Boobs and Poop

On a recent trip to visit family, I fed the baby in front of my 5-year-old niece who had plenty of questions. She wanted to know how and why I was feeding my daughter. I explained to her that we are mammals, like cows and dogs and whales. That all mammals have mammary glands and produce milk. Some women feed their babies with the milk, and that's what I'm doing. She seemed to understand most of what I was saying, and she was immediately concerned with my privacy. We were in the women's bathroom of a restaurant and I was just standing in front of the sink as I fed the baby and answered her questions. She began looking for a place for me to sit down, and as we left the bathroom she found a bench in a secluded area of the restaurant and suggested I go there next time. This moment surprised me - I felt a little annoyed at myself for going into the bathroom at all! In this case, I did have my cover but didn't use it at the dining table because my dad and older brother were...

I'm sure I'll circle back to this topic often! Breastfeeding in public. I've done it. I love it. I support it for all. I think all places of employment, public bathrooms and more should be retrofitted with Nordstrom-style mommy rooms for breastfeeding. But I can't muster up the gumption to do it in front of any male family members. In fact, while I'm comfortable in front of friends or almost any female visiting me in my own home, there are female family members I'm not sure about. Would I whip out a boob to feed my daughter in front of my mother-in-law? If it were just us and in my home, I probably would. But I might feel a little weird, or pause first. And if we were at her house, I would probably go in the other room to feed the baby. In front of my father-in-law, my father, either of my brothers or any other male family member? Close male friends? No way, man! I have fed the baby in public, in plain view of many a male passerby and it didn't bother me...