I met this local mom on Instagram, and one day she shared that her 3 year old daughter nurses her baby dolls. I was thrilled when she accepted my offer to photograph them together breastfeeding their babies!
In mom’s own words:
I believe that breast-feeding is a very natural, beautiful thing that happens between a mother and her child. I breastfed my first until she 14 months old and was pretty determined to not give her formula. With my daughter, the first 4 months were hard because I had a LOT of problems with clogged milk ducts. I became a master at getting rid of them. When my son came, I was (and am determined) to breast feed him until he is, at least, a year old. He’s 10 months old. When he was 6 months old, I lost about 1000oz of frozen milk (it completely thawed unbeknownst to me). It was devastating. However, I’m thankful that I, so far, have not needed my frozen stash to keep going. With both of my children, I was worried if they were getting enough (like so, so worried) and, yet, with time that passed and we got into a rhythm and it just worked for us. Both gained weight – at WAY different intervals (daughter was 10th percentile and son got up to 90th percentile at one point), their newborn jaundice away and we learned what life was like with an infant (and then what life was like with a child and an infant). I love love breast-feeding. I am thankful that I am blessed enough to be able to do it and that I have a husband that is so supportive for me to be able to do it. I want to encourage women (especially women in the early stages of having a newborn) – you CAN do this. It IS hard but you are not alone with your worries or your concerns or whatever it is that is making this hard. There are so many woman out there who have gone before you… if you are nervous or worried, reach out. You can do this! And there is so much support out there to help you! Just ask. 🙂
It’s time to start planning for the 2017 Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project! You can be a previous participant or someone new; you can be nursing an infant or a toddler (or older!); you can breastfeed traditionally, use donor milk, or pump. There are no limits. These sessions are about YOU and where you are on your journey and empowering yourself and other mothers through beautiful imagery.
Please reach out to me blaire@secondavephotography.com with a little bit about your story, and let’s plan your PBAP session!
