50 Reasons This Breastfeeding Mom Refuses to Pump

Every single time a situation is brought up where some ignorant employee of some location tries to tell a nursing woman she can't breastfeed in public, the same responses come up time and time again.

"Why not just pump and give the baby a bottle?"

Well folks, there's a LOT of reasons why we're not going to do that.

Here are my reasons:

1. I don't want to buy a pump.
2. Pumps are expensive.
3. Cheap pumps don't do a good job for a lot of women.
4. I hate the feeling of pumping.
5. It can take me two days to pump what my daughter can drink in 10 minutes.
6. My nipples and breasts can end up sore from pumping.
7. Pumping is embarrassing and awkward even in the privacy of my home.
8. I don't want to have to wash the pump.
9. One of my favorite things about breastfeeding is how easy it is.
10. I don't own any bottles.
11. I don't want to spend money on them.
12. I don't want to have to wash them.
13. Babies that don't drink from bottles often don't want to.
14. It can cause nipple confusion.
15. It can make my baby hurt my nipple when she's confused.
16. It can make make my breasts expect me to pump the next day too.
17. It can screw up my supply.
18. Pumped milk is not as good for the baby as it is directly from the tap.
19. I don't want to haul bottles around.
20. I don't really care what you think.
21. My baby has never taken a bottle and I like it that way.
22. I don't want to worry about not having enough while I'm out.
23. For every feeding I don't give my baby, my breasts make less milk.
24. I would have to pump in public to make up for the feeding I'm not giving; no one wants that.
25. I think your eyeballs have special muscles that allow you to look elsewhere.
26. It's good for my son to see breastfeeding as a normal thing.
27. It's good for your kid too as long as you treat it like it's normal.
28. Fat cells from the pumped milk stick to the inside of the container, meaning baby gets less and it's wasted.
29. Anything she doesn't drink becomes trash even though I busted my butt to pump it.
30. Breast milk varies throughout the day so my baby would lose that benefit.
31. If I'm going to be out for awhile, it's impractical to have that much milk with me.
32. I'd get painfully engorged if I was out for awhile too.
33. My baby is more likely to overeat from a bottle.
34. She is also more likely to swallow air and have gas pain.
35. Or vomit/spit up.
36. I'm lazy.
37. I think the suggestion is rude.
38. One day of pumping and bottle feeding can have ramifications that last weeks on my body.
39. Pumped milk is the second best to straight from the breast — if I have the first, why wouldn't I use it?
40. Your husband shouldn't care what I'm doing with my breasts — he's married to you, not me.
41. My husband is happy that I breastfeed.
42. It makes last-minute trips much easier to plan.
43. I don't have to pack the diaper bag every time I leave.
44. I can nurse and walk.
45. A bottle can't put my baby to sleep as well as nursing can.
46. I don't have to dig through a bag — it takes two seconds for me to get my boob out.
47. I want her milk warm and prepared perfectly without effort.
48. Being uncomfortable with pumping can literally make it impossible to get any milk out.
49. Breastfeeding is just more natural.
50. I just DON'T WANT TO.

What are your reasons for not pumping and just nursing your baby in public?

Image via Laura Slomkowski of Lotus Maternity Services