The breastfeeding mom

female photographer Dubai by Arpna Photography

Breastfeed shoot for me is a very special project , something really close to my heart. Can`t thank Megan, Katie, Amy, Charlie, Fiona, Alice enough for being part of my project and understanding my vision. The idea behind this shoot is purely to encourage mums to breastfeed their child.

Being a breastfeeding mum of 13 months old boy, yes we have made through 13 months now, I have experienced first hand this amazing feat of my body being able to provide the most nutritious food to my child. From the very beginning I wanted to breast feed my child however it was not at all easy to begin with and such were the challenges of the initial days that many a time I wanted to give up and to top it all my boy had initial weight loss which made me live in constant fear of what if I am not able to produce enough milk for my child. Motherhood brings in unparalleled responsibilities and to see it all off , lots and lots of strength & courage too. Starting with sleepless nights and tiring days both of us , mother and son, got better at it and today after 13 proud months I can say this journey has indeed been an amazing one, worth every bit of it .

From my early pregnancy days I have been getting free advices , from friends, relatives and at times even strangers on dos and don’ts of breastfeeding and now a days a good number of them encourage me to discontinue breast feeding as my child has turned one.

Some of them have even come forth with home remedies and life hacks on how to stop milk production overnight. Really? Is it not my personal choice and something left for me and my child to decide? I plan to continue breastfeed my child till the time we both are mentally prepared.

I am not here to talk about how good breast milk is for your child , as that will merely be stating the obvious ,this is merely my contribution to this initiative of making our community more breastfeeding friendly. I have been to many breast feeding groups and mums have shared their stories on how due to certain mindset, situations and at times awkward social circumstances they wanted to give up on breastfeeding. A mum having to give up breastfeeding her child due to no community support is a real shame and a grave injustice to the mother and child.

Many times mums are made feel its not ok to feed in public. If we can have our take away food in public, why cant infants have their most nutritious food in public ? I know many working mums who shared their story with me of Pumping milk for their child in their office washrooms out of sight from people who supposedly get unnerved at possibly one of the most beautiful sights in nature – that of a mother nourishing her child. So basically the moms are forced to feed their babies or prepare for it in a washroom or at best in tiny uncomfortable confinements . We as a community can for sure do better than that .

We talk about giving our children the best possible growing conditions and bright future but somehow the very basic need of nourishment , which will nurture the child for the future ahead, is not given the respect and acceptance it deserves. Please encourage mums around to breast feed their child , when they please , where they please and as long as they please. And if you cannot encourage at lease please do not make them feel uncomfortable. Spread awareness . Do share your pic with your child and your story about breastfeeding. I would love to feature one of you in my next breastfeeding blog.
Feel free to share and spread breastfeeding awareness..

Megan Taylor sharing her story-

It was a big surprise for me and my partner Andy when I got pregnant with Olivia, as I had a contraceptive coil fitted and we weren’t planning to have children just yet. But life doesn’t always go to plan! Although surprised, we quickly became really excited about becoming parents and chatted lots about what things would be like when she arrived. I assumed I would breastfeed Olivia as it seemed the normal and natural thing to do, and it didn’t occur to me that it might be tricky. How wrong I was! In the first few days we struggling with getting a good latch as Olivia was still learning how to do it and my breasts were quite engorged with milk. However, the midwives and breastfeeding peer support workers were amazingly helpful and helped us to get better at it quickly. It is easy to doubt yourself and your body’s abilities when you are exhausted, but I’m so glad we persevered as things became much easier after the first week.

I was amazed at how much Olivia needed to feed, it was pretty much constant for a few weeks! I found that she was happiest and I got more rest if I fed her whenever she showed signs of wanting it, rather than trying to establish any kind of feeding routine. This way I knew I was responding to her needs and that made us both really content. Andy was a huge help in these early weeks as I focused on feeding and resting and he did lots of nappy changes and bringing me drinks and snacks.

I never made a conscious decision to breastfeed Olivia for a set amount of time, I’m just happy to provide her with the nutrition and comfort she needs for as long as that makes us both happy. I recently learnt that the World Health Organisation advises nursing until at least 2 years old where possible, and in many cultures children breastfeed until around 4. Nursing Olivia in the day is a lovely way for us to rest and reconnect during busy activity-filled days, and during the night it settles Olivia back to sleep really easily and, as we are in bed together, means I get the sleep I need too.

I feel really lucky to have been able to breastfeed Olivia, and having these photos done will be the perfect way for me to remember this time in years to come.

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Katie Rebecca sharing her story..

Breastfeeding is the easiest, most natural and convenient way to feed my little boy…at least I can say that now!

I never anticipated breastfeeding would be so difficult a skill for my little boy and I to master. As soon as I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I wanted to feed my baby this way due to the bonding and health benefits (not to mention how easy it seemed).

When Hugo was born, under the expert guidance of the amazing midwives at the hospital, I managed to breastfeed Hugo with some success. It was painful initially but also an extremely beautiful experience. On going home, I didn’t feel that confident at the art of breastfeeding but I was reassured to find that the midwives were always on hand with timely advice. They were happy to visit, or speak on the phone to guide me through the technique and especially to keep me motivated to continue. I really cannot commend them enough.

I had mastitis and an infection following childbirth; not long after Hugo was born. I felt so ill, in pain and on top of that felt the exhaustion that all new parents face! There were times it would have been easy to give up and although extremely supportive, my other half asked if wanted to switch to formula to make it easier when I was ill, so that he could share the responsibility of feeding.

I half considered it for an instant but resolved to continue breastfeeding. Whilst I was ill, my partner would take Hugo downstairs and look after him until he needed feeding. When he would cry for milk, he would bring him up to me and I remember crying and wincing with the pain of feeding him for long periods of time.

The midwives promised me that it would get easier and kept supporting me and praising my efforts (we all need that from time to time). Thankfully, with the support and encouragement of my partner, we continued breastfeeding. It did get easier and now I can’t imagine feeding him any other way.

Nine months later, we are still going strong and it is a wonderful part of our relationship. Maybe if I hadn’t have had such a fantastic support network around me, I wouldn’t have continued to breastfeed.

With the knowledge of how difficult it can be, I applaud all mothers who; have tried breastfeeding, continue to breastfeeding and feel confident enough to continue until they feel ready to stop (not when other people say they should)!

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Charlie Haymonds sharing her story-
When I became pregnant with my first daughter I wasn’t sure if I wanted to breastfeed or not. I had quite a few negative comments on breastfeeding from my family and some of my friends felt pressured into doing it. I was very lucky that Maisie latched on straight away. Since then I have become pro breastfeeding! Now I’m feeding my 4 month old boy and I love the bond we have. I feel proud of myself I have nursed and nourished my two babies and have given them the best start in life. It is only since socialising with other breastfeeding mums that I hear about their rocky starts to their breastfeeding journey, I feel so lucky n fortunate to never had had any issues so I’m going to train to become a breastfeeding peer supporter so I can hopefully help other mums on such a special journey and so they can enjoy it as much as I do. I don’t know how long I will feed my son for but as long as he wants to and I can provide for him I will continue.

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Fiona McAndrew sharing her story.
My breast feeding journey started in April 2011 when my little girl was born.
I knew I hoped to breast feed and intended on giving it a try but after she was born I quickly became really passionate about it.
My daughter now 5 years old and my son, now 15 months were both emergency c-sections so it wasn’t easy and there were several times I would feed in tears due to bleeding and mastitis, for a while I would dread the next feed but through all this, stopping just wasnt something i considered.
I so wanted to breast feed and to continue and that’s what I did and I’m so happy I did.
I can understand completely why some women choose to stop and I believe that whatever decision a mummy makes about how they feed their children is the right decision for them and their little ones.
I breast fed my eldest up to about a year, Exclusively for 6months. After that she did have a bottle of formula sometimes and she was fine with that. I went back to work after 10 months so we’d gone down to nursing just at bed time. She weaned herself completely. I made a decision I never wanted there to be a planned ‘last feed’ I would find that too hard and the way it happened was completely led by her. I didn’t know the last one would be the last one.
With my youngest I felt the same. However he wouldn’t and has never taken a bottle or dummy, he just didn’t want them so he has been exclusively breast fed.
He’s a thriving 15months and our journey continues. I love the bonding experience and I love the benefits it has for my children and myself.
I will continue as long as he needs.

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Amy MooreSharing her story..
I never thought about breastfeed a baby I have 4 children and 3 were bottle fed then I had my baby girl and she wouldn’t take the bottle so I had to try breastfeeding which I wasn’t happy about at the time the 1st few weeks where hard but now the bond we have and the way things are so different and I wish I did it with all off them. it is truly amazing and I never thought I would do it she is now 6 months and we are still going strong. even though I can only feed off one side.