World Breastfeeding Week: What this stranger did for a breastfeeding mum will make you cry

Trine Jensen-Burke

When my little girl was a baby, the only place she would ever sleep was in her Bugaboo. In motion.

Meaning, that during those first few harsh winter months of her life (she is born in late December) we walked the streets of Oslo for hours every day. Now, this did wonder, of course, for getting rid of that baby weight, but was less great on my bank account, as I had to drink a lot of take-away coffees to stay warm and, well, awake.

If I went into a cafe or coffee shop, she would inevitably wake up and demand to be fed promptly. And I would have to order something, find somewhere to sit down, wriggle out of a lot of layers (Norway, winter etc.) and get her latched on.

If I had ordered food, I usually would have to wait until she was finished eating her meal before I could have mine – as quite a lot of dishes are tricky to eat with just one hand free.

Having lived through this ordeal (with two babies) is probably the reason my heart just melted a little today when coming across this incredibly sweet Facebook post by New Zealand mama Briar Lusia Mcqueen.

After being approach by an older lady in a cafe as Mcqueen was breastfeeding her eight-month-old son, the new mum took to Facebook to share the sweet exchange that had left her close to tears:

This is what she wrote:

‘Today was the first time I went out for breakfast alone with my 8 week old son,’ she wrote on Facebook.

‘I had just received my breakfast and hot chocolate when Jaxon started crying wanting his booby so of course I fed him.

‘After a few minutes this older lady walked up to me, I was scared, thinking she was gonna tell me to put my boob away [sic].

‘Instead she starts cutting up my breakfast for me and said “what a good mama you are, we can’t have your food getting cold can we”.’

After sharing the pictures and post on the social media site, the story quickly went viral, prompting mums from all over the world to share their own positive breastfeeding stories.

‘It is so lovely to see a good reaction to a mother feeding her baby for once! What a lovely lady,’ one woman wrote.

Another agreed, writing: ‘Beautiful example of one mum helping out another in need. Good on you mums’.

‘I remember getting a thumbs up and a round of applause from an older lady in the Lake Land cafe when I fed Callum there, so sweet,’ one lady wrote.

We just feel a little better about the whole world today having come across this story.

Have YOU got any positive breastfeeding stories to share this World Breastfeeding Week, mamas? We would LOVE to hear them, so please share in the comments or tweet us at @Herfamilydotie