Nursing Cover-ups. More Obvious Than Just Nursing?
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Have you seen these - or do you use one yourself?
Many nursing moms I know have bought one of those apron-like covers to wear over their baby so they can nurse in public and cover everything up. Nursing in public can be very nerve-racking especially at first, and these cover-ups give mom more security and ease to latch on baby. They are also very useful with a distractable baby. You know - nurse - pop off - nurse - pop off - I’m hungry, but there’s too much to look at!
There’s a couple of brands, some are tastefully named like Babe au Lait, and Mommy Covers. Or you could buy a Hooter Hider, if you must. All the brands make nursing covers in lots of patterns, from bold graphics, pretty flowers, to rocker mom styles.
Crafty moms could make their own very easily - all a nursing cover is made from, is a rectangle of fabric, and a strap to go around your neck to keep it in place.
I thought about buying one, but I never did. I either made do with a regular baby blanket - which is true, did not stay in place as well with a fidgety baby. Or when I was more practiced, layered two shirts, pulled the inner one down, the outer one up, and latched him on, still keeping everything covered.
I think that wearing a nursing cover can say I’M NURSING much more than other ways of covering up. If the goal is discretion, a baby wrapped in a blanket, or nursing in a sling (Moby wraps are great for this) can be much more discrete than wrapping a great big brightly-colored poncho around yourself.
The moms I know who used them loved them, and I can absolutely see the appeal. So do you use a nursing cover-up, or will you be buying one?
Kimberly says...
I have a Hooter Hider nursing apron, and I love it. For me, it’s not so much keeping people from knowing that I’m nursing, as it is just to cover up my, well, hooter, and also my still chubby belly and backside since I just wear my regular pre-pregnancy t-shirts these days and pulling them up leaves me pretty exposed. The hh is big enough to cover me and Henry in the front and then I sort of wrap it around the side and cover up where my shirt is pulled up.
Though even with saying that, when I’m out and about by myself, I find that I usually head back to my car or some other really private place, as even with the hh I just feel so vulnerable and “out there” to nurse in public. If I’m with a friend or my husband, though, I feel totally comfortable. I wish I didn’t feel this way, or that the apron would make me feel more confident, but it doesn’t.
Clover says...
I am in the UK and they are not very well known here at the moment, but they are catching on quickly. I got mine from Sweet Wee Bairn - I am a confident person, but I am quite shy about my body. I also have big boobs and I just wanted something easy to use. The first time I saw the covers, I thought they looked like aprons and couldn’t understand why anyone would use one. I tried breastfeeding in the car with my baby and a blanket over my shoulder but I couldn’t see his face and he was getting in a state and flapping about, it was all very undignified. Anyway I went back to the site and bought one. It is not until you start using it that you realise how utterly FAB they are. This is why Mums who own them love them so much.
All you do is throw it in your handbag, mine came with a diaper clutch bag and I have a nappy and wipes in there too. I don’t have to mess about with expressing or anything like that, I just get him in position and throw the apron / nursing cover over my head, lift my top up and we are away. So far I have used it in cafes, the park, the beach, friends houses if ever there is man around and I feel a bit awkward, in front of my father-in-law, in front of the builders who were working on my house and the list goes on. It is so obvious that you are feeding as well which is great as people and strangers will happily talk to you whilst you are feeding without being paranoid about where they place their eyes. I know some people think you should be ‘loud and proud’ about breastfeeding anywhere and good for them. But I’m not, I just can’t get my boobs out in public without worrying who is looking, even if they are not, especially in front of teenage boys or girls for that matter. A nursing cover has been a complete god send to me and my baby usually falls asleep after he has fed under the cover because there are no distractions. It just gives me that little bit of extra confidence to feed anywhere, even if it looks a bit mad to everyone else, I can see my baby smiling up at me as he feeds and feeding is a personal relationship between mother and baby, however you do it doesn’t matter as long as you feel confident and happy your baby will be happy too.
I hope my feedback will be of use to anyone else out there who feels the same was as me.
Jeanna says...
I plan on getting one, most likely on ebay. I was thinking about making one, but may make one after I get to examine one I buy. I am due in August and by then my first son will be 22 months. I bf him in public with a blanket, but was always really nervous about being exposed. With this I think I will feel more secure, especially if my older one tries to pull on it. I am mainly getting one so he won’t expose me.