Free the Boobs!

I’m Christian (Catholic, specifically), but I’ve never been a fan of the modesty clothing trend. I could write an entire entry on it, but I won’t, I’ll just say that it rubs me the wrong way. In the privacy of my own home, I’m a bit of a nudist. I usually don’t walk around naked for fear of someone walking by windows or the doorbell ringing, but I’m not afraid to be scantly clothed. I like my body (even my current post-baby 30-pounds-heavier body) and I’m not afraid to show it.

I spend half the day at home these days with a boob hanging out of the top of my shirt or dress. I sometimes don’t even notice if a breast has popped out or a nipple is showing because I didn’t put it away properly. It’s not sexy, it’s sloppy. But I have a 3 (almost 4) month old who loves to nurse and currently refuses a bottle, so this is my life right now.

I’m getting braver about releasing the boobies in public. For the first two months, I only nursed around people I’m not married to if I was covered. I have a carrier wrap that I tie in a sling that holds the baby to me and covers my entire chest so that breastfeeding can be completely discrete. This is how I feed the baby the vast majority of the time I’m not in my home.

Emboldened by a friend of mine whose baby is a few months older, I’ve felt more open to nurse uncovered when around other women in private homes. If they don’t mind, I don’t mind. We’re all women here.

I surprised even myself on Sunday on the beach. The baby was fussy and I put her to my breast without bothering to cover up. It’s the beach – there’s skin everywhere! I refrained from openly displaying my breasts when the baby wasn’t attached. No one said anything or even noticed as far as I could tell.

Last night at dinner and again today at lunch, I nursed without the wrap. Both times, I just put cloth over me, not even completely covering the area, just rushed sloppiness. I think I’m already at the stage of not caring much. If anyone (aside from my husband) had been looking at me, I would have wrapped her. But in the semi-privacy of our own table, it just didn’t seem to matter whether I was completely covered or now. Boob indifference!

One great thing about being a work-at-home mom is not having to worry about discretion or privacy when feeding my child. I don’t need to pump. I don’t need to set aside times to feed her in privacy. I can (and do) nurse while doing my work, a lot of the day, every day. This is my life. And none of the people I’m working with need to have any idea.

When working outside of the home attending meetings or professional events, I use my wrap. People can still figure out that my breast is out of my bra and the baby is feeding on it, but they can’t see a thing. If someone wants to judge me for feeding my child, let them. This is what works for my family and I don’t apologize for it.