When I was pregnant and breastfeeding in the early 2000 or as they say the Noughties, I barely hear many peeps about “Free the Nipple” or furore of women breastfeeding in public. Today it’s a different story. Breastfeeding in public has come up to the front of the news, pun unintended. But first, let me share this.
I started off my motherhood journey wearing whatever extra larger sized clothes I could lay my hands on. Then when that got uncomfortable, I admitted my tummy was protruding too much and ventured off to find maternity wear. I remember thinking that many were quite unfashionable and made my petite figure so lost in them. It was at this same time that I met a fabulous woman at my local pregnant mummy group. We clicked immediately and became fast friends. Annee shared that she was to become a mum for the second time and have felt the same as me in regards to maternity and the almost non- existent breastfeeding friendly wear.
She was to go on and create her own label of fashionable maternity wear which then doubles up as a discrete breastfeeding wear which then triples up as a fashionable mummy wear after the whole 9 months and beyond. I am proud to say that I am one of her most loyal and ardent supporters! Of course, it helps that being her best friend, I am eligible for massive discounts. 😉
Back to this furore.
The issue of women breastfeeding in public has only meant that more and more women are picking it up. I remember when I was pregnant with my no.2 in 2006 in Surrey, the maternity nurse was alarmed at the low take up rate of breastfeeding in the UK compared to the rest of Europe. Massive public education has meant more women realising the benefits of feeding their babies their own breast milk. But then this is where the problem probably began.
You can’t tell a modern woman to feed her baby only at home or go to the dirty public toilet to feed her precious child. She wants to be allowed to feed her child whenever it is necessary and at the demands of that baby. Try telling a grown man he looks disgusting eating that burger, slobbering away and to take it to the nearest toilet!
Truth be told, in my 8 years (2yrs x 4) of full on breastfeeding journey, I have barely encountered negative looks or comments to my breastfeeding. I feed my children everywhere. And I meant everywhere!! There’s photos of me feeding one baby at an upmarket event like Ascot Races, another celebrating a crazy New Year’s Eve party with hundreds of other ravers and another strolling calmly around IKEA.
You know what my secret is?
- I was always completely calm when I’m feeding. I don’t draw any attention to myself. This means I try to pre-empt when a baby is about to get hungry or thirsty.
- I always have a handy sling (NOT a baby carrier) in my bag or buggy. I keep baby close to my chest when needed and a sling is amazing for discreet feeding.
- I only wear Annee Matthew clothes as they allow me to fully feed baby without exposing an inch of skin (without the need for a large feeding cover/bib/shawl). I may have been a half dressed belly dancer at one point yet I don’t want to expose more skin than necessary when it’s not about my art.
Annee is passionate about her label and helping mothers make it an easier job of what is already a demanding role, especially in the early days. So to help my mummy followers and friends, in conjunction with Mothers Day in Asia and the US, she is giving a 20% discount on her entire range just for me! Just quote GODDESS20 at the checkout and you will be automatically eligible for this discount.
Go and checkout her gorgeous goddess clothes for you, whether you are expecting or feeding!! (or like me, none of the above!! Just love their comfort!)
Remember to quote GODDESS20 to get that amazing 20% discount on top of her already reasonable prices (prices quoted on the website are in Singapore dollars. Exchange rates at time of writing are SGD10: GBP5.07/USD7.35) For my readers residing outside of South East Asia, please email Annee at customerservice@anneematthew.com to get additional special rates on her international shipping fees. So yippee to anything to help my mummy followers create amazing bonding moments with their baby. ?