I was not allowed to use rocking chairs at Baby Care Center

[NotUrsula]

I don't know how long the baby care centers have been there, so I can't say the purpose for them. If they're a newer installation (like within 10yrs), then they may well be to help keep nursing mothers out of the park. But, if they've been there longer, I highly doubt that is the motivation because breastfeeding wasn't nearly as common then. The big pro-bf movement is a fairly recent phenomenon. The majority of the older generations bottle fed.

The MK's baby care center has been there since the park opened, and has always been sponsored by a provider of formula, but it did not always have an enclosed nursing room. That was added after a major controversy over right-to-nurse happened in Orange County in 1981. (It didn't involve Disney, but it brought the issue into the news locally, and it started the movement to get a law passed, which happened 10 years later.) The BCC's at Epcot, the Studios and DAK were built with the nursing rooms in place.

The existence of the nursing rooms are absolutely about Disney's attempts to placate complainers and somewhat "contain" NIP. It *is* nice to have a private room with rockers, and it draws in nursing mothers, which is exactly what they are hoping to achieve. They cannot stop you from nursing out in the open park, but they can lessen their complaint level by luring you to do it more comfortably in a private space.

I'm one of those people who can nurse anywhere now, but it took a little practice, and at say, 10 weeks, with my eldest, I wasn't good at it yet. He absolutely HATED having any kind of cover near his face, so he would go to great effort to tear it away, and he self-weaned at about 12 months. DD is another story; she was always a very focused nurser and just weaned under protest at not quite 3 yo. This time around, if I didn't want bystanders to notice, then trust me, they didn't. Sitting, standing, walking -- none of those were a problem with DD. Last time I was in a nursing room at WDW with her, the place was full of women pumping, and most of them were sitting on the floor. I remember seeing a memorable situation with a set of twins, Mom and Grandma were in the nursing room. Mom was feeding one with a supplement drip, while Grandma bottle-fed the other one; then they switched.

 

[kacaju]

Has anyone else been turned away from the Baby Care Centers? I was so excited about being able to rock my baby and feed her in a dimly lit, quiet environment, just like we have at home. I rock her and feed her at almost every feeding, so she was majorly thrown off not having that quiet time.

I think this is the reason you are upset.You went to WDW with the expectation of using those rooms and got your feelings hurt when you were told no.

 

[Iri920]

People complain about mothers nursing in the parks so Disney gives them a room to do so privately and then people complain about that, you just can't win. Do I agree with the rule? No, but if the sign on the door says nursing mothers only then I agree with the CM not making an exception although she didn't have to be rude about it. I'm sure your baby doesn't always have a bottle in a dimly lit room with rocking chairs so as long as there was a comfortable air conditioned place to sit I don't think you can ask for more specially since they don't have to have the baby centers in the first place.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

If there is so much of a demand that they have to be rocking chair Nazis, can't they buy more rocking chairs? I mean, it's Disney for goodness sakes!

No kidding!!

I couldn't nurse either. Geez, it's almost discriminatory against non-nursing mothers. A PP was right-- it's about the baby, not the mother.

Secondly, aren't the baby care centers sponsored by Nestle, makers of Good Start formula?? Hmm... wonder if they'd be happy about formula moms not being able to use their chairs...

PP-- I'd write a letter to Guest Services. I'm tempted to write a letter, too!

 

[GoinToDisney]

I don't think it's fair. However, I can sort of understand. For me, as a nursing mother who is very conservative with a baby who likes to show off my stuff, I'd find it difficult to nurse in front of other moms who are breastfeeding, let alone a mom who does not have her breast exposed. But I do think it would be nice to rocking chairs in another area for bottle-feeding mamas.

 

[BoardwalkSuzy]

Twice on our recent trip I was turned away at the Baby Care Center at the Magic Kingdom because I use bottles to feed my baby. I was told I was not allowed to use the room with the rocking chairs, and that I would have to sit in the open room with highchairs/regular chairs, with the TV.

What an insult not to let you use a rocking chair in the nursing room, especially when there are some available and unused! It's like saying you are not worthy, or that you can bottle feed anywhere, while only nursing moms need the rocking chair. This is totally ridiculous, especially when the name of the facility is the "Baby Care Center". Disney is always trying to manage crowd control, even in their nursing rooms, but this is just going way too far.

I too was determined to breastfeed, but had challenges with a small premie jaundice baby that couldn't latch, and my next baby latched so hard I'd cry in pain and bleed. I tried and tried, but we ended up having to go with bottles with pumped breast milk to get them fed by 3 months & 6 months respectively, then later bottles with formula. Spent lots of money on lactation consultations too. Many of my friends said it was so easy for them, milk always available on demand, supply equaled demand, and no need to mix bottles, or carry formula with you, can feed baby anywhere. Well, that was great for them. Didn't happen for me. Still I needed to hold baby's bottle, and rock them while they had their bottled breast milk or formula.

Disney, get some more rocking chairs...you can afford it! Don't treat a mom as a 2nd class citizen if she isn't able to breastfeed or even if she choses not to, and refuse for her to sit in the quiet rocking chair room! Babies nursing a bottle like to be rocked as much as babies nursing a breast. Disney, if you really want only breastfeeding moms in the center, then call it the "Lactation Center" perhaps to make it clear that other moms are not to enter.

Sorry to hear you got treated like that. I would have been very upset too.

 

[livndisney]

I don't think it's fair. However, I can sort of understand. For me, as a nursing mother who is very conservative with a baby who likes to show off my stuff, I'd find it difficult to nurse in front of other moms who are breastfeeding, let alone a mom who does not have her breast exposed. But I do think it would be nice to rocking chairs in another area for bottle-feeding mamas.

There ARE rocking chairs in other areas. They have some in front of Tony's, the shop near Haunted Mansion, Liberty square and I think there are still some on Tom Sawyer Island.


I think it is very nice that Disney OFFERS nursing rooms in the first place. Since everyone knows they do not have to. There are not many places that offer the privacy some moms and babies need. I can't believe people actually think Disney offers these 4 rocking chairs as an "attempt to keep breastfeeding mom's out of the parks".

 

[maraki527]

I dont know if they are posted, but I just went in and rocked my lo and fed her the bottle when we were there in July. No One said anything to me.

 

[mommylovesdisney]

I am sorry this happened to you. I agree that there should be a quiet cool place for ALL parents to feed their babies, but I woudn't want a dad in a Nursing/feeding room while I was nursing my blanket-hating dd.
I have no beans (after baby #1) about discreetly NIP either and did it plenty all over WDW and many other places.
I would be upset if they did away with baby care centers altogether though, nothing is worse than trying to feed a hungry baby with sweat dripping off your body.

Disney should take a cue from Dollywood. they had a couple of baby care stations throughout their park, not just one. In addition, there was a couple of rooms in most of the restrooms where a mom could sit and feed a baby privately. It was great.

 

[lathamary]

I am so sorry you had such bad experiences. I would have cried, too. I disagree with the "rule". I think any mom that wants to rock and feed her baby should be allowed in there. I'd definitely write to Disney about it.

 

[NemoMOm]

I think that this is a fair rule as long as the room is full or almost full. As a nursing mom I get so much grief from other mothers regarding nursing in public and I'm discreet. I've even had mothers give me snarky comments while doing it in the bathroom! So, I'm grateful that WDW provides a place where we can go and not be bothered. There has even been a lot of discussion on the disboards about how inappropriate bfing is in public.

On another note, wow there are so many of us with PCOS on this board! We should form our own thread

 

[kidshop]

If the room is empty, go ahead and use it, but be prepared to give it up to a nursing mom who may come in after you. Think of it like a handicapped bathroom. It is there to serve a need. Face it, nursimg moms are the ones who need laws to protect them from being thrown out of public places for bfing. You may be the first bottle-feeding mom thrown out of anywhere!


I bfed right out in the open in the parks, and that is how it should be, but society wants bfing moms to hide out and be discreet. You can't have it both ways. If we have to hide to be 'polite' then there better be a comfortable place to go.

 

[frtchr]

I bfed right out in the open in the parks, and that is how it should be, but society wants bfing moms to hide out and be discreet. You can't have it both ways.

And that, IMHO, is the crux of the problem. I always breastfed in public. I didn't care who saw me feeding my kids. Breasts have been sexualized throughout the ages, but the purpose of breasts is too feed babies. If someone saw my breast while I was feeding, oh well. Maybe people should quit looking or realize that it's just not a big deal. LOL I breastfed on a bunch of rides at WDW and in restaurants. It wasn't disgusting; I wasn't hurting or bothering anyone. I just hate the fact that breastfeeding moms are encouraged to hide away so no one is offended. Hiding away offends ME!

 

[la79al]

This is craziness. I am a breastfeeding mommy. I will, and would since day 1, NIP without a cover (but without exposing everything to the world either). I understand the concept of some mothers wanting privacy while nursing and the importance of them being able to have that at DW. What I don't understand is why things should be any different for bottle fed babies. First of all, if you need to warm the bottle up, wouldn't it be convenient to be able to warm it up and then feed it in one area rather than warming and then returning to the park to find an empty bench (which can also be rather difficult, let alone with a crying infant)? Secondly, if your baby is used to being fed in a dark or quiet area, what does it matter if that baby is getting a **** or a bottle? And thirdly, as anyone who has done DW with a baby knows, a baby adds stress to any vacation. Even if the baby rides in a stroller the whole time, you need to worry about keeping a schedule, having enough diapers/formula/clothes, keeping the baby cool/warm enough, etc. Sometimes moms, regardless of how they feed their babies, need a break from the park too. So fine, there should be a room just for nursing moms. So next to it, make a room for bottle feeding parents. Mom or dad can take junior into the room and enjoy rocking (and snuggling, cause that's the best part of feeding the baby ) or even just sitting in a quiet room for a few minutes while junior eats. In a place that is supposed to be so kid friendly, you would think they would go just one step further in making sure that they have happy parents.

 

[brergnat]

I agree that I think they should have a room for "bottle feeding parents" too, but there are space constraints. They can't make everyone happy all the time.

And, what's with needing to feed your baby in the dark? I only did that with my kids when it was the middle of the night. The rest of the day, they would get fed wherever we happened to be, which was often out and about, or at home in our bright and sunny living room.

I made (and still make) good use of the baby care centers at DLR. They are there for more than nursing moms. They have the microwaves for warming bottles and food, the highchairs (THIS is one of the big benefits of these centers, IMO), and the nice, padded changing tables (at least at DLR they are cushioned, not sure about WDW). We still go in there when DS4 needs to go #2 in the potty, since he can use the small potties and it's a lot easier for him (up until 42" tall, which he isn't yet).

These centers are here for all parents of babies and young kids. BUT, the specific closed off Nursing Mom's rooms are NOT meant to be a free for all, for anyone who wants to feed a baby anything. The rest of the air conditioned center is for that, if you need to get out of the heat. What's the difference between sitting in a couch or chair? The darkness? The rocker? Honestly, I found the rockers to be sort of difficult to nurse in, since they are NOTHING like the glider I used at home, which had a padded armrest and footrest. I was not tall enough to comfortably sit in the rockers for too long anyway...

 

[tink1969]

Sorry, I guess I'm missing the big picture.
The Baby Care Centers are so far out of the way, it never occured to me to use them unless we were in the area. They came in SUPER handy when it took 2 day for Magical Express to get one of our bags to us...the bags with the weeks supply of diapers and wipes! So I bought a few of the diaper kits from the baby center to tide us over (and it was a good thing I overpacked the carry-on!) There are so many dark quiet place in the park to feed a little one, all it takes in a little imagination. some of the opinions expressed here are tantamount to complaining that those in wheelchairs get special entrances to the attractions. After all, they are already seated and so don't have sore feet from standing in line.
The Nursing rooms are not there to maker anyone feel "special" or "better" than anyone else. If you feel that way, YOU have attatched those feelings. Disney cannot prohibit breastfeeding in the park, so they provide an alternative, hoping some will choose to use it.
Also, keep in mind that those stations are sponsored by a FORMULA company, and quite possibly not the formula that you have in your bag.


Thanks for the laugh this morning, the funniest post I've read all day!
1. Disney DOES sell ink pens, so you can write your name and number on your children's forearm if you are paranoid. I've taken my kids to DL solo since they were 2 and 1.5, and never did it dawn on my that Disney owes me an ID badge.
2. The smoking areas are CLEARLY maked with signs, and on the maps, and are in pretty out of the way places. If something made me so sick, I would locate where it is, and go out of my way to avoid it, not walk through it and complain later. I hope you don't ride on Autopia or breathe on the freeways or anywhere else in public, because there are so many toxins in the "fresh air" we all breathe on a regular basis. Or is it the concentration of smoke? Maybe Disney should do away with the smoking areas all together, so the second hand smoke is less concentrated in the smoking areas.

I'm sorry if my post got so long and rambling, but the entitlement attitude that is penetrating every corner of our society is slowly leading to the ruin of everything that I hold dear!

I was thinking the exact same thing when I read the poster's 2 suggestions for Disney. Your comments were dead on!

 

[lathamary]

This is me nursing at EPCOT

It never crossed my mind that Disney would have the nursing rooms to cut down on nursing in public. Shame on them! I used them because they were comfortable, and I think bottle feeding moms have every right to be in there, too!

 

[Mommee]

Unless OP was told to leave the entire baby care center, I don't see that there's any issue beyond the CM was rude. The room is for nursing mothers; she is not one. There are other areas in the center to sit and bottle feed the baby.

 

[mom2maggie]

I would have been satisifed if there had been rocking chairs in the main room, minus the TV. I don't need privacy, I just needed somewhere that my kid could get away from the hustle & bustle of Magic Kingdom. Sometimes babies have a hard time focusing to eat - suggesting that I try and feed her on a bench where there are HUNDREDS of people distracting her isn't a solution.

 

[mom2maggie]

Unless OP was told to leave the entire baby care center, I don't see that there's any issue beyond the CM was rude. The room is for nursing mothers; she is not one. There are other areas in the center to sit and bottle feed the baby.

Yup, a brightly lit room with a lot of other children running around and a television blaring. Not quite the calm, soothing environment I was expecting!