This blog is aimed at women who are pregnant or new mothers in Warrington and want to know where to go to feed their child, if they are not yet comfortable or able to feed in public. I am hoping to add Liverpool, Manchester and Trafford Centre to the Blog at some point, but I need a few more shopping trips first!
Okay Golden Square Warrington. The good news or the bad news.....
The good news is, Golden Square has a beautiful feeding room, in the lower car park area, near to the information point and toilets. It is clean, with big comfy couches, a sink and even a TV! Having said that I have no idea how to turn the thing on. The room looks as though it is sponsored by Gullivers World, as it has lots of bright colourful pictures on the walls, all advertising the place - which by the way are lovely.
I like it because, although it is in the toilet area, it's not just a disabled toilet with an extra seat in it. Its a specially designed room, with everything you would need (and no toilet!)
It is big enough to park up a trolly and there is enough room for a couple of Mums, it is clean and has a sink and changing area..... And the sign on the door says 'Feeding Room' (As oppose to a picture of a bottle that it used to have - I know right!)
Warrington is only a small town, with a small shopping centre, so the fact that those in power at Golden square have dedicated time, money and thought into this makes me very happy... and a little proud!
Okay so now for the bad news... You go upstairs to the shopping area.. and out of all the shops in Golden Square, how many have feeding rooms? One! Debenhams.
Boots - No (that is terrible by the way... they didn't even offer me the pharmacy room when I asked!)
Marks and Spencer - No (although they were very helpful and apologetic here) and the cafe here is a great place to start public feeding - more on that later.
Just Debenhams... the room here is okay.. that is it's clean and tidy and has two comfy chairs. It is on the top floor, again in the toilet area. As you go into the toilets, there is a 'family toilet' - walk past that. Then hidden on the left are 'baby facilities'.
This is basically a large changing room with two chairs on one side. Now I really do not want to criticise Deb's because at least they have made the effort (*cough* - boots!) but my problem with it is that you are sharing with the baby change. Cue - the place smells like poo.
Also if a young Dad walks in to change his two year old's nappy, it is not going to put the topless new Mum at ease who is desperatly trying to get the latch right.
Having said all that, I have fed there many times, usually when I have no money for a cup of tea and just want a quiet place to catch up on my emails. I have never been uncomfortable there, and it certainly serves a purpose.
As far as Golden Square is concerned, that is about it for feeding rooms.
There are many things that you can do to gain confidence in feeding your baby in public. It gives you a massive boost as a mother when you do it the first few times. I felt ever so proud, because the world could see I was doing the best for my little one. Here are a few pointers.... First of all find a nice cafe, get yourself a cup of tea and sit down in a comfortable position. In Golden Square try
Scoop Ice Cream shop - the staff there are lovely!
Starbucks - Everyone breastfeeds at Starbucks!
Marks and Spencer - It is a good place to start, especially if your on your own as the chairs are big and discreet, and its easy to sit with your back to the rest of the cafe.
Go with someone else, someone you trust, like your partner, a close friend, or another Mama. Do not go with someone who is already uncomfortable, as it will knock your confidence and make you rush.
Take your time. If you rush, you will get stressed, your baby will not feed properly and will still be hungry and cry, or get wind and cry. Take your time, relax, enjoy.
If you are alone, distract yourself, read a magazine, catch up on emails, twitter, blogs. Its amazing how the time flies when your having fun.
Think about clothing. You have to do what works for you here... I could never deal with buttons. The combo that worked best for me was the two top combination. A fitted vest beneath a lose T-shirt is ideal, one comes up, one comes down... very discreet.
At home practise in front of a mirror, you will be amazed at how little boob is actually on show.
Use a muslin, scarf or cardigan to cover yourself. Hmmmmm this never really worked for me, my daughter hated having her head covered, and you must be careful that their air supply isn't comprised. I did have a large scarf I would occasionally throw over us both once she was latched on, but to be honest it became too much like hard work. My advice would be to practice at home, some people love scarfs, and certainly in the early days it may make life easier, experiment and see what works for you.
Finally, someone gave me some great advice once, which was ... the general public, would much rather see a bit of boob than hear a baby cry. Food is a basic need, it is far far far more important that your baby is fed than anything else.
Moving on.... I would like to add Supermarkets to this Blog, and will hopefully do so soon. Other places worth a quick mention are....
Mothercare - Feeding room is separate from changing room - which I like, but the chairs are quite uncomfortable .
Babys R Us / Toys R Us - Lovely feeding / changing room. They are joined so can get a bit stinky, but on the whole, lovely and bright with comfy chairs too!
Ikea Cafe - A great place to feed in public, fantastic facilities and lot and lots of other feeding Mamas to put you at ease.
Please do add comments on this blog about feeding facilities that you have found. As I said, we need to make public feeding the norm, but every little we can do to help the next breastfeeding mother is helping the next generation. So drop off some mags in a breastfeeding room, smile at a breastfeeding mother or offer to accompany a new Mum into town. Every little helps... I hope you find this blog useful xx
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