Breastfeeding Around Others

**Don’t come at me this isn’t a debate or bashing post I’m just sharing my feelings on my personal experience**

So I’m pregnant with my first and probably only. It’s been a huge adjustment and definitely not expected. I’m trying to grasp the idea of being a Mom and all the responsibilities and changes to come. There are so many things I never expected to have to do or think about. I learned yesterday that breastfeeding is way more daunting than I anticipated. My sister and cousin came to visit me at my Moms. My husband and I drove down because this will be my last chance to visit for a while. I can’t take the 6 hour journey so late in my pregnancy and we won’t be traveling with a newborn. So I was sitting on the couch with my husband and they came in to talk to me and before they left just started breastfeeding their kids. I was shocked. I personally felt weird about it I haven’t even had anyone undress in front of me and then realizing my husband was there too it felt even more uncomfortable. I could never see myself just taking my boobs out like that, especially in front of another man family or not. My husband just met my cousin that day and I am not close with my sister so she has only been around him 2-3 times. The fact they were so comfortable shocked both my husband and I. Yes I have seen online that women do that and know that babies need to eat but to see it happen in front of me was shocking. Both my cousin and my sister have 3 kids each and have been breastfeeding for years but I don’t have any kids yet. I cannot imagine breastfeeding in front of anyone else especially a man who isn’t my husband. I wouldn’t want him looking at me. I brought it up to my Husband later how it shocked me and he said that he would not like me to breastfeed like that in front of his friends or family. It was weird for him too but he didn’t want to offend them. Since we were in my mothers house there wasn’t really another room for us to go to give them privacy. They had came into the room with us as the family room had my Mom and their other kids in it. I’m assuming that they felt there was more space or something where we were. Neither of us said anything to them we just tried to act normally. But I’m just thinking about that experience and how I know I will have to have cover ups or go into another room when it’s my time if I do breastfeed. I am not judging I am just saying I realize I could never be that bold. And power to mom in the pictures I have seen online of women breastfeeding freely in public because I could never. I would be so uncomfortable.