Tips for breastfeeding in pubic?

Jeanmom

Jeanmom

Registered User
Hi all,

It's my 1st post in the forum. I have learnt a lot from you all. I am originally from Hong Kong but have been living in the States for some time now. I now have a sweet 6-months-old daughter and she has been exclusively breastfeeding. Hubby and I are planning to travel back to HK in May. I am very concerned about breastfeeding in public in Hong Kong. In the States, I can always BF her in the car or at the lounge area in the public restroom. We will be on public transportation most of the time, so BFing in the car is not an option.

Any tips for BFing in HK will be very much appreciated!

BTW, any tips for traveling with an infant? Would it be possible to travel internationally with a to-be 8 months-old by myself? (I'd like to leave early) Which airline would you recommand? Is Cathay Pacific a kid-friendly airline?

Sorry for having so many questions, but you can tell all these are making me very nervous. Thanks a lot!!!:thanks
 
just be discreet. i always figure if you hide away you are not helping to alleviate the stigma. you are not flaunting your boobs, you are merely giving your child his/her lunch. if others have a problem with that it is precisely that... THEIR problem.

i exclusively bf my girl until she was 6 months old. i did it wherever i needed to, i was just very discreet about it. i didn't use any of those cover-ups you can buy as i thought it would just draw more attention to what i was doing. also, i hated fiddling with the latch etc under the cover as i couldn't see what i was doing.

good luck! you'll be fine!
 
You will be fine. As Carang said, discretion usually is the best way to go. I use a nursing bib because although I have had no qualms with getting the boob out in public you do get people who are genuinely uncomfortable with it and they too are paying customers. They're available at Eugene Club centre, bumps 2 babes and mothercare. Otherwise, starbucks and pcc's are fantastic for breastfeeding. They are scattered all over HK with comfy chairs and I've never gotten any contemptuous looks!

I would also recommend getting the Prampushers Guide to Hong Kong. I bought it myself recently from dymocks and it has been a god-send. It's basically a collection of mini maps that outlines the best routes/mtr exits with lifts etc, baby friendly restaurants and other things to do with a baby in Hong Kong. There are also recommended shopping routes, which after all is one of the perks of coming to Hong Kong.

I haven't flown with an infant yet, but I know through friends and family both Cathay and Virgin cater very well to young uns and infants. They both have an online seat chooser as well I think.

Hope that helps and Good Luck!

Nashua :)
 
sorry, it should be discrete not discreet! yikes! and i call myself an english teacher!
 
yes, once your baby is sucking, people actually are too busy too notice. the only problem i had was i had to bring out my boob to let baby suck & she sometimes pulled at my shirt, exposing my breasts. so i always used a nursing cover. but most people in hk are too rushed or too busy to notice anything. as they say, starbucks & pacific coffees are the best places. but there are other malls in hk which offer nursing rooms.

i flown with CX when my baby was 9mths. altho i was flying with hubby, i still find the in-flight staff very helpful. my baby was already too big for the bassinet at 9mths. but anyway do ask for the bassinet seat, so you have more leg room. there are lots of threads here about flying with infants which you will find loads of tips. it is actually easier to fly with an infant. my daughter just nursed thru take-off & landing & whenever she was hungry. i didn't offer her any solid food during the flight, cos breast feeding was the most efficient, hygenic & easy thing to do when you're stuck in your seat.
 
btw, i think you'll need nursing covers when you're on the plane, cos the person sitting next to you is really really close, and if it's a man, he will be able to see your breasts.
 
carang said:
sorry, it should be discrete not discreet! yikes! and i call myself an english teacher!
Click to expand...

No, you were right the first time, discreet is correct. ;)

I am new to breastfeeding in public here too. I find that sometimes I'm comfortable with it and sometimes I'm not. I agree that draping wraps etc over yourself just tends to draw attention. I wear tshirts etc that you can lift up from the bottom, and this works well. Shirts that you have to unbutton or move from the top down expose you much more, so if you avoid that you'll be fine. It's true that people are busy and don't notice once the process has started. It's just the unhooking bra, attaching child bit that can be tricky. And once they are older they start looking around more. Still, I guess you can just give them a minimum feed when out and top them up later if you're worried?

Some shopping centres actually have breastfeeding rooms, I've always loved that when I find them.

I travelled Cathay and they were great. The bassinets would only fit a baby up to about 4-6 months, i think. I just turned my back towards the man next to me and fed as usual.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tip about the prampushers guide, Nashua852, I will look out for that.
 
I am the same, I don't care if a woman sees me, but if I am around men then I cover up.
I never had any problems BF in HK with a baby or toddler, except for a lot of staring one time in McDonald's by 2 chinese middle aged men. I suppose they have never seen anyone BF.
The biggest problem was my MIL, who kept covering my up and kept a sharp eye out for any slip of a blanket. but whatever keeps someone happy and comfortable!

WE flew on oasis a few weeks ago in the bulkhead and theyoffered us the bassinet even though my child is 23 months old, I think the weight limit was 20 Kilo on that one, so different airlines have different weight limits. I find the aisle seat best for BF as you have a bit more room for your arms, just have to watch for the carts coming by.

I wish I had know about the pram pushers guide, I think that would be very handy and save you frustration.
 
LLL-HK organizes events called Tea Breaks where we meet in coffee shops around the territory. We hope these gatherings will encourage new mothers to get out and about with their breastfeeding baby. You can be sure of a supportive environment if you are breastfeeding in public for the first time. And for all of us, it?s a chance to catch up with some like-minded mothers.

If you are interested to join us the schedule of our meetings is available at http://www.lllhk.org/Meetings.html

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Thank you all so much for your replies. They are really helpful and make me feel a lot better about nursing in public. It's sad that one of my friends has just weaned her 2nd daughter because she is too afraid to BF in HK.

I am considering buying a nursing cover too. Like joannek said, I might have a man sitting next to me on the plane. I think the man might be more embarrassed than I do if he sees my breasts. After all, like a lot of you said, I am just feeding my daughter and that?s what a mother does.

I have expected that the bassinet might not fit my daughter by the time we take the flight but I think I will go ahead and ask for it just to give my lap a break. :P

For those of you who said there are nursing rooms in some shopping malls, could you please specify which ones? It's funny that a lot of you commended HK people are just too busy to even notice what you are doing at Starbucks or other coffee shops. Yeah, they walk sooooo fast. I remembered how fast people walked pass when I was in the MTR stations last time I came back.

Nashua852:You mentioned Prampushers Guide to Hong Kong. What is dymocks? Sorry I have been away for a while and I don?t know much about it.

Sarah: Thanks so much. I will spend three weeks in HK. Hopefully, I?ll have time to join the meeting. The LLL website and the lactation consultants had helped me A LOT when I started breastfeeding. I had a C-section and the incision hurt so bad. I had lumps in my breasts and even under my armpits plus mastitis. Long story short. BFing has become my 2nd nature now. The law in a lot of states in the U.S protects nursing in public. But I am a bit afraid when I travel back to HK since everything is new to me. Without a lot of support from the lactation consultants and my friends, I won?t be able to succeed. Now, I feel really proud to have breastfed my daughter for 6 months already and I will continue as long as I can.

One more question, for 8 months-old, how many feedings do they need in general? I have started feeding my daughter a bit of rice cereal in the evening before feeding but she ain't very interested and sometimes pushes it out.
 
jeanmom
i live in the new territories and i'm still uncomfortable about bf'ing my baby in public. i've only seen once that a woman was bf'ing (in a train station), so i haven't been brave enough (i know, i know..).
now my baby is 7 1/2 months old and i either bf her in the designated areas in the malls or i use my expressed milk from the bottle or, when it happens to be lunch or dinner time, i give her the solids.
i find that the grand century place in mong kok has a nice little bf room. however, i think vegemite_kid (don't know if that's the right username?) once set up a list of places where you can bf comfortably. you might want to contact her by pm.
when i flew with her last dec./jan., i made use of the blankets on the plane to cover up. if your little is still not accustomed to eating solids, then don't bother the hassle with the solids on the plane.
have a lovely trip!

ps: dymocks is a bookshop.
 
Thanks mosmom. I found dymocks website and will look up the book once I'm back.

We just started solid so I am not sure how she will do 2 months later when we are ready for the trip. Well, feeding solid is definitely a messy job since my daughter always put her hands in the mouth during the feeding and touches everything with her messy little hands.
 
hmmm, depends how you look at it :haha: i often laugh with my daughter when she messes a bit. plus, you don't really have to care too much since it's a trip AND it can keep little ones busy on a long-haul flight :bounce: just make sure that you don't try NEW foods on a trip as you might not know how your baby will react to it..
 
i personally found th blankets provided by the plane too warm for covering for nursing.

yes, do request an aisle seat, it's a lot easier to nurse. i actually fell asleep nursing my baby on one flight. lucky it was after meal time & no carts were being pushed around.
 
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