Breastfeeding Your Own While Doing Daycare

[littlemommy]

Has anyone has problems with this?

I am due in January and hoping to take a 2 week maternity leave. Baby will need to nurse a lot, and I'm a bit worried about how the other kids will react. When I started daycare in my home, I was nursing DS, but only had one DC kid that was very young. Now I have older, talkative kids. I'm sure they will ask plenty of questions!

[SilverSabre25]

Yep, I do it all the time. Amazingly enough, the only questions I've gotten were generic, "Whatcha doing?" kinds, which I answered with a very honest, "Feeding the baby!" That was generally enough for my 2-3 year old crew. It's generally not something that's much remarked upon.

I started myself back to daycare full-time after 2 weeks too and it wasn't a problem at all.

[GretasLittleFriends]

I took about 2 weeks when my youngest dd was born. I had one boy who was 6, almost 7, that would stare intently and try to catch a peek under the blanket whenever he could. Honestly, it creeped me out. It also seemed like that's when the kids would misbehave because I couldn't really stop feeding the baby and stop them. This was a group of boys, 2 were in 1st grade, 2 in kindergarten. Needless to say, I didn't nurse as long as I would have liked, it got to be too stressful for me, and my supply diminished by the time DD was 3.5 months old.

[hoopinglady]

I nursed for eight months while doing daycare and no one really asked anything. i was surprised because some of them are rather fascinated by breasts.

one school ager asked and I was just very honest.

I had more problems with the dads feeling awkward, even though I was as discreet as possible. .

[Blackcat31]

Personally, I have never done this as my children were older when I first opened. However, as previous posters have mentioned, kids are pretty "unphased" by it and I would have no qualms about BF'ing while running the daycare.

On the flip side, as a parent I do thin the provider should notify the parents that this will be taking place and that if they have nay concerns about how to handle it with their child, they should either talk to them now or discuss with you what they would like you to say or not say about it to them.

Like Silver said, most kids say "Whatcha doing?"
DCP: "Feeding the baby"
DCK: "oh, ok"

and off they go.

I think it is one of those things that is completely natural and the earlier the kids are exposed to seeing mothers feeding their children in this manner the better it will be in building a tolerant and accepting attitude for the future.

[mismatchedsocks]

I did it for about a year and half with my daughter. I did cover up, and used feeding the baby as excuse, or shhh baby is falling asleep. They never "saw" anything nor did I talk about it. Worked ok for me, but at that time I had older kids, so they could free play when I was feeding her!

[lpperry]

I nursed both my kids for a year or more. "Feeding the baby" was a good enough answer for my young ones. The other kids do manage to find trouble though the second I sit down to nurse. I would just get up, tend to the problem, and then go back to nursing. I don't let them get away with anything just because my baby is nursing.

[KEG123]

I just had my baby, and I start having the kids come back Thursday. I've mentiond to the parents that I nursed my son until he was 2, so they know I'll be nursing this one too. I'm sure I'll pull the "feeding the baby" thing too if they ask. I don't plan on covering up per say, not with a blanket or anything, but I have a few nursing tops and nursing tanks to go under regular shirts.

[spud912]

I did it for my dd until she was 11 months. I never told my parents but a couple of them knew just because it came up in conversation. I really don't think it's a big deal since I covered up and there is absolutely nothing to see (plus it's quicker than trying to get a bottle ready). I would just tell the kids I was feeding the baby. The 6 year old dcg was always curious and I would answer her questions honestly. The young dc children would occasionally mimic me. I agree that the children would tend to act up when I breastfed since I was not able to constantly supervise (I would do it in the same room, however they knew I would avoid getting up). The best advice I could give is to set up the children with an activity prior to breast feeding, which greatly lowers the bad behavior and curiosity. Good luck!

[awestbrook713]

I do this and get the occasional stare because they wonder what I am doing. I was told by one of my moms that her daughter now puts a blanket over her baby doll and says she is feeding it . I had another girl who brought a baby doll (against the rules) but it was only her that day and she put the doll under her shirt and walked around like that I asked her what she was doing and again I got the answer "feeding my baby". I guess if thats the worse thing they learn here I am doing a good job. I am just upfront with my parents and let them know I do it so they aren't surprised if there child comes home and says something.

[LittleD]

I wasn't doing daycare, but my daughter was 3 and would get into things while I nursed. I learned to continue to nurse while I got up and walked around LOL

[Solandia]

I nursed my second dd (9yo now) while doing daycare, and my littlest who is 16mo..

The kids didn't care. The 3yo & 4yo boys were breastfeeding the dolls, so they understood what was going on...the parents all thought it was cute.

4yo's ask the most questions...like 'how much are they eating', 'can I look closer?' 'How does it come out?' 'is it food or drink?', 'does each one make different milk?" "why can't dcbaby eat from you?" I just answered and moved the conversation on to something new. But, I didn't let them 'look closer'. *If* the child insisted on a closer peek, I just told him that some things are still private, and it is my choice if I wanted to let them look closer...and I choose no.

I, too, learned how to breastfeed with baby in one arm to walk around and corral the wanderers.