Breast feeding in church

[Kermit]

Perhaps it depends upon the church. In the church I attended growing up, there was an extremely good nursery system set up, with speakers playing the service. It was expected that babies and young children be taken there and not disrupt the service. I would never have dreamed of breast feeding, bottle feeding, or feeding Cheerios to my children in the middle of a worship service. If, on the other hand, I belonged to a church where young children attended the entire service, then attendees are probably more used to it. If in doubt, I might ask my minister what his preference is for the handling of young babies during his sermons. He's the one who will hear most of the complaints from his parishioners anyway.

You've hit the nail on the head. There are some churches where babies aren't expected in the service, regardless of if they're nursing, bottlefeeding, sleeping, or sucking on their toes. If you go to such a church, you should either put your child in the nursery, or if you feel compelled to try to get people to change their minds, tread gently. Personally, since we want to keep our children with us, we chose a church where that's what people do. Babies do tend to wiggle a lot during church. The people around me probably breathe a sigh of relief when mine decide to nurse.

 

[Freyja]

Wouldn´t bother me and I would have done it myself. I breastfed my babies when and wherever they were hungry.

 

[staci]

Church service is only 1 hour!

Your kidding, right

I wish with my child I could have guaranteed that he would feed on demand before I left home, and then been able to last until it was convenient for the rest of the world for him to eat again! Unfortunately, most anyone knows that babies are never THAT accommodating! (Especially my son )

I cant speak for bottle fed babies, but from what I have read and from personal experience, bf babies generally eat every two hours. As they get older, of course that can lengthen because of the introduction of other foods. Two hours doesnt mean you have two hours in between, it generally means that two hours from the beginning of the last feeding to the beginning of the next one. So, if (by the grace of God) ds was actually ready to eat right before I left for somewhere, I would feed him. It could look something like this:

8:00-8:25 feed the baby
8:30-8:45 drive to whereever (church is the current example)
9:00 am worship begins
10:00am done with worship, baby is hungry.

Assuming worship lasts exactly one hour (which is think is a fairly good estimate, some longer of course), it would be getting out right at the time that ds would need to eat. This is how many babies ARE able to make it through the service, and why we DONT necessarily see women doing this all the time. But what about the morning where the baby is hungry at 7:30? Do you skip service becuase the child might need to eat by 9:30? Or what about days where they are just eating more frequently? It wasnt uncommon at all in our house to need to go every 1.5 hours occasionally. Anyone who is a parent knows that the little kiddos like to throw us curve balls all the time to keep us on our feet!

I can sympathize with someone being uncomfortable and preferring that the mom leave service to feed their child (even though I obviously dont think it is necessary), but I am APPALLED that anyone would think that simply NOT FEEDING them is the answer. Everything I have seen of the subject strongly discourages trying to force infants to fit a strict 'schedule'. Yes, moms can try their best to plan ahead, but there is no way that the babies are always going to comply with even the best planning.

 

[grlpwrd]

I am pro-breastfeeding, but

 

[6_Time_Momma]

I'm kind of surprised at how many people think babies/young children shouldn't even be in a church service. In my church everybody attends Mass. It helps to teach the kids how to behave during service. They learn thorough observation and listening. There is a cry room, but hardly anyone uses it.

I guess I see church as a family thing, so I wouldn't dream of not including my kids in it.

 

[Talking Hands]

Babies are not feed every minute of the day. You can arrange their feeding times around a one hour service. I don't see every mother feeding their children during church.

Not all church services are one hour. Ours are 1 1/2 hours and on occasion run longer on Sundays. I know many mothers who do not attend church when their children are very small because they are breastfeed and eat at least every 2 hours. I think our church has come up with a workable plan with the baby room as it takes into consideration all. Young parents are still apart of the service but the babies do not disturb anyone and if privacy is wanted they can go into the room with closed circuit tv. Now if we could get people to remember to turn off their cell phones but that is another thread.

 

[hugsquared]

I am pro-breastfeeding, but

Amen and right on brother (or sister). Its possible time to move on.

 

[Planogirl]

Amen and right on brother (or sister). Its possible time to move on.

And this time I agree with you.

I need to keep in mind how casual churches have become too. I still think of them as stuffy, formal places but that is so not the case nowadays. There was a time when everyone dressed up, no one ate (not even small children), or talked and so on.

LisaLovesPooh, I think that if you check the various states, they have differing laws regarding BF. They all agree that it should be allowed but it varies as to under what circumstances. Yes, I got curious.

 

[disneymom3]

Really, we are just moms, trying to give our babies what they need. Give us a little support please. For every mom who has the strength to feed their child in a public place, there is another mom at home, missing church, for fear of being judged.

This is an awesome statement. What kind of a church is it that doesn't welcome someone because they are breastfeeding their child? Good grief. For those who think the woman should be judged--which by disapproving you ARE doing, I want to know if you have ever heard If We are The Body by Casting Crowns. Give it a listen. This attitude is very sad.

 

[jenm2878]

I'm kind of surprised at how many people think babies/young children shouldn't even be in a church service. In my church everybody attends Mass. It helps to teach the kids how to behave during service. They learn thorough observation and listening. There is a cry room, but hardly anyone uses it.

I guess I see church as a family thing, so I wouldn't dream of not including my kids in it.

I grew up catholic, and small kids were generally only in church when they could behave themselves. My parents only took us when we were old enough to behave and sit still during a service. One parent would usually go to the earlier service so the other could go later (and bring my bro who was old enough to go when I was born) We were not allowed to talk, eat, or draw on the song books when we were there. (yes, I've seen little one's drawing in bibles too) Because we were raised like that, I was surprised when reading this how many babies were taken to church. I think it's a matter of the type of church you go to and what you grew up with.

 

[beattyfamily]

I'm kind of surprised at how many people think babies/young children shouldn't even be in a church service. In my church everybody attends Mass. It helps to teach the kids how to behave during service. They learn thorough observation and listening. There is a cry room, but hardly anyone uses it.

I guess I see church as a family thing, so I wouldn't dream of not including my kids in it.

ITA. My girls have been going since they were babies. They are very well behaved because they've been going since birth. It's a family thing for us too.

 

[lil mermaid]

Yes, I do.

Babies are not feed every minute of the day. You can arrange their feeding times around a one hour service. I don't see every mother feeding their children during church. If fact, I never have. Maybe that's why if I did see it, I would think it rude.

I am not trying to start a debate. I am just stating my opinion, which the OP has asked for.

You don't know much about babies, do you?

 

[jbdreamer]

You don't know much about babies, do you?

Thanks for that sarcastic remark.

Don't act like you know me.

I practically raised my brother - I was 14 when he was born. And I just babysat a 2 month old on saturday. I'd say I know something about babies.

I didn't come here to debate, I just stated my opinion (which I have a right to). There is no need to be mean.

 

[lil mermaid]

Thanks for that sarcastic remark.

Don't act like you know me.

I practically raised my brother - I was 14 when he was born. And I just babysat a 2 month old on saturday. I'd say I know something about babies.

I didn't come here to debate, I just stated my opinion (which I have a right to). There is no need to be mean.

No need to get so defensive, I was just joshin ya.

You stated "Babies are not feed every minute of the day. You can arrange their feeding times around a one hour service."

No, babies do not feed every minute, but often, they feed every hour. So, by the time you feed the baby, get everyone loaded into the car, travel to church, unload everyone and sit down, it is quite possible that the baby will not be able to make it to the end of the church service without eating. Also, it is not always possible to "arrange" feeding times either, because they often get hungry when they are not "scheduled" to. The idea that you can arrange a feeding schedule for a baby struck me as funny, is all. It just isn't always possible.

 

[mommaU4]

Interesting thread.

Since I don't go to church I guess it's fine with me because I won't be there to see it or not see it.
And since I exclusively bottle-fed all four of my kids I thankfully would never have had to make the decision anyways.
Of course I'm probably going to you-know-where (spelled H-E-C-K) for both of those statements.

I'd be interested to see whether how old a person is and where they live factors into their opinions.....

 

[Marseeya]

Thanks for that sarcastic remark.

Don't act like you know me.

I practically raised my brother - I was 14 when he was born. And I just babysat a 2 month old on saturday. I'd say I know something about babies.

I didn't come here to debate, I just stated my opinion (which I have a right to). There is no need to be mean.

I thought she was kidding with you; not being mean.

At any rate, have you ever breastfed a baby? They tend to eat more often than bottle fed babies because they're getting less at each feeding. My DD practically nursed every hour until she was old enough to get more solid food in her tummy.

 

[staci]

My DD practically nursed every hour until she was old enough to get more solid food in her tummy.

Oh, I remember those days!!! And as crazy as I would get at the time, I actually really miss it now . Im looking forward to little baby stuff again, including the constant feedings (although I am sure that when the time comes and it is 4 am and I have been up 4 times already, I will definitely retract that statement )

 

[WAHMto5]

Jesus was breastfed.

] I believe that says it all! I'm sure she couldn't just tell the baby to wait!

 

[disneymom3]

I'm kind of surprised at how many people think babies/young children shouldn't even be in a church service. In my church everybody attends Mass. It helps to teach the kids how to behave during service. They learn thorough observation and listening. There is a cry room, but hardly anyone uses it.

I guess I see church as a family thing, so I wouldn't dream of not including my kids in it.

Me too. If my kids couldn't come to church for fear of disturbing the pastor, I would find a new church. It's about worship, not perfection. My boys used to be rough as rough could be to deal with during service. I did take them to the nursery when they were in that age when they don't understand how to be quiet at all. However, by now at 3 and 5 they are really getting it down and actually have brought up things that have been said during the sermon. Practice practice practice.

 

[Marseeya]

Oh, I remember those days!!! And as crazy as I would get at the time, I actually really miss it now . Im looking forward to little baby stuff again, including the constant feedings (although I am sure that when the time comes and it is 4 am and I have been up 4 times already, I will definitely retract that statement )

I was a bad mommy and brought her to bed with me when she woke up in the middle of the night. Then she just nursed off and on at her leisure. But then (and don't be jealous ) she started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks old.