Do you BF in front of your older kids?

[Harley Quinn]

My son is only 20 months, so I doubt he'll have a distinct memory of me whipping out my boob to feed his little brother, but if I BF DS2 long enough, then DS1 just might be old enough to remember seeing it. I don't know why that thought kind of weirds me out.

Do you BF in front of your kids who are old enough to know what's going on and who will remember seeing it? And is it different for some reason if it's your daughter seeing it rather than your son?

I don't know; just something I've been thinking about recently. Any thoughts or comments are welcome.

 

[Katteh]

My daughter will be 3 next month and she sees me bfing all the time, I personally don't See any reason to hide it, it's good to teach your children that it's a perfectly natural thing to do x

 

[helloeveryone]

Hi all my other 5 children see me breastfeeding my baby ( not really baby he's 2 years old ) when my baby was born my youngest boy at the time .used to prend he was breastfeeding too and he would get his teddy to breastfeeding ..and say teddy wants his milk too.....
Now my 16 year old girl says I should give up because she thinks he is to big to be still breastfeeding .. ...

 

[CupcakeBaby]

We are going to wait 4-5 years for number 2 so DD will be very aware of me breast feeding.

I can't wait as it was from seeing my aunt breast feed so openly when I was 5 that I think started me knowing that's how I would feed my babies.

I don't think I'd feel different with a boy as DH is a huge part of my BF support network and I'd hope my sons could be the same for their wives.

 

[CandyDay]

I BF in front of my 5 year old all the time. He just sees it as normal and that is what I want him to think as it is normal. Hopefully because he sees it as normal when he gets older and sees other mom's breastfeeding he won't even think twice about it. I don't want him to be one of these ppl who gives a BFing mom a look like she is crazy for doing it in public. And because he is growing up thinking and seeing this is what mom's do he won't be one of those ppl.

 

[Tacey]

I breastfeed my eldest too, so I guess my position on it is pretty clear! I'm of the opinion that if we want breastfeeding to be normalised, it needs to be seen. I want my children, male and female to be familiar with bf as the natural, normal way to feed a baby.

 

[tazgirl]

I BF in front of my son all the time, not so much now as DD needs to be fed in a dark room now on our own to minimise distractions but I've never considered not doing it. He was very curious initially and asked questions, he always said she was getting her milk through a little straw (my nipple lol)

BTW my son is 6 and a half now, was just over 5 when she was born

 

[MissCurly]

I still remember my mum bf, she bf all her kids (apart from me- booooo!!!).

And youngest sibling and my age difference is 13 years. Nothing weird, although i do remember seeing my mummy's boobies and quickly looking away, lol!

 

[Embo78]

I breast feed in front of my older three all the time. I've never even thought about it. I don't know how I could've avoided it tbh.

They're 16,15 and 12.

My 15 year old said the other day.... I haven't said this for a while but I'm so proud of you for still feeding Max

 

[CatherineK]

Of course I do my two older kids remember nursing, and know what it is. They know it is normal and natural

 

[alicecooper]

Yep I breastfeed in front of my other kids and it makes no difference if it's my daughter or my sons who see

 

[NurseSooz]

Two of my friends have older kids and breastfeed in front if them. All the kids don't even blink when I or their mums breastfeed in front if them. I think it's a crucial step to learning about the human body and the difference between the male and female body!

 

[special_kala]

I obviously feed infront of River who is nearly 4. She has never really noticed, its just normal to her.

I also feed infront of my nieces who are 4 and 8, my nephews who are 11, 13 and 16. They were not BF and doubt they have ever seen anyone BF before.

Actually this weekend Fox was fed at a kids party with 10+ kids running around, mostly boys. Honestly the thought of not feeding infront of anyone doesn't even occur to me and certainly not because of their sex.

Their just boobs feeding a baby

 

[Emz1982_in_uk]

It would be impossible for me to not feed in front of my son (mummy's boy), and I wouldn't want to hide away from him anyway. He is 4 in December and knows that breasts are for feeding babies. It's normal to him to the point that when she used to cry he would tell me I needed to go and feed her. Without any prompting he picked up his teddy and started 'breastfeeding' it as that's the only way he has really seen a baby being fed (even though he was bottle fed).

 

[StarrySkies]

I occasionally breastfeed in front of the others, yes!

I can't really avoid it tbh lol.

My older three are 12,10 and nearly 5. I breastfed my 4 year old so the eldest two had seen me breastfeed before anyway.

 

[hmaz]

My son's almost three and I breastfeed in front of him. I want him to grow up thinking that breastfeeding is normal and natural and for him when he's older to support his partner if she chooses to breastfeed.

 

[BunnyN]

My mum BF my sister until I was 13. It seemed very normal to me and has made BFing easier for me to do. I think it would be hard not to BF infront of your other children, especially during the newborn stage when all they do is feed. I think it's good for children to grow up seeing it as normal. I'm on #1 so no older sibblings but I have fed infront of other people's children and they seem to find it super interesting and usually start asking questions. I can see that feeding infront of teenage boys could sometimes be awkward. I'd consider at least being discreet about it if I had a teenager who found it painfully embarrassing.

 

[cath]

DD will be nearly 4 when this LO is born and I plan to breastfeed in front of her. She was BF until she was a year old although obviously doesn't remember it. Her only experience of babies getting fed is at nursery when she sees the babies being bottle fed so I want to redress the balance a bit and let her see BFing as normal.

 

[TheNewMrs]

Why does it matter the sex of the child? Of ourse I'll bf in front of my older child. Feeding babies is how they grow.

 

[Hangin_On_AGS]

I breastfeed in front of my nanny kids 2,4,7,10 and their parents don't mind and to them it's super normal now they don't even seem to notice, I also bf in front of my cousins who come over all the time 10,13,14 all boys who also could care less. I figure if I can show them it's totally normal and no big deal I hope maybe it will help them choose to bf because they think it's just the normal choice.