To all the moms that are feeling empowered to nurse their baby in public, but maybe a little uncertain about HOW to do it, THIS GIVEAWAY IS FOR YOU!

Our friends over at Undercover Mama are celebrating our growing communities of nursing moms by sponsoring this Milk It giveaway of one Undercover Mama nursing tank in the size and color of your choice! {Giveaway link at bottom of post.}

Here I am, nursing Baby Mackenzie at the ABC Kids Expo while wearing an Undercover Mama nursing shirt in white, under my flowy t-shirt. Below I will describe how nursing in public was not always as carefree for me (before I discovered Undercover Mama!)

While nursing in public may be growing in popularity (yay!), it can still feel a bit awkward for mom at the get go. I still remember the very first time I tried to nurse in public.

You know when you see a glamorous mom at a cafe and you hardly even know she is feeding her baby? She has somehow latched that babe on and appears to be very casually chatting with a friend, while babe nurses away under her fashionable drapey shirt.

Well - that mom was not me. To paint a picture, maybe a month (?) after our first daughter was born, we set out to eat at an outdoor eatery in Oakland, CA. I felt somewhat prepared with my nursing cover in hand, but when baby Abby started fussing (and MAN could she fuss!) … and I started fiddling with my nursing cover … needless to say it all felt a bit more stressful than I had imagined!

On went the cover, up came the shirt from the bottom as I had seen so many moms do … frantic baby eventually latched, but calm I was not.

“Babe, half of your back is exposed …” my husband muttered in what I am sure was meant to be a supportive way.

“I know” I hollered back through my teeth … There I sat with my maternity pants barely staying up and that unsettling feeling of cold air on my exposed post-baby back and mid-section. UGH.

Baby was fed and we were able to eat at a restaurant, so in the most important way we were successful, but it certainly didn’t feel natural or easy!

After that experience I went out and bought a lot of “top-down” tops that I could easily nurse in while feeding baby under my nursing cover, but I still felt envious of the moms that nursed in public in such a carefree way while my cover seemed to call more attention to me than I was seeking (i.e. that time I was breastfeeding and the homeless older man decided to talk to me about my nursing cover and how it would be great for his daughter who “just had a baby.”).

The Undercover Mama nursing shirt takes away this anxiety and lets you nurse in public like a pro!

Fast forward to 2013 - knowing I would be nursing Baby Mackenzie often while exhibiting at the ABC Kids Expo, I prepared myself with the Undercover Mama nursing tank and a flowy top over it (printed to match our “Will Cry Over Spilled Milk” onesie). I didn’t use my nursing cover all week!

My husband’s comment this time - “I didn’t even know you were nursing!” YES! SUCCESS! I had become that carefree mom, nursing in public!

Best of luck with the GIVEAWAY moms and may you enjoy nursing in public, wherever and whenever you want! As my friend Kim over at Milk & Baby says, “It’s HIP to NIP!”