World Breastfeeding Week

So apparently this last week has been World Breastfeeding Week. I'm a big fan of the 'normalise it' campaign. I'm not the type of breastfeeder who bashes formula or women who choose it, I think every family is different and right to choose is so important. But I am the type of breastfeeder that hates how breastfeeding women are often made to feel like they have to cover up or hide away when they are feeding. I've never had any bad comments while I've been feeding Henry but I know of people who have. There are people that think babies shouldn't be fed in public and think we should be feeding them in the toilets of a restaurant, there are people that think seeing a flash of a breastfeeding boob is sexual and should be done in private, there are people that think breastfeeding is only for tiny babies and older children, like Henry, should be 'on bottles by now'. All of these views wind me up no end. 

The western view of breastfeeding is so bizarre and it's something I really wish would change. I've made a conscious effort to feed Henry openly, particularly in front of my young niece and nephews who I want to grow up thinking breastfeeding is just as normal as bottle feeding. I've definitely got used to having little heads very close to my boobs wondering if they'll be able to see the milk, asking what Henry's doing and whether they can watch. I've fed him in restaurants, bars, on the beach, in the car...probably all the same places bottle fed babies will have enjoyed their milk. This is how I'd like it to be, why should anyone feel judged for how and where they feed their baby?

Breast milk is made for human infants, it's what our bodies are designed to feed our babies and children, yet many people don't feel confident to feed it to their children in front of others. It's fine to feed milk designed specifically for baby calves though, that's normal. What a very bizarre world we live in at times.

Anyway, enough chat, here's my favourite breastfeeding photo from a few months back. A posh meal, glass of prosecco and breastfeeding my little boy.