Becoming a parent is undoubtedly one of the most difficult and rewarding experiences in life. Mothers are tasked with caring for little humans who need their full attention at all times; they must be fed, rested, and kept clean or else suffer the consequences. Unfortunately, these tasks can arise at any moment – even when mom or dad desperately needs some rest after an exhausting day of parenting!
Aleigha Jean, a fresh new mother to her seven-week-old infant daughter, had ventured out for a quick supermarket run in her hometown when suddenly, her baby began screaming for nourishment. Like any doting mother would do at the spur of the moment, Aleigha immediately initiated breastfeeding – although she was slightly aware that it could make some people around feel uncomfortable; so she made sure to keep herself and child covered while feeding.
Aleigha Jean was nursing her infant in public when another mother, with two sons aged five and seven, rudely scolded her. She felt that Aleigha Jean should immediately stop breastfeeding because it made the other woman uncomfortable to have it occur near her children.
Aleigha Jean was body-shamed and criticized by a woman despite the fact that she was fully clothed while breastfeeding her child. In response, Aleigha took to Facebook to call out this inconsiderate stranger’s unacceptable conduct.
“To the a**hole lady, in lack of better words, at Cobleskill Walmart who felt the need to mom shame me in front of a crowd of people today… ‘You know they make blankets for that… because that’s exactly what my 5- and 7-year-old sons need to be seeing.’ I was completely covered… When my daughter wakes up from a three-hour nap and expects to be fed, I’m going to because that’s my job as a mother, no matter what the circumstances or where I am.
“Maybe you should teach your sons how to be respectable in that situation (which they weren’t present anyway). The only blanket I had, had gotten dirty, and either way, who would want to eat with a blanket on their face, especially with how muggy today has been?
“Completely in shock as to how a WOMAN let alone a MOTHER could put a woman down another for that… I shouldn’t ever have to feel ashamed for feeding my child, but you, ma’am, should definitely be ashamed. With all due respect, and as I said in Walmart, Go F**k yourself.”
Aleigha Jane opened up to CafeMom about how difficult it was for her to try and contain her emotions when she was confronted by a stranger in Walmart.
“I’m trying so hard to do everything I need to do for my baby, and for another woman and mother to tear me down like that, it was really hard for me to comprehend,” she said. “IT IS OKAY to feed your child whenever, and I hope I encourage more women to breastfeed in public because it’s an amazing, beautiful thing! I will never stop, especially not because of some lady whose opinion doesn’t matter to me…”
