This Panoramic Photo Might Just Make You Rethink the Whole "Breast Is Best" Philosophy ~ health and fitness,celebrity news,fashion blog,beauty women,whole foods,quotes about love

jeudi 11 août 2016

This Panoramic Photo Might Just Make You Rethink the Whole "Breast Is Best" Philosophy

Abbie Fox knows all too well the pressures that come with something as simple as feeding her babies.

When her son Maverick was born, the Las Vegas-based photographer was eager to breastfeed, but after weeks of struggling, ongoing appointments with lactation specialists, and countless tears, she couldn't take it any more.

"After six weeks of crying myself to sleep, my husband told me I was done," she told POPSUGAR. "He reminded me that the stress isn't good for me or our son so I was not going to go through this anymore. We started formula that night and I was only able to pump for about four more weeks before my supply depleted."

She was certainly disappointed, but her family was supportive. Others? Not so much, she said.

"I had many people tell me things like I didn't try hard enough or I must've been doing something wrong, or the worst was when people would tell me my child wouldn't be as healthy as breastfed babies," she told us. "I actually had so much mom guilt that when people would ask me if I was nursing I'd lie and they would always respond, 'Good, breastfed is best.'"

Perhaps most upsetting was that it was mostly fellow moms on the offensive: "The people who I thought I could go to and ask questions and get advice from . . . they were criticizing my choices."

When her second child was born, a daughter named Georgia, she had no issues nursing . . . and no issues with turning to formula when her supply dissipated after three months.

"Being a second-time mom, I was much less worried about what other people said because I had kept a little boy alive and healthy for two-and-a-half years, so I knew that I knew what was best for my kids," she said.

Her experience, however, made her realize just how isolating baby-feeding can be for many moms. She grabbed her camera and gathered up 21 local moms for a unique "Fed Is Best" photo session.

"I had always wanted to do a nursing session," she told us of her portfolio. "I feel like they are always so beautiful. But I also thought us bottle-feeding mamas are always left out. Isn't how we feed our children beautiful, too?"

In the panoramic photo, moms are feeding their babies in every way: there's moms breastfeeding and formula-feeding, and there's even a mom tandem-nursing twins and another nursing her toddler through her third trimester.

Her message is simple: "I can't help but notice the arguments in mommy groups about this and other hot topic items, or hear the talking of ladies at the park about all of the 'good' and 'bad' choices people make. So my thought behind this session was to remind the world that, really, fed is best."

jeudi 11 août 2016