Tag: breastfeeding photos

Preparing For Forever Weaning

hollymilkowski April 30, 2020

I have two children: one is seven, the other just turned four. The oldest nursed until he was six (plus a handful of times in the year afterward, but I still say his official weaning was at a full six years). The younger one, my current and final nursling, has some time left to go — he’s still going strong! But I’m already thinking about what his weaning will look like, and what affect it will have on our lives.

I imagine once he’s done, he’ll be really done. Based entirely on the behavior of my eldest, M, of course. M talks about “nanoo” fondly, albeit matter-of-factly. He thinks it’s both sweet and ridiculous how much his younger brother falls apart at the seams for nanoo, and is put right again with ease when provided mother’s milk. He offers to take photos of us nursing, either cooing “aww” or rolling his eyes at his little brother’s milk-inspired silliness. Read More

Is Nursing in a Beautiful Field at Sunset a Natural, Realistic Depiction of Breastfeeding?

hollymilkowski August 14, 2017

I’ll cut to the chase right now: the answer is both yes and (sometimes) no.

It’s been said that breastfeeding is an art. The art of photography highlights the importance of this honest statement about breastfeeding.

Here we begin to view it as the beautiful, innocent, inherently harmonious and peace-giving activity it is (if we don’t do so already). And we notice it’s more than an activity, really. It’s a relationship.

In this way breastfeeding photos (and other art forms) reflect the many nuances involved in the relationship between a mother and her nursling. One that can’t be negated even when a mermaid costume, computer-generated rainbow, endless fields of lavender, or fog machines help set a more surrealistic scene (I know you’re curious, so just go ahead and Google those already!).

The subject matter is the same regardless of the brand of camera that captured it, or whether natural or artificial lighting was used. What we’re looking at is simply breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding photos are always candid and improvised even if attempts are made to pose. If you watch a breastfeeding photo shoot happen firsthand, you’ll understand the only one directing the scene is the nursling! Read More

22 Beautiful Images of Black Mothers Breastfeeding Their Babies

hollymilkowski February 15, 2017

Breastfeeding is normal, natural, wholesome, and beautiful. In honor of Black History Month, here are 22 stunning images of breastfeeding mothers and babies of color that prove it.

What The ‘Tree of Life’ Brelfies Tell Us About Breastfeeding Moms

hollymilkowski December 19, 2016

We really want to share our breastfeeding moments.

Nursing our children is incredibly important to us. We’re proud, grateful, sometimes hesitant, always brave. See how quickly we all LEAPED at a chance to share some of our most treasured breastfeeding moments?

That moment when our babies gave us the big ol’ doe eyes, thanking us from somewhere deep in their souls for nourishing them? We couldn’t ignore it. And we’re so happy about it, we want others to notice too.

An innocently cute brelfie (breastfeeding selfie) trend like this should go viral and incite mad passion — even the World Health Organization said so in a UN briefing for this year’s World Breastfeeding Week.

We’ve been patient. So very patient. But we’re starting to get antsy in our nursing gliders and uncomfortable under the paisley tent-covers. It takes this degree of overwhelming social media with Tree of Life brelfies to normalize breastfeeding by tomorrow, when it really should have happened yesterday.

5 Reasons I Share My Breastfeeding Photos

hollymilkowski July 17, 2016

1). Breastfeeding needs to be seen to be learned.

“We absolutely need to see positive, educational breastfeeding images on social media and to encounter these maternal norms on a daily basis. Women learn how to breastfeed by example and observation, as is the natural design, rather than by instinctual expertise.

For a new mother, breastfeeding is like using a muscle she’s never used before — NOT like picking up an exercise routine with the blessing of muscle memory (even with breastfeeding experience, she still must learn afresh how to breastfeed each new child).” – Brelfies Aren’t TMI — They Celebrate a Power Exclusive to “Mom Bods”

Why We’re “Still” Breastfeeding…

hollymilkowski November 17, 2015

To the people who ask…

“Why do you *still* breastfeed?”

“Why do you breastfeed a toddler?”

…I could tell you a few things.

I could tell you that the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of two years and beyond as desired by the mother and child.

I could tell you that the biologically natural age of weaning for humans is between 2.5 – 7 years.

I could tell you that breast milk is just as nutritious (and actually packed with more antibodies) for young children as it is for young babies.

I could tell you that my child likes to have the option of nursing for comfort, just as much as he likes hugs, kisses, and self-soothing techniques.

I could tell you that breastfeeding is more than just food.

Many of these answers worked for a while. A good two years, really.

But now that I’m growing a second child in my womb and MaiTai is three years old, the questions have changed.

“Why do you *still* breastfeed during pregnancy?”

“Will you tandem nurse and why would you do that?”

This time the answer is simply… I don’t know.

How To Have An Amazing Nursing Photoshoot (Tips From a Breastfeeding Photographer)

hollymilkowski September 7, 2015

If you’ve kept up with this blog for even a short while, I’m sure you can tell how much I love taking and sharing photos — especially those that capture family love, such as when breastfeeding. I’m often complimented on my photos (I’m shy so it means a lot to me — thank you!), then asked for tips and advice on how to have a successful breastfeeding photoshoot.

To be honest, I think every breastfeeding photoshoot is the epitome of perfection and a success, even if the nursling got distracted or wanted to jam tiny fingers up his mother’s nose. That’s just breastfeeding! Try to remember: the idea isn’t to compare your photos to the outcome of others’. YOU get to decide what “successful” means in this instance — how refreshing!

I decided to let a professional handle some of the main concerns I hear a lot. I interviewed Whimsy Candids Photography‘s Anel Lestage, a Houston-area family photographer and editing expert who specializes in breastfeeding portraits.

**You can see pictures from my session with Anel in this post. Contact details for Anel can be found at the end of the interview.**

Read on for what Anel suggests to optimize your nursing shoot experience!

If You Never See Breastfeeding…

hollymilkowski July 14, 2015

If you never see breastfeeding, you’re missing awareness of a few things, or a true understanding of the whole thing — just like I was before I eventually saw it.

This way of child nurturing is so natural it can easily blend in with everything else we attend to in our domestic, professional, and social lives. But blending in is not equal to disappearing.

If you never see it, you may not know it’s how many women learn to become mothers. You may not know it’s how they continue to learn about who they are as mothers. So we must make a point to not let the image and act of breastfeeding disappear.

Brelfies Aren’t TMI — They Celebrate a Power Exclusive to “Mom Bods”

hollymilkowski June 1, 2015

Have you shared a “brelfie” (breastfeeding selfie) lately? A brelfie is a good thing, and here’s why.

We absolutely need to see positive, educational breastfeeding images on social media and to encounter these maternal norms on a daily basis. Women learn how to breastfeed by example and observation, as is the natural design, rather than by instinctual expertise. For a new mother, breastfeeding is like using a muscle she’s never used before — NOT like picking up an exercise routine with the blessing of muscle memory (even with breastfeeding experience, she still must learn afresh how to breastfeed each new child).

Coming Out From Under the Covers

hollymilkowski January 23, 2015

I was waiting on my dinner at a restaurant, newly pregnant with my first child. Though I sat at the table preparing to nourish myself and, by default, my unborn baby, I wasn’t too familiar with the feeding of an infant outside the womb. After all, I’d only ever fed myself, my dogs, and my goldfish (and a few plants, but that never ended well).

I was ignorant to the issues moms face when feeding babies outside of their wombs. I knew nothing of a “formula versus breast milk” controversy. I knew nothing of the media-fueled “Mommy Wars.” I knew nothing of how women are harassed for feeding their babies however they choose to do so. I had a lot of assumptions, but you see, assumptions are like opinions, and you know what they say about those.

6 “Helpful” Things You Should Stop Saying to Moms Who are Nursing in Public

hollymilkowski October 28, 2014

We all know the deserved reaction to harsh comments about breastfeeding in public. Someone who says “That’s gross!” might benefit from being handed a therapist’s business card. Someone who insists “No one wants to SEE that!” could use a reminder that it takes only 30 degrees of movement to make a publicly breastfeeding pair disappear from peripheral view, if so necessary. Whoever snidely laughs, “Stop trying so hard to prove a point!” may be appropriately received with literature on biology and survival (preferably a hardback cover straight to the face), the “point” of ensuring that our children stay alive and happy.

What concerns me more than the pitifully ignorant and sadly classless ones are the well-intentioned ones who occasionally say the wrong thing too, and risk causing as much harm as the jerks. For especially sensitive women (read: virtually all postpartum mothers), certain phrases, questions, statements can be taken the wrong way.

The 7 Grossest Breastfeeding Ads

hollymilkowski October 15, 2014

Nursing Support

How Should Breastfeeding Make You Feel?

hollymilkowski October 13, 2014

Now I don’t mean what does it feel like physically (you can read about that here). I mean, what does it make you? Just simply you plus milk-making ability? Or does it make you feel like something else entirely… perhaps like a cow?

Like a pinup?

Like a goddess?

A prisoner?

A machine?

Miraculous?

Or maybe like a woman, perhaps truly for the first time?

Breastfeeding in Public: It is (Not) a Big Deal!

hollymilkowski October 13, 2014

Breastfeeding moms are kind of ridiculous.

Seems like all we say is, “Hey, breastfeeding is so not a big deal! Lighten up, naysayers!” But then we stage nurse-ins, tweet to businesses that have mistreated us, and remind everyone from our friends to the mailman about the zillion ways that “breast is best.” I know, it’s a bit backwards to make a point of talking about breastfeeding at every chance, purposefully inflating it into a big deal when the bottom line of our advocating is, “Hey people, breastfeeding is NOT a big deal!”

Especially, especially, especially… breastfeeding in public.

Is Your Doc Breastfeeding-Friendly or Breastfeeding Phony?

hollymilkowski August 8, 2014

Photo Credit: Ana & Ivan Lifestyle Photography

At MaiTai’s first well baby check-up, his pediatrician was supportive of his being breastfed. She assured me, “Your milk is good, don’t worry!” (Okay, I hadn’t been worrying… until now?). When MaiTai turned six months old, she was also supportive of continued breastfeeding coupled with the Baby-Led Weaning method of solid food introduction when I mentioned that the traditional puree-spooning route that she typically suggests (like most pediatricians) just wasn’t for us. At his one year appointment, naturally I expected her to be supportive of continued breastfeeding. To my surprise and disappointment, she was not. In fact, when she found out we were still giving the boob, she said, “You should really switch to cow’s milk now. It’s more nutritious.” Is it? Is it??

Here’s what I think. If your breastfeeding-friendliness has an expiration date then you aren’t truly breastfeeding-friendly. If you give out the expert pediatric advice that an infant should switch to another species’ breast milk due to an untrue claim, then not only are you not breastfeeding-friendly, but also not breastfeeding-educated. A frightening pair of descriptors for an individual with pull and power within the professional medical community and influence among new parents.

Was our pediatrician the only one? Let’s take a look at the bigger picture.