A few months ago, I was lucky enough to spend a week at the
beach with my husband and daughter.
The bags were packed, our usual last-minute dash to the
airport was complete and we were settling into our plane seats with a mixture
of relief and excitement in our bellies.
My daughter is now 4…and yes, she still breastfeeds.
So I wasn’t exactly surprised when she asked me, half way
through the flight, “mama, can I have
some milk please?”
We’ve all heard the horror stories, haven’t we? About the moms shamed for nursing on a
crowded plane. We’ve all read the
sensationalistic news stories, no? About
toddlers scolded for having their most basic of needs met.
These stories are wrapped in discomfort…the discomfort of the
guy cradling his cow’s milk latte from across the isle…the discomfort of baby,
whose feed has been rushed, hushed and kept under wraps (literally)…the
discomfort of mom, whose face is flushed from having to defend her right to
nourish her child.
Yet even with this context, I didn’t sense any discomfort
from my fellow passengers when I lifted my top to feed my daughter. One person smiled actually, but most didn’t
stop to notice.
Nor did my daughter feel any discomfort, quite the opposite
in fact, as she found comfort on a boring flight in unfamiliar surroundings.
But for me, my goodness there was discomfort. Intense, awkward, unapologetic
discomfort…although not in the way you might expect.
You see, plane seats are only so big. And 4 year olds aren’t exactly small. So to wedge us both into one seat…at just the
right angle to allow her to latch, well…let’s just say I earned my Gymnurstics Gold
Star on that early winter morning.
Because gone are the days where I feel uncomfortable about
nursing my daughter in public…yes, even though she happens to be 4.
Breastfeeding is biologically normal. There are no buts after that statement. It really is that simple.
Whether a nursling is 4 hours old, or 4 years old…both are
biologically normal and appropriate ages for a child to breastfeed.
Isn’t it about time that breastfeeding lost its shock factor? Isn’t it about time that this biological norm was understood and accepted?
Because (sing it with me…!)
we have to actually see
something – regularly and in multiple contexts and forms - in order to view it
as normal.
Let’s normalize the normal together. One feed at a time.
Related posts:
- The Problem With 'All Or Nothing' Breastfeeding
- 4 Words Every Breastfeeding Mother Needs To Hear
- Why Nursing In Public Should Be No Big Deal
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