I love breastfeeding, it really is my super power, especially now those leaky days are mostly gone!
My 18 month old still breastfeeds a lot, he feeds to sleep at night and sometimes for naps, he feeds for comfort when he’s scared or teething or has hurt himself and of course he still feeds when he’s hungry sometimes too.
So when we went to Italy this year, I was of course going to breastfeed and to be fair I didn’t think much about it until we were away. Then I wondered how accepting people would be of something I took for granted here. I am lucky that where I live I’ve never had a negative comment against breastfeeding in public and I do it a lot! If A asks for milk he generally gets it, so we continued this on holiday.
Well first I had to breastfeed on the plane, which I’m really glad I did. On one flight here was a couple with a little baby who cried the entire flight and I felt so sorry for them. We were lucky that A fairly happily fed to sleep on each plane and so didn’t annoy us or more importantly anyone else on the plane. He also tended to begin feeding (if he wasn’t already) as soon as the plane started to take-off, which was great for helping his ears pop.
It was 30 degrees most days when we were in Italy, so I was concerned about getting enough fluids into the boys. I know from experience that A prefers to use his cups and water bottles to sprinkle (read throw!) water rather than drink much from them, but he will always ask for milk if he’s thirsty. So at least I knew he was getting enough liquids in the heat.
However, this also meant a fair amount of breastfeeding in public, but fortunately no-one minded and all we got were smiles. I fed in a variety of places around Venice, our camp site, the beach, swimming pools, sitting on the grass on a bike ride, sitting on the floor on vaporetto’s (when there were no available seats and then a man tripped over my leg, ooops!!). Not a problem anywhere, or at least I never noticed any negativity.
Although, if sand sticking to your skin annoys you I do not recommend feeding at the beach, see the above pic, it can get very messy! However, he was always tired mid-morning and was desperate for his milk before we left the beach.
The tent was way too hot to let A nap in, I tried the first day and then realised how awful it was. After that I just fed him outside until he fell asleep and laid him down on the sun lounger in the shade, it worked every time. I swear breastmilk is magic!
I am really pleased that A still wants to feed as it made our 2 week holiday and travelling time a lot easier than it could have been otherwise.
Of course if I was in a country where women were expected to keep covered up I would have considered this before feeding in public.
Do you breastfeed on holiday?
J x
Sally@Toddlers on Tour says
Breastfeeding is perfect for flying with baby. One of the most effective ways other than a bottle to help with popping ears and of course offers comfort in an unfamiliar environment.
Louise says
That sand does look very messy – have never tried breastfeeding on a beach so never experienced this! I can imagine that breastfeeding is very helpful on a plane, especially during take-off and landing and it is reassuring to know that you are also helping your little one stay hydrated in hot weather. We had ten days in France, Italy and Belgium last year and I had no problems with breastfeeding throughout the holiday.
Jenny Eaves says
Definitely! I was a bit concerned about the flight, but feeding on the off was great and then asleep for the rest of the flight was perfect! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
That’s good to know, I imagine it must be fine with most European countries, but would need to check the cultural etiquette if it was a different continent. 🙂 x
ali says
this is such a good read, I’m feeding a 13 month old with no intention of stopping soon and love reading about positive experiences such as these. The sleepy photo is just too cute too! #BinkyLinky
Jenny Eaves says
Thanks Ali! It’s great to know how many mums are feeding their toddlers, there’s no need to stop if you are both still happy with it. They’ll stop when they’re ready. 🙂 x
Emily says
It’s great to hear a positive breastfeeding story. He looks so cute asleep on that lounger. Thanks for linking up to the #BinkyLinky
Jenny Eaves says
Thank you! I think we need a bit more positive breastfeeding stories and for me it’s all good, so hopefully it will help! I love how babies sleep too! 🙂 x
Tarana Khan says
This brings back memories. I’ve breastfed a lot while traveling – from a busy train in London to the Taj Mahal 🙂 Hope you had a great holiday!
Nige Higgins says
A really good read thanks for linking to the Binkylinky
Jenny Eaves says
Thank you. 🙂
Jenny Eaves says
Yay, go breastfeeding! Thank you, it was fab! 🙂 x
Nia says
Great post! I’ve been very glad of breastfeeding whenever we’ve been away though we haven’t been overseas yet with our girls who are 14 months. I think they’re a lot less hung up about breastfeeding (and kids generally) on the continent than here, so I think I’d feel less self conscious there. Looks like you all had a great holiday!
aNoviceMum says
So lovely that you had a good time and breastfeeding made it that much easier for you. Breastfeeding is such a vital aspect of my mothering. I really don’t know how I would have copied without it. It definitely makes it easier to go out and about. #Twitter
Jenny Eaves says
Oh definitely, I can’t imagine any other way of my mothering either, that’s one of my most important things I can do for A! 🙂 x
Jenny Eaves says
It was definitely very easy going. I’m so glad that they are less worried about breastfeeding than some UK people are, not that I personally have had any problems here. 🙂 x