Coco Austin is proud to still be breast-feeding her and Ice-T’s nearly 4-year-old daughter, Chanel, amid backlash.
“[You] need to have a baby to understand it,” the actress, 40, told Us Weekly exclusively at the Equal Standard premiere on Thursday, September 26, six days after posting a sweet nursing shot on Instagram.
The rapper, 61, added, “What I think confuses people is they saw the picture and they think Chanel doesn’t eat food. And she eats cheeseburgers. She only breast-feeds … like, when she cries [and] she just wants to get close to her mama. She throws the boob out and … holds on. She’s not doing it for nourishment. This chick eats chili fries, OK?”
Austin, who welcomed Chanel in 2015 went on to say that breast-feeding “is not about” feeding her daughter. “It’s about giving love to your child and bonding with your child and also giving them good nutrition,” she explained. “Breast milk is like liquid gold. All around, it’s a good thing.”
Whether she’s being mom-shamed for her breast-feeding decisions or their matching outfits, the California native doesn’t care for unsolicited social media advice. “[They] just have some time to kill [and] need to say something to get a reaction from you, and I don’t want to give them any time. I want to give lovers time, not the haters.”
Austin didn’t always have it easy while breast-feeding her baby girl. “My nipples feel like they are gonna fall off,” the Ice Loves Coco alum wrote on Facebook after Chanel’s arrival. “They’re so raw from breastfeeding #NewMommyproblems.”
Now she considers nursing to be her “mother’s calling,” writing in a September 20 Instagram post: “Chanel still wants the boob. Its more of a comfort thing now and of course she eats regular, but nap time and night time are our times, and I’m lucky she hasn’t grown out it yet because when that moment comes, I will be so sad. Its the best feeling and ALL mothers that nurse know.”
With reporting by Nikaline McCarley
