A wedding invitation banned a Texas mother-of-two from breastfeeding publicly at her husband’s best friend’s wedding, and she let the world know about it.
Ceara LaFrance, 22, and her husband James got a note alongside the invitation that asked ‘mommies who are breastfeeding’ to refrain from doing it in front of the groom and bride’s friends and family, and informed them there would be a ‘designated appropriate place’ to feed their babies.
After the wedding, Ceara created a meme with the image of the ‘designated breastfeeding area’ in the bathroom at the event with the words, ‘We don’t eat in bathrooms and neither should babies,’ and shared it to the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook group, sparking outrage among other moms.
Really? Ceara LaFrance, 22, and her husband James, got a note with a wedding invitation that asked moms to refrain from breastfeeding in front of the groom and bride’s friends and family
They’d done it before: She said the bride and groom, who’s her husband’s best friend, had previously made comments about her ‘breastfeeding ways’ (Ceara with daughter Kendall, two)
The note in the invitation read: ‘To all our mommies who are breastfeeding, we are sensitive to the fact that you may need to breastfeed during our event, therefore we have designated an appropriate place for you to feed your baby so that you do not have to do so in public in front of our family and friends.’
Ceara shared that her husband was the best man at the wedding, and that the couple had previously voiced concerns about ‘her breastfeeding ways’ and asked her to do it privately. She told Today that the groom had even told her husband James that she wasn’t going to be allowed to nurse at his wedding back when she was pregnant.
‘But I said I was going to nurse wherever- I know the laws and I know the laws protect me. I know I can nurse wherever I’m allowed to be,’ she added.
Unfair? The mom-of-two decided to leave her two daughters at home but was angered when she saw the ‘designated breastfeeding area’ in the bathroom (pictured with husband James)
Fighting back: She created a meme with the image of the area with the words, ‘We don’t eat in bathrooms and neither should babies,’ and shared it online
Although at first she was upset about the note, after giving it much thought Ceara decided that it would be best to leave her daughters Kendall, two, and Lachlyn, three months, in the care of friends.
She said she went to the wedding and had a pretty good time, but got emotional at moments because it was the first time she’d been away from her baby for more than an hour.
‘I tried to brush everything off and enjoy myself, but then I went into the bathroom and saw that the “breastfeeding area” was nothing more than chairs set up outside of bathroom stalls with a basket of baby blankets,’ said Ceara.
The mom added that she was furious at the scene, but kept it to herself out of respect for the newlyweds.
Her post has been shared hundreds of times and Ceara’s received a lot of support, but she says being shamed because of breastfeeding is a huge issue that she deals with often.
Over it: ‘I’m tired of being shamed,’ said the mom-of-two
Is that ‘appropriate’? Ceara said the “breastfeeding area” was nothing more than chairs set up outside of bathroom stalls with a basket of baby blankets’
She wrote on Facebook: ‘I’m tired of being shamed and sadly I’ve never had a confrontation with anyone out in public or any random strangers say anything, it’s always been family/friends and of course always the women!
‘Why can’t women empower and lift up women… it’s sad that it’s mainly other women who have said and do say things! Like it’s ok for celebs to have boobs and ass hanging out on stage for millions to see but breastfeed a baby and it’s disgusting and you have no self respect.’
Still, she wants everyone to know the meme and note weren’t meant to shame the couple, who she has not identified.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Ceara said: ‘My reasoning is to spread awareness about the way breastfeeding moms are still being treated. We should not be TOLD/REQUESTED to go to another room to FEED our children. Especially in a nasty bathroom.’