I’ve been trying to be friends with a girl. We know each other through friends and seems to have a lot of similar interests, but she’s just not going for it. Today my husband told me his theory on why: breastfeeding.

To be honest, I had almost forgotten that people get freaked out by it. I’ve already converted all of our main friends to at least not caring when I do it. Most of the time, I don’t realize that I even started breastfeeding Peanut until letdown. It’s just such a natural thing to me that I don’t worry about who could be getting offended.

I know that sometimes I startle people when they see me do it. I know that it’s probably weird especially for the people around me because being in my age group and having a child means that I’m likely the first person their age that they’ve ever seen breastfeed—if not the first person of any age (which is just sad).

But for someone to actually dislike me because of it? I just don’t know what I feel.

My initial reaction was “thank goodness” because it meant that it wasn’t that it wasn’t me. Thought, really it is me. Breastfeeding is a big part of what makes me, me. At least it wasn’t that I’m horribly annoying or something?

Immediately after, I started to just feel sad. Sad for her future babies that probably wouldn’t breastfeed if their mommy was so against my breastfeeding. Sad that someone would dislike me because of something to wonderful and beautiful. Mostly, sad because we live in a world where breastfeeding is seen as gross, inappropriate, and sexual.

Of course, all of this is just a theory. Maybe she doesn’t dislike me. Maybe if she does, it’s because of my bad jokes.

Have you ever had an instance where someone doesn’t like you because of your breastfeeding? What did you do about it? What would you do about it if you were in that situation?