Mothers have long felt the need to be discrete when breastfeeding their babies for fear of getting stared at or critical comments.
However one mother, a waitress, took a stand in solidarity when another mum breastfed her child in the cafe she was working at.
Arizona mum Isabelle Ames was touched when her waitress Erica left her a note and handed her a free pancake after she breastfed her 10-month-old daughter Charlotte.
The note read, “Thank you for breastfeeding here! Much love and respect!!! Erica”.
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Isabelle was so touched by the gesture that she wrote an Instagram post about why it brought her to tears.
“I am still teary eyed writing this hours later,” she began. “While at breakfast this morning I was doing my usual thing- trying to wrangle a very active ten month old while trying get at least one sip of my coffee. When Charlotte got hungry, I started breastfeeding her.
“It went okay, but lately it’s been extra difficult. She has a total of 6 teeth now, and we have both been sick for a week. When she finished, my server came over and said, “this pancake is from me, to you. Here is a little note to explain why.” She then began to tell me how “us mommas gotta look out for each other”. Instant tears. I gave this incredibly sweet stranger a hug and cried again.”
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She broke down the situation for anyone reading that may not have experienced breastfeeding before.
“For those of you who don’t understand why this is meaningful, I will put it into perspective. Breastfeeding is one of the hardest things I have done, next to labor. No one prepares you for it, but everyone expects you to be excellent at it. You feel like a complete failure when it doesn’t happen right away.
“For the first two weeks after Charlotte was born, I could only pump and cry because I was so broken-hearted that I couldn’t get her to latch. Then for the next 4 weeks, I could only breastfeed with a nipple shield. It was better than pumping but still not the same.
“It was not until about 6 weeks after she was born that she latched for first time and I was able to successfully breastfeed. I cried tears of relief and ecstatic joy.”
She said that even though she has overcome it now, her challenges as a mum are only beginning.
“Even at 10 months old, it is still hard some days, without even talking about breastfeeding. I haven’t slept in days because she is sick. I am beyond exhausted. Yesterday I got so frustrated I screamed fifty curse words into a pillow. That’s #momlife some days.
“But for a complete stranger to see me, and say “thank you”. I felt like she was there on my journey the whole time, and she knew how many times I wanted to give up but I didn’t.
“So often, before I feed Charlotte in public I get a twinge of fear. “Okay, this is the time. Someone is going to harass me. They are going to yell at me. Someone is going to tell me I can’t do this here.” But not today. Today I got love, respect and a free pancake. Thank you to my fellow momma, Erica #normalizebreastfeeding #lovewins”
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Public breastfeeding has been a hot topic of discussion in Australia over the past couple of years, particularly after Sunrise’s David Koch suggested that women should be more discreet when breastfeeding.
Canberra satirical folk duo Sparrow – Folk made this hilarious video in response to the debate, also an act of solidarity.
