NIP--help, I'm nervous but have to

[peanut4us]

Any of you who read the baby shower post in the bitching post recently knows that I am uncomfortable with nursing in public. I don't know why my brain didn't figure this one out sooner, but duh, we're going on a freaking trip for Thanksgiving. Obviously DD is going to be hungry en route.

So here's my problem. I am really uncomfortable with, but will do it. But Sara is not a discreet eater. She refuses to eat with a blanket anywhere near her head. AND she will NOT eat in a cradle position (which I think is most discreet). We've tried and tried, and she usually just ends up biting me. So she still nurses in cross-cradle, and I've never figured out how to nurse her without needing to support my boob with my hand.

Suggestions?? We fly the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so I have some time to try out new ideas.

[kaismom]

Have you tried a nursing shawl, that snaps around your neck? Stefan is a good nurser but not discreet. When he got bigger it was too hard to try to balance a blanket and position him at the same time. He doesn't mind the shawl though, it has kind of lattice at the top (so you can look down on baby) and is lightweight. Plus you have both hands free.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I still support my boob with one hand too. Unless Logan gets impatient and does it for me, but you can imagine how indiscreet that is. (she uses two hands and pushes my shirt all the way up). If I am holding my boob up, I can hook my shirt under my thumb to hold it down close to her to cover things.

On the plane itself won't be too bad, no one can see into the aisle you are in, so you only have to worry about who is in the row with you. If you ask at check in, they may be able to seat you next to a woman, if you explain that you will be nursing.

In the airport, sometimes they have a nursing room. I know there is one at Roanoke Virginia, and if a small airport like that has one, others may too. If not, there is usually a row of seats behind the check-in stand where nursing mothers tend to congregate.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[suribear]

You could get this:
http://www.priv-a-see.com/
comes in handy when ds is in one of those exposing moods! It leaves some space between your baby and the blanket, so it's good for claustrophobic babies. Plus it's hands free :)

You could also get a nursing shirt if you want to be super discrete, but it's not necessary.

Kris

[kransden]

How long is the flight? You might these ideas: feed her in your car at the airport. Bring along a bottle of expressed milk for the plane. Try to get a bulk head for your seating on the plane. Dh can sit on the outside and sort of block the view. Just make sure you don't get seats by the bathrooms! Honestly, for the most part people won't pay attention to what dd is doing as long as she isn't screaming.


Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[peanut4us]

can you bring ebm? I thought you weren't allowed to bring open liquids?

Good point on the screaming! I guess I would happily flash everyone and they wouldn't mind as long as she isn't screaming!

[Momof3Labs]

Just have the EBM in a bottle, and leave the bottle in the diaper bag. You should be fine. We've toted EBM on planes before with no problem, and I know many others who have, too.

Oh, and I personally wouldn't suggest the bulkhead in your case - you are more visible when you sit in the bulkhead than if you just sit in the middle of the plane somewhere.

[jennifer13]

I have similar issues, both with NIP and that my baby is not very discreet, but just wanted to echo what other posts have said: nursing on an airplane is actually rather private because it seems like no one is paying any attention. And the seat backs are so high that it's pretty hard to see what other people are doing. Especially if you can sit in a window seat with DH in the other seat (a 2 seat row), although I don't know how that will work with cross-cradle. Anyway, just wanted to offer reassurance that nursing on the airplane wasn't so bad. I agree with Lori to avoid the bulkhead and instead just blend in. Good luck!

Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03

[n2ou]

I flew to Germany (talk about a long flight) when my dd was 8 weeks old. My seat was the aisle in the middle section. Next to me sat a large (muscle) military specialist enroute to Irak. His arm was almost in my seat.

I was a little intimidated. I did manage to nurse. Once I got over the initial How-do-I-nurse-with-a-stranger-1-inch-away-from-me-syndrom I was fine.

The good things about airplanes is that the constant noise 'sometimes' helps children sleep. At least mine did.

[mharling]

I flew with ds and nursed him during the flight. I found it easiest to nurse on the side that was closer to the stranger (of course it was a male in both cases). That way my arm cradled ds and also hid me. Hope this makes sense!

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
http://www.shutterfly.com/osnt.jsp?i=67b0de21b356c32425b2 - Halloween Pics!

[bluej]

Yep, me too! And honestly, neither one seemed surprised when I started to nurse. They would have to really crank their head toward you to see anything. I guess that's a benefit of having to sit SO close to one another. The reason I used the side closer to the stranger was so that my long baby wouldn't kick him. That's probably the most difficult part, keeping your baby in your 'area'.

[KGoes]

DD sounds as though she similar nursing preferences to Sara, and I definitely have to hold the breast. Here's what I do to try and be discreet - I wear a loose top, like a sweater or other pullover, or even a cardigan, and then I swaddle DD loosely. I then "arrange" the blanket as sort of a shield without covering DD's head. I'm sensing that this makes little sense in print, but between the extra sweater and the extra blanket from the swaddle, casual observers may realize what's going on, but flashing is kept to a minimum.
We've also travelled with bottles of EBM, which has the added benefit of allowing DH to feed DD.
Kelley
DD born 7/30/03

[kransden]

You can bring ebm, but have it in a baby bottle ready to go. (Of course pack in ice etc. if necessary) I like the bulk head because it gives Miss Wiggles a little more room (no kicking the seat in front of me) and when people are walking down the aisle they can't see you. As everyone else said, if you are in regular seats, you'll blend into the background too. Dd has been on 3 flights so far, besides needing gas drops and pooping during landing, it has been ok.

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[momma_boo]

>can you bring ebm? I thought you weren't allowed to bring
>open liquids?

I think you can bring liquids as long as it's in a closeable container. We brought ebm with us when we flew and had no problems (although our bottles did leak a little -- probably due to change in pressure.)

[twizzli]

Based on great tips from this board we flew (granted on a short flight) with no probs except one explosive poop!
I was really nervous since I could never keep a recieving blanket on my shoulder and am very uncomfortable flashing, so I bought one plain white nursing top from motherhood (the kind that is 2 layers with slits in the inner layer) I felt like it was more discreet than just lifting my top and the extra material could cover ds without him grabbing it off. I sat in the window seat and dh sat next to me and we were able to nurse both sides pretty comfortably. It was also pretty easy to nurse in the airport this way. Definitely check out the row of chairs behind the check-in...you usually get a nice view of the planes taking off. Last, I really didn't feel like anyone was paying attention to me, although I myself do notice other bf moms nip now. So the only people who notice are sympathetic!!!
Good luck!

[kwc]

Definitely see if you can get a window seat... it was all much better than I expected. We first flew when DD was 6 weeks and I was not comfortable with NIP... and we were still using cross-cradle and I had to support the boob with my hand, at least for the latch. Fortunately, we had the window seat and DH flew with us and he (being pretty big) was able to block the view of just about anyone walking by when he turned his body as if very deliberately looking out the window. I also used a sling, though Catherine often decided she wouldn't nurse in it and it ended up just near her head after I took her out... my understanding is that it's easier for bigger babies to nurse in the sling.
Later, we all relaxed a bit and DH took out his newspaper to read... and we realized that there are few things more view-blocking than an unfurled Wall Street Journal!

Good luck... flying during Thanksgiving week is stressful enough!

Karen

[KathyO]

Chiming in a little late here, but one of the most useful tips I ever received on NIP was, once the baby was established on the nipple and all, to look up and around me, rather than keeping my head tucked down, looking towards her. The publication where I read this had two photos of the same mom and baby, with mom's head down and mom's head up. I could not believe what a difference it made. We humans are drawn to one another's faces, whereas when someone is conspicuously looking down at something in her lap, we look down too, out of curiosity to see what she's looking at.

HTH,

KathyO