Mum slams manager who told her to cover up and be ‘discreet’ while breastfeeding her baby
A mum has taken to social media to shame the manager who called her out for breastfeeding her little girl in a restaurant.
Sarah Olson, from the US, was astonished to find herself harassed by a man she’s interacted with numerous times at the restaurant – a Subway franchise inside a Walmart – since her baby’s arrival.
‘I’ve been feeding my daughter in the same place for FIVE MONTHS now, with the same manager working there, with no problem. We’ve actually gotten along well; he makes my boyfriend food that isn’t even on the menu’, she told Babble.
After giving the family numerous ‘dirty looks’, the staff member approached the new mother’s boyfriend when she was in the bathroom to tell him he thought Sarah should be covered up while feeding.
‘I told him he cannot ask me that because it is against my civil rights, and against the law, and also his policy,’ she continued.
‘He proceeded to loudly tell me if it’s my legal right to “expose” myself, then he can just “whip his penis out and p*ss everywhere”.’
Since people want to say I'm "not telling the whole story"Here's the whole damn story.This is what happened when I went to talk to the Wal-Mart manager about what happened at Subway.I have SEVERAL witnesses to the ENTIRE thing. So keep making up your bullshit assumptions.Keep spreading lies.Keep talking shit.I see you, and I'm done.If you don't want to see a child eating, DON'T LOOK.I will ALWAYS feed my child WHEREVER and WHENEVER she is hungry."She did it for attention"Nobody has ever said "Come here, baby, let's eat because mom needs some attention!" You sounds stupid. Babies eat when they're hungry, even if it's inconvenient for the mom."She wanted this to happen"Really? I wanted to be absolutely humiliated in front of a store full of people, my in-laws, and my children? I wanted to be degraded and belittled? I wanted to cry for hours because I was made out to be this monster for feeding my child? Seriously, you really think that way?"She should use a cover, nobody wants to see that"Have you ever ate under a blanket? It gets HOT, stuffy, and uncomfortable. I'm not going to make my child eat like that because YOU can't figure out how to use your neck muscles.A lot of babies won't use covers! They'll get very fussy, kick or pull it off, or will straight up refuse to eat."You should respect others"How about YOU respect my hungry child.You are not more important to me than my children.My kids will always come first. My kids come before MYSELF, so of course they'll come before STRANGERS.Nobody is making you stare at me!As for the associates that keep complaining, how about you focus on your JOB and NOT ME.I didn't go to the news for "15 minutes of fame"I went to the news so maybe people will get it through their thick skulls that THIS IS NATURAL. THIS IS WHAT BREASTS ARE FOR.I didn't even want to be on camera!I debated for so long on cancelling! I thought about not answering the door or my phone when they got to my house because I didn't want to be on tv!But I did it to wake people up.I did it for other mom's.Get over yourself. It's not about you.Moms, feed your babies anywhere and anytime your baby is hungry. Keep that baby happy and healthy. You're amazing, and you're doing fantastic. Breastfeeding is hard, I know, but it is so worth it. You can do this. I'm so happy that I'm able to exclusively breast feed my youngest. With my oldest, I couldn't, and I felt like a failure. Now I look back, and I know that even though she only got half breast milk, half formula, I still worked so hard, and my daughter still got the nourishment she needed.Breastfeeding, formula feeding, a mix of both, you're taking care of your baby and you are AMAZING. I am proud of you.
Posted by Sarah Olson on Thursday, March 1, 2018
Sarah then demanded to speak to the Walmart manager and was understandably very disappointed by his reaction.
He told Sarah she was ‘a nuisance’ and said that she ‘needs to be discreet’ if she plans to continue breastfeeding her baby on the premises. The conversation left her deeply distressed.
‘It was a horrid mess. I cried for hours. All I wanted to do was feed my kid, and do some shopping, and I got absolutely humiliated,’ she admitted.
Having asked her sister to film the exchange on her mobile phone, Sarah uploaded a clip to Facebook. Her story was later featured on a local news channel.
‘I wanted people to know this is the LAW, this is our right, and this is NATURAL,’ she said.
‘I really didn’t want to be on TV, but I felt I had to because I don’t want any other mum to feel as horrible as I did. Nobody should.’
The owner of the Subway franchise later called Sarah to apologise for the treatment she’d received, promising to discipline those involved.