention was to just feed as if I was blowing my nose - just a function, nothing to see here folks sort of thing - and I feel this would have elicited far less attention. When I eventually did need to change a nappy, said member 'joked' again that she thought she said no nappy changing. Huh?? Right from the start, her reaction was not actually funny - half-joking, fully joking or not, it was not appropriate, in my view, to make breastfeeding a joke the way she might insist she was. If it was a joke it was misguided, at best. If it wasn't then I am so dismayed. I hate that I was made to feel uncomfortable feeding my own brand new child among people I have known for about 5 years. I really HATE how I felt, even though I also felt defiant because of it. I felt defiant, but I also briefly felt like I should be discreet to cause little offence...before catching myself and thinking "offence? That's crazy talk!". ARGH! There I thought that feeding in front of fellow firefighters was going to be my biggest bf'ing challenge, but I met that and it was very liberating that NO-ONE had a problem with it - now I know I can feed at the fire station comfortably. I did NOT think that feeding my boy amongst mainly women (the nature of the horse-riding world at club level) would be the first place I would encounter this sort of thing. I still think that maybe I should broach it, but then I think I should just let it go and do it again unapologetically - bring him to the next meeting and feed if I need to. I mean, he didn't cry the whole meeting, isn't that good enough? He's such an easy baby, why not take him with me where there is no practical reason not to? DP reckons I'd take him with me to certain CFA meetings where I know there are misogynists just to make a point. Well, it wouldn't be JUST to make a point, it would be so that I could feed my child and participate in my firefighting in my own capacity...but making a point is just as good a reason as any!
Sorry to vent about this here, but I just wanted to know firstly if anyone had any ideas on if I should bring it up with the lady involved. Second if anyone who is bf'ing has had any similar attitudes. Our society is so much better with it than other western societies, but it obviously also exists here in Australia. I have used the parents' room at Myer to feed, only cos I know the chairs are comfy and I had to change Oscar at the same time, not to avoid the public. Sometimes I have felt bad directing mothers to the parents' room when I was working because I didn't want them to think that I was sending them out of the public gaze - I was thinking of their comfort and that of the child (dimmer lights etc). I think I will modify how I let mothers know of the parents' room from now on.
Long post, sorry!