Breastfeeding Photoshoot – Why you should do one too!

I’ve always seen those beautiful pictures on social media of women gathered together in beautiful dresses breastfeeding their babies together. There is such a sense of unity to women past and present in the long-standing tradition of mothers feeding their children.

I never thought I’d be able to participate in an event like this due to timing, location, etc, until a local photographer decided to support a mother who had gotten some negative comments for breastfeeding in public. I was SO excited to be apart of this!

Breastfeeding Photoshoot experience

After my initial excitement wore off though, I started to get a little worried. What had I just signed up to do?? I often breastfeed in public, and with my second child I’ve ventured into feeding him mostly uncovered anywhere we happen to be. Although I’ve become more comfortable with this, I still don’t like to show much skin or make others around me uncomfortable and often cover up if I’m able and baby is permitting (check out my video on tips for breastfeeding in public). So I was a little nervous about the odd looks we’d get and the inevitable nip-slips that we’d all experience while sitting on a rock… in public… with our breasts out…

To my surprise though, it was a fantastic experience. It was amazing to bond on such a primal level with these other beautiful women I’d never met. We were all at different stages in our breastfeeding experience and I realized how motherhood looks so different to every woman. We all had different challenges, strengths, and circumstances, but for those short 30 minutes, we were all the same. All in white, all mothers, and all together as women with our children.

In fact, I got so comfortable, that I decided to jump in the lake! Thankfully the photographer was willing to shoot a few photos so I wasn’t just standing there breastfeeding my baby alone in the water.

I would participate in something like this again without hesitation. If you ever get the chance to be part of a breastfeeding photoshoot, I encourage you to do it! I will cherish these photographs forever and one day soon I’ll miss these tender moments. Our culture is changing in a positive way, and any unity and awareness we can build among ourselves is a step in the right direction.

A special thanks to photographer Lauren McKuin <3 You are amazing! Also the beautiful Analisa Wilson who spoiled me with hair and makeup! I truly have wonderful people in my life.

Photography courtesy of Lauren McKuin
https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/21054896_670299179827643_7422797731750621740_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=0c51313901f1f73a076facdc7053762c&oe=5B2A06D8
Photograph courtesy of Lauren McKuin

——————-

UPDATE!! 3 years later I did another breastfeeding photoshoot! This time in Virginia with fantastic photographer Sarah Soriano (she also did my maternity photos in Belgium, which you can see here! They were AMAZING!) We went out to the beach the night before I left on a week-long trip without my baby. This was the last time I breastfed him and we caught these special moments on camera. SUCH an amazing experience, which really helped me say goodbye to the end of an era. Breastfeeding my last baby, for the last time…

~All things for you and your new little life~

Breastfeeding Photoshoot - Why you should do one too!

Leave a Comment