Mamaway

Breastfeeding in public can be very awkward, there's no denying. Some men gaze in a prurient way. Some women look disapproving. Some teenagers look disgusted. Top spots I never want to have to do it include the London Tube or on a street bench or bus stop.

But, with a certain kind of devil-may-care attitude, consisting of muttering to myself "I am providing life-giving nourishment for my extremely hungry baby", most other places are fine. And almost anything's better than thought-obliterating screeching.

That said, suitable tops are essential, in my opinion. It's not very pleasant to have to expose half your chest (if you yank down a low-cut stretchy top) or half your tummy (if you pull up a t-shirt) to feed your baby. And in winter it can also be quite chilly. A good solution is to wear a vest under a low-cut top or cardi - what you do is, tug one up and the other down.

Or, you can buy special feeding tops, which usually have two layers in front, with the layer underneath having two holes. In my opinion, these are much nicer to wear than the vest-and-shirt combo, revealing far less of you. Many places sell such tops in neutral colours, so that you can combine them with anything, I suppose. My problem is, I don't feel happy in white/grey/black/beige and wraparounds are a hassle for me. I like to wear a coloured cotton top.

So I looked about, and the nicest shop I've found is online - Mamaway http://www.mamaway.co.uk
Their tops are pretty and colourful and reasonably priced (given how often you'll wear them, and the specialist design), many are cotton, and they really work well as feeding tops. Also, their delivery is next day. They have various nursing openings, but mostly you tug up/unbutton the top layer, and your baby gets at your nipple without having a swathe of shirt draped over her head. It can look like she is just snuggled up to you, not feeding.

I have breastfed in many a public place, from trains to restaurants to parks, and in front of many a person, from rellies to colleagues. Of course, all problems are not solved by a top. If your baby is popping on and off the breast, distracted or upset, then your nipple is going to be waving about for all to see, however quick you are. And if she dribbles or your other breast leaks through the pad, then there are going to be damp patches. For the latter case, I often wear a wide-weave, pretty low-necked sweater or cardi over the nursing top to disguise any splotches. This also disguises the line of the breast-pad.