Breastfeeding at the parks

[tmh43]

Don't feel you *have* to use baby care centres or even an out of the way spot. It's so much lost time and by then baby is extra cranky. Just hanker down anywhere that *you* are comfortable. I've walked around the Calgary Stampede (conservative Cowboys, not Disney families lol) breastfeeding and gotten so many positive looks/comments. He wasn't a newborn either- the first year he was 8 months, the next year 20 months. Rarely used anything to cover. I usually wore a tank top and then a second shirt over- pull one up and one down.

I liked wraps, but whatever carrier you choose, practice before you go!

 

[cgh]

I did a variety of things with a 5 month old. I did tend to go to the baby centers largely because they were air conditioned (and that quiet thing). Shows and rides were great. (people mover!) I read that somewhere, and it was great. I think I nursed to sleep on that one too. I also grabbed benches outside rides. I didn't use a cover but strategically parked the stroller and was discreet. He was my second and I was a lot more open about doing it everywhere without a cover but discreetly. I found in many respects without a cover WAS more discreet because I always had babies who liked to rip it off. Much easier to manage with the nipple in the mouth and shirt over my breast.

Just do what works. I also figured that I was there with a bunch of families so the vast majority have had exposure to it as well so I was even more comfortable. Nobody ever said anything to me or gave me a passing glance. I did do some socialization of my own though in some of those baby centers! You'll find your stride. So easy to travel with a BF baby!

 

[Mousemommy1]

I am as modest as they come, but with breastfeeding...it's just feeding a baby. I just did it, wherever I happened to be. I honestly got no negative looks or feedback.

The weirdest place I did it was on POTC. But, when baby is hungry...baby is hungry, lol!!!

 

[Buntington]

I haven't been to the parks since my kids were born (next month will be our first trip!), but I nursed DS in my Ergo until he was probably around 25 lbs. and still nurse DD (5 mo.) all the time in the Ergo when we're out and about. DS is 2.5 and still nurses and some people can get weirded out by that, so I'll probably have to find a baby care center if he wants to nurse while we're there. But nursing in a carrier is really easy. You just loosen it a bit to lower them. You can't see much unless some really tall person tries to look down your shirt. On the Ergo, there is a drape you can pull out and put over baby's head for sun protection or nursing. But I never use a cover because DD hates it, and I don't really care if some nosy person happens to catch an errant glimpse. PP is right--like most states, FL has public breastfeeding law that protects you. "A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding."

I have a lot of nursing tanks from Destination/Motherhood Maternity in the mall from when they have sales, so you might look out for those. They are basically my entire non-work wardrobe right now since DD nurses They have elastic on the top so you just pull the tank down instead of messing with straps and buckles. They are loose and comfortable and perfect for FL weather.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[tinkersmamar]

Hi just stating what happened when my daughter wanted to use the baby care area at the parks to take her 10 month old out if the sun and feed him in a quite area

She went with her husband and child to the open area not the breast feeding room my son in law was told he could not stay here and had to leave
Really
What if he was a single dad all alone would they say he can't be here in the open room with his baby

Disney needs to check their rules out in this
And rocking chairs r a must plus I think in each park they should have a area for rest and out if the weather area for kids under 2 even though those kids get in free it's these families that keep disney in business I know Walt would Deff have this available

 

[Gracie09]

Hi just stating what happened when my daughter wanted to use the baby care area at the parks to take her 10 month old out if the sun and feed him in a quite area

She went with her husband and child to the open area not the breast feeding room my son in law was told he could not stay here and had to leave
Really
What if he was a single dad all alone would they say he can't be here in the open room with his baby

Disney needs to check their rules out in this
And rocking chairs r a must plus I think in each park they should have a area for rest and out if the weather area for kids under 2 even though those kids get in free it's these families that keep disney in business I know Walt would Deff have this available

Was it crowded? Perhaps they had to keep it one parent per kid. Dh has used the child care center numerous times with and without me. No one ever batted an eye. So I think there must have been something else going on. As for what Walt would want- were there childcare centers in the original Disneyland? I think that would speak to what he thought more than anything. I have found there are plenty of places to hangout with the under two crowd not just the childcare center. You just have to look.

 

[kohlby]

My kids are no longer nursing - as the youngest is 6, but I've nursed quite a bit at Disney world - I think it was 6 or 7 trips total that had a nursling involved. My middle child's first trip was at 2 months old. I found Disney an easy place to nurse in. If you feel you need a cover, a ring sling is nice because it has that extra fabric. But if baby and/or you, don't want to use coverage, then don't worry about it! If you're worried about a distractable baby exposing you more than you want, try nursing during attractions. A lot are darker and no one will notice. If you aren't in a ride and have a stroller, then just position the stroller to give you a little more privacy.

Disney is where I saw the coolest thing regarding nursing. There was a woman nursing her baby and her breasts were fully exposed. No one around her cared. She was exposed far more than I would have been comfortable with, but I thought it was great that all the people around her acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. Granted, I'm pretty sure they were a tour group from a different country, but it was still neat to see how breasts used for nursing was absolutely no big deal among those people.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

i brought My Breast Friend inflatable breastfeeding pillow, in a big beach bag, worked perfectly. We found any spot we could, including on the floor a few times in an airconditioned building. it was so hot, like 87 and humid the last week of Oct. so benches were not great. However, DD 1 was so good about it and made due with where ever we ended up. By the end of the trip the pillow was leaking air at the seam i had to blow it up each time one big breath. the pillow was totally worth the $25. As for being distracted, she wasn't. She never popped off once! Even with people walking around. For the most part people didn't "look" but some did. That started bothering me by the end of the trip. we didnt cover, it was too hot, but nothing barely showed and DD's head blocked what did show. Baby napped in the stroller plenty. Glad it leaned back far for her. EVERYONE that passed by looked and commented on how cute she was sleeping with her little arms up.

 

[Baklava]

i brought My Breast Friend inflatable breastfeeding pillow, in a big beach bag, worked perfectly. We found any spot we could, including on the floor a few times in an airconditioned building. it was so hot, like 87 and humid the last week of Oct. so benches were not great. However, DD 1 was so good about it and made due with where ever we ended up. By the end of the trip the pillow was leaking air at the seam i had to blow it up each time one big breath. the pillow was totally worth the $25. As for being distracted, she wasn't. She never popped off once! Even with people walking around. For the most part people didn't "look" but some did. That started bothering me by the end of the trip. we didnt cover, it was too hot, but nothing barely showed and DD's head blocked what did show. Baby napped in the stroller plenty. Glad it leaned back far for her. EVERYONE that passed by looked and commented on how cute she was sleeping with her little arms up.

One thing I noticed was that with most people who I caught looking, if I made eye contact they smiled and said something positive.

 

[Bootsie13]

We just returned from a trip w/ my 7 mos son and 4 yo dtr. I nursed all over each of the four parks w/o any issues. No covers or pillows, would usually cross my legs or prop up a foot to get the angle right. Before taking him out of the stroller would reach under my shirt and lower the side of my nursing bra, would then get him in place and lift my shirt just enough for him to latch on, usually used benches off to the side, but also used rides and movie attractions (I.e. Muppetvision). His other favorite place to nurse was on the bus to/from parks. Never was made to feel uncomfortable and got a "you go momma" on one occasion. baby doesn't like the covers and they are more distracting than the environment for him, I was worried he would be totally distracted but this wa snot the case.

 

[kohlby]

I haven't been to the parks since my kids were born (next month will be our first trip!), but I nursed DS in my Ergo until he was probably around 25 lbs. and still nurse DD (5 mo.) all the time in the Ergo when we're out and about. DS is 2.5 and still nurses and some people can get weirded out by that, so I'll probably have to find a baby care center if he wants to nurse while we're there. But nursing in a carrier is really easy. You just loosen it a bit to lower them. You can't see much unless some really tall person tries to look down your shirt. On the Ergo, there is a drape you can pull out and put over baby's head for sun protection or nursing. But I never use a cover because DD hates it, and I don't really care if some nosy person happens to catch an errant glimpse. PP is right--like most states, FL has public breastfeeding law that protects you. "A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breastfeeding."

I have a lot of nursing tanks from Destination/Motherhood Maternity in the mall from when they have sales, so you might look out for those. They are basically my entire non-work wardrobe right now since DD nurses They have elastic on the top so you just pull the tank down instead of messing with straps and buckles. They are loose and comfortable and perfect for FL weather.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

Don't feel you need to nurse somewhere else just because your nursling is not a baby. At 2.5, my youngest's diet was still 90% breastmilk due to his sensory issues. So, I nursed him several times a day in public and it wasn't a big deal. It would have been way too hard to walk back to the baby care center over and over. Even when he didn't nurse much in public, he had some moments at disney where he needed to nurse for comfort reasons. His sensory issues were acting up and it was either nurse him right there and calm him down or let my child struggle and those around him have to listen to him. As a result, it was in everyone's best interest to nurse him ASAP then - even though he was 5 years old. Do what your child needs. The best way to normalize nursing is to make it look normal. I totally get wanting privacy sometimes - I wouldn't have nursed him in public at 5 unless he really, really needed it. But don't feel like you have to hide just because some people aren't used to seeing it.

 

[kingqueenandprincess]

We just got back from our trip with one 20 pound one year old who is still BF. I have an ErgoBaby 360 and while we brought our stroller, I never brought it in the park! Only carried her in the carrier. It can be a little tricky to breastfeed in at first but we had been practicing prior to our trip. I used the baby care center at magic kingdom once but they are great! Have a filtered water cooler and my husband sat in the tv room and watched a little mary poppins. I also nursed her in carousel of progress (my favorite attraction!) as well as on the people mover. We ever use a cover either and honestly nobody even looked twice at me, However i am used to nursing without a cover in public and have grown confident over the past year about it so that is key! If anybody does look at you just give a big smile

In regards to nursing tanks, I love just the super stretchy Target tank tops, I think they are the long and lean merino or mossimo brand, and a t shirt. you can pull it down, pull out your breast and there you go nursing tanks and shirts are so pricey! My theory is if i can get one boob out and baby latched on its a nursing top haha!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

i was happy to see so many breastfeeding moms at disney. way to go! the more people see breastfeeding the more normal it becomes. it needs to be. i tell my DD4 that breasts are 'milks,' and that they are for feeding babies. when she asks why she has them, i tell her to feed her babies. now she sees me nurse her sister. when she role plays, she pretends to nurse her baby dolls. it is so wonderful. then when she asks why daddy has 'milks' i say they are for decoration, lol.

 

[kingqueenandprincess]

Hi just stating what happened when my daughter wanted to use the baby care area at the parks to take her 10 month old out if the sun and feed him in a quite area

She went with her husband and child to the open area not the breast feeding room my son in law was told he could not stay here and had to leave
Really
What if he was a single dad all alone would they say he can't be here in the open room with his baby

Disney needs to check their rules out in this
And rocking chairs r a must plus I think in each park they should have a area for rest and out if the weather area for kids under 2 even though those kids get in free it's these families that keep disney in business I know Walt would Deff have this available

I think the reason why he wasn't allowed in the breastfeeding room is because it is a room with chairs for multiple moms to be in when I used it once there were 2 other mamas in there. My husband hung out in the tv room, cooled down from the heat and drank a ton of filtered water I'm sure lots of women specifically go to the baby center to nurse in that room to have privacy so that's why your son in law was asked to not go in.

 

[Baklava]

I think the reason why he wasn't allowed in the breastfeeding room is because it is a room with chairs for multiple moms to be in when I used it once there were 2 other mamas in there. My husband hung out in the tv room, cooled down from the heat and drank a ton of filtered water I'm sure lots of women specifically go to the baby center to nurse in that room to have privacy so that's why your son in law was asked to not go in.

Read that post carefully. She's saying he was told to leave the open area as well. If it was crowded and he was not actively engaged in baby care I can see asking him to leave but there are dads who need the space too. Not the breastfeeding room, I agree, but it sounds like that's not what this was.

 

[jahber]

I've been to the baby center plenty of times and I've seen men in the open area every time. So it's clearly not their policy to exclude men. If it happens, I'd go straight to guest services and complain. In fact, I've seen male cast members WORKING in the baby center, so it's not a mom-only place at all. I'm sorry that happened. How frustrating!

 

[monkistan]

We just got back from our first trip with the 10-month old. My wife doesn't BF in the carrier, hasn't worked out. But she would just find a bench wherever and breast feed. We only used the baby centers for breast feeding once, mostly just for diapers and to get out of the heat. And, yeah I was never asked to leave the open areas of the baby centers. I just couldn't be in the breastfeeding room with her.

My wife breastfed wherever, on rides, on benches, wherever and whenever the baby needed to feed. No one ever said anything, or gave weird looks. We didn't find out of the way places. I guess it depends on what you are comfortable with.

Oh, my wife just chimed in. She liked the breastfeeding rooms because he ate better (quieter). That said, we didn't seek them out just for feeding.

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

My wife uses a Tula. She loves it.
http://www.tulababycarriers.com/collections/ergonomic-baby-carriers

Love my Tula's for nursing...it's so easy! I just loosen the straps, scoot baby a little to whichever side she is going to nurse on, latch her on, put up the hood if we want a little extra privacy...done deal! You can't even tell we're nursing