Welcome Carnival of Breastfeeding Readers! Enjoy this Green Eggs and Ham parody. Moral of the story is, give nursing in public a try, it is easier than you think. You can do it, anytime, anywhere. Check the bottom of the post for links to the other Carnival of Breastfeeding submissions.
Nursing in public (a breastfeeding parody of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss)
That friend of mine!
That friend of mine!
I do not like that friend of mine!
-
Do you like to nurse in public?
I do not like it, friend of mine. I do not like to nurse in public.
Would you like it here or there?
I would not like it here or there.
I would not like it anywhere.
I do not like to nurse in public.
I do not like it, friend of mine.
-
Would you like it at the mall?
Would you like it on a hill?
I do not like it at the mall.
I do not like it on a hill.
I do not like it here or there.
I do not like it anywhere.
I do not like to nurse in public.
I do not like it, friend of mine.
-
Would you do it on a plane?
Would you do it when in Spain?
Not on a plane.
Not when in Spain.
Not at the mall.
Not on a hill.
I would not do it here or there.
I would not do it anywhere.
I would not like to nurse in public.
I do not like it, friend of mine.
-
Would you? Could you?
With your friends?
Try it! Try it!
Do it now.
I would not, could not with my friends.
You can do it.
You will see.
You can do it by the sea.
I would not, could not by the sea.
Not with my friends. You let me be.
I do not like it when in Spain.
I do not like it on a plane.
I do not like it on a hill.
I do not like it at the mall.
I do not like it here or there.
I do not like it anywhere.
I do not like to nurse in public.
I do not like it, friend of mine.
-
A sling! A sling!
A sling! A sling!
Could you, would you, with a sling?
Not with a sling. Not by the sea.
Not with my friends. Now let me be!
I would not, could not, when in Spain.
I would not, could not on a plane.
I will not do it at the mall.
I will not do it on a hill.
I will not do it here or there.
I will not do it anywhere.
I do not like to nurse in public.
I do not like it, friend of mine.
-
Say!
On the Web?
Here on the Web!
Would you, could you, on the Web?
I would not, could not on the Web.
Would you, could you, at DQ?
I would not, could not at DQ?
Not on the Web. Not with a sling.
Not with my friends. Not by the sea.
I do not like it, don’t you see?
Not on a hill. Not when in Spain.
Not at the mall. Not on a plane.
I will not do it here or there.
I will not do it anywhere.
You do not like to nurse in public?
I do not like it, friend of mine.
-
Could you, would you, with a goat?
I would not, could not, with a goat!
Would you, could you, on a boat?
I could not, would not, on a boat.
I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not do it at DQ.
I will not do it in a sling.
Not on the Web! Not by the sea!
Not with my friends! You let me be!
I do not want to when in Spain.
I do not want to on a plane.
I will not do it on a hill.
I do not want to at the mall.
I do not like it here or there.
I do not like it ANYWHERE!
I do not want to nurse in public!
I do not like it, friend of mine.
-
You do not like it. So you say.
Try it! Try it!
And you may.
Try it and you may, I say.
Friend of mine!
If you will let me be, I will try it.
You will see.
Say!
I can nurse in public!
I can! I can do it, friend of mine.
And I would do it in a boat.
And I would do it with a goat.
I would do it at DQ.
And on the Web. And in a sling.
And with my friends. And by the sea.
It is so easy, so easy, you see.
So I will do it when in Spain.
And I will do it on a plane.
I will do it on a hill.
I will do it at the mall.
And I will do it here and there.
-
Say! I can do it ANYWHERE!
I do so like to nurse in public.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Friend of mine.
-
Credits
- A few of the pictures that I linked to above come from a new blog I just discovered: Breastfeeding is Not Obscene. All pictures of breastfeeding. Check it out!
- I got the idea for the Green Eggs and Ham Parody from Christina”s API Speaks post Would you, could you in a sling.
Related posts on this blog on breastfeeding in public
- What gives you the right? A post on breastfeeding in public, concluding with “If you don’t want to see me breastfeed, it is YOUR problem, not MY problem. Period.”
- No need to hide: Great public service announcements about breastfeeding on a toilet (or rather why you shouldn’t…).
- Breastfeeding is not lewd, it’s food: Check out this great video prepared by babyREADY.
- Why I don’t use child harnesses or nursing covers: Find out why I prefer to nurse in public without a cover.
Carnival of Breastfeeding Posts
This post is part of the June Carnival of Breastfeeding under the theme of nursing in public. Check out the other great posts, give them a Stumble and leave them some supportive comments. Great to see so many moms helping to normalize breastfeeding.
- Lucy and Ethel Have a Baby: Nursing in Public – Boobs out and Proud
- Dirty Diaper Laundry: Breastfeeding in Public – Talents – I Haz It
- Kim Through the Looking Glass: Here, at the Restaurant?
- Grudgemom: Nursing in a room full of people you know
- Mum Unplugged: Awww, is he sleeping?
- Massachusetts Friends of Midwives: Nursing in Public – Chinatown, the Subway, the Vatican, and more
- Mother Mary’s Soapbox: Breastfeeding Oriana
- Tiny Grass: Nursing in Public as an Immigrant
- Mommy News and Views: Breastfeeding in Public
- Breastfeeding Moms Unite: Nursing in Public: A Fresh Perspective on Nurse-Ins
- Mom on the Go: Planes, trains and automobiles – we’ve breastfed in them all
- Baby Ready: Wee Nip in the Park
- Mama Knows Breast: Products that can Help You Breastfeed in Public
- Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Get kicked off a bus for nursing in public? Here’s how to respond.
- Blacktating: Thank You for Nursing in Public
- warm hearts family: Breastfeeding and the Summer Time
- Fabnaima: Why Worry about NIP
- Stork Stories: Little Old Men… & Nursing in Public
- Breastfeeding123 – Nursing in Public – To Cover or Not to Cover
- Musings on Mamahood: Nip, No Tuck
- Breastfeeding Mums Blog: Nursing in Public – What’s a Breastfeeding Mother to Do!!
- PumpEase – Breastfeeding Hats? Yes! Nursing Covers? Uh…not so much
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I nursed in public all the time with my daughter. It didn’t bother me at all and if anyone was staring at us I didn’t notice and/or paid no attention. It was nobodies business but my own. I nursed my daughter until she was 18 months old. I wanted to nurse her until she was 2 but my daughter decided on her own that she was finished with nursing
. She just looked up at me one day when I was about to nurse her and started to LAUGH! I was sad but she obviously thought it was time to stop.
I nurse just about anywhere, just about anytime – as long as it is comfortable for me and my babe! Always have, always will.
I think I have nursed in every possible place with my son. NO covers either! I’ve nursed on a train, in a mall, on a trolley, in a park, in my office, in every restuarant we’ve been to since May of 2008, in the middle of family parties – in fact, I can’t think of a single place I’ve been in the last year that my son wasn’t nursed!
It wasn’t always this way though – back in the fall of ’07, freshly pregnant with my second son, I had to really psyche myself up for the idea of NIP – http://thefeministbreeder.typepad.com/the_feminist_breeder/2007/10/gearing-up-for-.html
I would not could not on a train… LOL. This is excellent. Nice job!
Very cute. I only have to nurse in public occasionally, but it’s far superior to hiding in a bathroom or even a dressing room in the mall. Particularly when babies are very young, you can’t just say “wait until I find a good place” and have your baby understand.
I consider myself lucky if my baby doesn’t try pulling my whole shirt up or something. But if/when it does happen, that’s just how it is. You don’t like it, go away and quit looking.
Love it! My only aversion to NIP right now is finding some place comfortable for me to sit, ie. not on the ground (have trouble getting up again). I usually end up in the car in that case, with the door open (even if it blocks a parking spot) and sitting sideways. I want to have all those photos of me NIP – just have to have hubby with me to get them!
LOL – I love it. Just this weekend, I was talking to my sister, and telling her about my post for the Carnival (coming soon), and said something along the lines of, “I would nurse her in a box, I would nurse her with a fox. . . . “
Oh that is too adorable!!
Unfortunately, I have breastfed in restaurant toilets in Hong Kong, being unsure of the etiquette in that regard, but I have breastfed in public in every other regard, on trains, in crowds, in slings, at the beach, in the pool (did you know it’s against health regulations? go figure), at the mall, and NEVER ONCE have I received an evil eye or an ugly comment. In fact, people have been downright nice to me and my baby. Why would anyone be offended by a babe at the breast?
i nursed pretty much everywhere
Very clever, Annie! Well done!
Oh my! Someone is in my head. I was literally planning to do the EXACT same thing for my blog heh. I was thinking of how many places I had NIPed, in a cave, plane, zoo, aviary, McDonald’s, park, on rollerblades, on the beach, on the pier, while walking in stores, in a sling, etc. And then I thought how much that sounded like Green Eggs and Ham. Guess you beat me to it! Looks good! I don’t think I could have done a better job!
I nursed everywhere too – and I found it was actually *more* discreet when I didn’t use a cover (fiddling with a blanket or something just caused more commotion, and confusion for me and the baby). Great job!
Awesome!
Never nursed in Spain or by a goat but there is always next baby
I’ve NIP many times at the mall, while walking around w/ a sling, the farmers’ market, while getting my legs waxed, tandem on the bus, plane, parked car, ocean, cherry orchard, basically anywhere we go! I usually do us a cover (the tandem times require a tent!) since my kids don’t know the meaning of discreet!
I once made a collage of breastfeeding pics, including a nude, for the cover of a university ‘zine. Folks loved it!
ha ha – this is hiliarious. I’ve nursed here and there I have nursed everywhere. Took a little bit before I didn’t think about it and it was very natural though….reminds me I could use a trip to DQ!!!
Bravo! I’ve nursed in most of those places, myself! Ah, how I wish I’d nursed in Spain, though…
Three children… nursed them all.
Carefully with the first. I went into side rooms, and well under cover. I excused myself.
With the second, we lived in NYC. We were constantly out and about. She was nursed everywhere: Morningside, Central and Riverside Parks, in restaurant booths, in church, on a bus, in subway cars. In public, with strangers.
By the third, I would nurse him anywhere at all. In front of others, I barely acknowledged I was about to do it. He was the most restless, so I inadvertently flashed people – but even so, was beyond any shame about it. Totally felt every time like I was doing exactly what I was Supposed to Do.
And I love this, by the way. The sentiment, the photos. Love.
I’m all about the nursing in public! I’m nursing on my blog all the time (most recently Sunday!) Usually for us it’s at the park in a sling while walking around helping the other kids or on a bench. I’ve done it in the grocery store, church, in the mountains, at the beach… whenever and wherever baby needs to eat!
Steph
I was never 100% comfortable, but I did nurse in public – lots of times in Rideau Centre, with my first baby, before I discovered the nursing rooms they had – maybe they didn’t have the nursing room in 2005, but with my second baby, we used the nursing room a lot! I also nursed while flying to and from Florida. Did not have a problem with that at all. In a restaurant, once, too. Al’s Steak House, to be exact! Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do, you know?
Love, love, LOVE it!! Laughed out loud at this and remembered the MANY, MANY times I NIP’d and miss having wee nurslings to sling with me wherever I go.
j’allaite ma fille de 2, 2 ans et cela m’arrive à le faire en public!
love, love, love this post! wish i could have gotten it together enough to participate in the carnival. i guess my readers will have to settle for just the regular amount of nip boobage i post
Hey – that picture at the BF challenge! The woman at the right of the picture is my friend, and I’m sitting next to her, although cut off in the picture. We were interviewed about how we were nursing “older children”. Great memory!
@Juliette: How funny! If you click on the picture, it will open up the full pic and I think you will see yourself! (some of it got cut off when making the gallery)
This? Is AWESOME. Seriously. GENIUS.
LOVE IT.
Stumbling it RIGHT NOW.
that was a super fun post annie. just yesterday i was out with my mom shopping and i nursed chickpea about three or four times while we were out…just where ever i was standing or sitting without even really thinking about it and i suddenly realized how it seemed so normal to me now and how much that has changed. i still remember how nervous i was to try it when the bean was a new born. anyway, great post!
That’s a fun post!
I’ve never had a negative comment or situation regarding NIP but I think because of all I have read about other peoples bad situations I sometimes can feel uncomfortable.
I use a cover so I don’t worry about what people might see (gasp) it’s more about what I am wearing – I don’t think in terms of “will this shirt be a good NIP shirt” – I just get dressed…so sometimes if I don’t want half my back showing in a mall food court I’ll go and take a jaunt to the nursing room.
Very creative! Love this! I NIP many times. Before I had kids I didn’t know if I could, but I got over it and it got easier the more I did it. I did use a cover most of the time, though.
I like the fact I can nurse e in public without all the drama of fixing a bottle
AW I love this! very cute. I wish I would have been more comfortable with nursing in public. I always thought my baby girl had to be covered and she didn’t like eating with a blanket over her head. So I spent most of our nursing sessions in a bathroom or in my car while we were out and about
Maybe with the next baby I will be more confident! Thanks for this!
Love it – very creative and inspiring!
I love it!! What a great post!
LOL Love this!
Ah! I love it!!
Love it! By the way, at least one of those pictures on the Facebook page is me.
I love it! I have NIP all over the place too. It’s not my favorite, but I do it. My oldest was the most challenging since he took forever. But my babies need to nurse when they need to nurse!
DD3 1/2 still Breastfeeds not in public any more due to crusifixtion in Brisbane but up till age of 2 DD was breastfed everywhere.
I found that mothers who ‘weened’ their babies between 6-9months were terrible to me for continuing.
So glad we have continued on no matter how tired I get.
Long term breastfeeding has been a very unplanned journey
A beautiful journey…
I am comfortable nursing anywhere, but I do have a cover that I use. That’s more so for DH’s benefit than mine, as he gets all all modest about it (esp. if his friends/male family are around).
Super clever. I really like this.
Too funny.
My kids are older now and I so miss the ease and convenience of being able to feed them anywhere, anytime. Now it’s sandwiches and snacks and “moooo-oooom, we didn’t get any ice cream today!”
For more great nursing (in public and otherwise) photos, there’s a link on my blog to the Great Virtual Breast Fest montage – I don’t remember where in the video I am but I’m the one breastfeeding on a boat and on a mountaintop
.
Nice. I never found it hard to nurse in public, don’t understand very much what the fuss is about. I couldn’t not have done it, as daughter was constantly feeding, unless I wouldn’t have left the house for the first 6 months. I nursed absolutely everywhere.
I tagged you for Recycle Week, would be great if you would join in.
Sorry, no matter how clever your rhymes I will never nurse in public.
:}
But you keep on keepin’ on.
LOVE this! With my 1st I would always go into the bathroom and nurse on the toilet. I wish I had known better. Now we nurse whenever, wherever. It’s so funny to see families faces because they either didn’t know we were still breastfeeding or they can’t believe it.
Great post!
I was more comfortable nursing my first in public then my second. I nursed her anywhere. When my son was three months old I got yelled at, nasty yelling, by a woman at the librbary. I was trying to nurse him in the children’s section but he was too distracted and she took great offense. It was one of the worst experiences. I defended myself, or tried to, the best I could in my sleep deprieved state but after that I have never felt as comfortable, as secure about breastfeeding in public. I still do it at the park but I am careful anywhere else.
It makes me so sad to read about people getting scared off! I had a man yell at me in my 2nd language so I just smiled and tuned out pretending I didn’t understand which wasn’t hard because who understands ranting in a 2nd language? If I yelled at people who gave their babies junk food, sugar water & the like we all know what I’d be called. Unfair and it hurts a lot of babies who’s moms are scared off
I think nursing your child is always beautiful!
I have nursed her on a plane, I have nursed her on a train.
Rock on! This is a great one!
I SO love Dr Seuss. This is brilliant!
This is a nice disarming way of presenting this surprisingly controversial issue.
I couldn’t think what “on the web” meant, until I saw the photos…
Just last night, Ronit and I saw a video clip of a Russian woman giving birth in the water in Israel. It’s in Hebrew, so no point sharing here, but next to giving birth on the beach, breastfeeding is really not that impressive.
This is great! And I completely agree with (and abide by) the anytime, anywhere dictum. Working in the birthing biz, I have always had completely, utterly breastfeeding-friendly workplaces. My babysitter used to bring my daughter to me at work (when I worked in a birth center) to nurse. I also teach nursing and midwifery students and nursed while giving a lecture about research methods once. The students loved it. (Sadly, it’s about all the lactation training many of them ever encountered in their academic training, but that’s another story…) I travel a lot to birth conferences and brought my babies with me until they were each about 12-15 months. I literally nursed at a boardroom table, while giving a verbal report to the Lamaze Board of Directors. And I brought my son to a strategic planning retreat and at the end of the weekend, when each participant shared what they throught “worked” in terms of the strategic planning process, several participants (including the then president) said it “worked” to have breastfeeding mothers and nursing babies at the meeting (there was another nursing mother there, too.) It was so awesome. I will always credit my fantastic employers for my positive breastfeeding experience. And it makes me so sad that my experience as a working/nursing mother is a complete anomaly.
Wonderful writing! I really enjoyed this whole post!
Just showed this to my friend Ashley who wants you to publish this as a book so she can give as a gift to new moms!!
Oh that was fun! Dr. Seuss would be flattered.
I nursed in public, including standing in line to visit a castle in Germany. The only thing that held us back was how easily my little guy got distracted. So that usually dictated a less exciting place to feed most of the time.
Loved this!! I nurse in public, in slings, or just on my lap. DD doesn’t like being covered up, so too bad for those that may be bothered.
For a hilarious breast-feeding in public story, please check out
http://lifewithrachael.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-used-to-hate-camping.html.
It gives a great account of some of our experiences while my wife was breastfeeding our children.
Hope you enjoy.
I used to nurse my baby in public only if there is any need. When we travel there is no other option other than nursing in public. I have seen some people and boys staring at me while breastfeeding my baby