That "little" newborn happened to be the biggest baby I have ever photographed! He was 8 days old, but I swore I was photographing an almost 2 month old! Now, he is 9 months old and sitting all on his own, so of course I had to have him back for the popular "sitter" session! I've discussed "sitter" sessions in previous blogs, but I'll say it again, it"s literally one of my favourite sessions to capture. So much personality has blossomed in such a short time! I just get such a kick out of it.
Anyhoo - this little guy comes into the studio and I felt like I was looking at a 2 year old! He is now 26 lbs of pure BOY! When Mum and I were planning the session, she had asked if I wouldn't do a few special photos of her breastfeeding this little (big) guy as she wasn't sure if they would have more children or if their family was now complete. I was completely thrilled to have been asked to do this! Of course I said yes... and I am so glad we captured these moments for them.
The photos turned out wonderfully perfect, and while I was shooting, and again when I was editing the photos, I really reflected on my experience breastfeeding. Now, I will say that I was fortunate to have had plenty of supply, both my babies latched easily and overall there was no struggle to find a rhythm with feeding my kids naturally. I had comes to terms before delivering my kids that if I found that I couldn't breastfeed, I would be okay going the formula route too. I just wanted my babes to be fed and nourished! As a new mom, I was completely overwhelmed and I don't know how I would have coped with the struggle of getting it all to work had it not been as easy as it was, or the pressure of "breast is best". I immediately felt my first twinges of guilt, because I did have friends at the time who were struggling. This was the first of many moments of Mom guilt that I experienced. I sympathized with those who struggled and at times, even felt bad or slightly uncomfortable for admitting I didn't struggle with it at all. But that doesn't mean there weren't other kinds of struggles... I was postpartum with my first baby and I probably wasn't coping very well with the newness of motherhood. I found that I didn't always enjoy breastfeeding, despite having read in so many places how precious it was, what a beautiful bonding time it was for mum and babe, and how I should cherish it. Don't get me wrong, I did eventually have moments like those, but it took a long time. So there was more guilt. Was I doing it wrong? Was I bad mom for not loving every second of it?
I eventually had our second little babe and by then I was more experienced and maybe more relaxed. I do think I was able to enjoy it more by then. During this particular photoshoot, memories of how it felt to be engorged came flooding back, how the latch felt and the moments of calmness and when babe was older- squirmy as heck! I also felt sad for not having photos of my babes breastfeeding. Even though my kids are only 8 and 10, I don't believe breastfeeding photo sessions were trending as much back then as they are now, and even if they had been, I admit I was way too short sighted to even think about potentially wanting memories such as those documented for the future. I can say now that I do wish I had photos of me and my babies as lovely as these, even just to keep for myself.
With Mum's permission, I share with you the beautiful bond she shares with her little hunk of love. He is SO heckin' cute!! I hope you love them as much as I do. If you are breastfeeding and think that you'd like to capture some of those moments to hang onto, I would be absolutely smitten to chat and plan a session together.
