Family Photographer Seattle | Amber
With little hesitation I knew I wanted to do something special for Breast Feeding Awareness Month. As a Family Photographer and Birth Photographer in Seattle you can imagine this is and intimate and personal part of family life that I would of course be interested in capturing.
I decided to do Free Portraits in the Park! Something so special should be captured! So I offered my services to some wonderful Moms and I asked them to tell their story.
Let me introduce to you: Amber
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“I first decided I would nurse early in my first pregnancy. It was natural, best for baby, and as a bonus free. Like most women without children I knew everything thanks to my research and figured since I was prepared nursing would be a breeze. It was an eye opening experience months later when I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Sophia and realized breast feeding was more than just latching a baby to the breast.
Breast feeding, it turns out, was way more difficult than I thought. I didn’t know anyone who had breast fed more than a few weeks, and had no idea there were so many things that could go wrong. I had flat nipples (apparently fairly common) and my precious newborn had a shallow latch. It took 6 weeks, and several visits from the lactation consultant, before I could nurse without being in a lot of pain. I wanted to quit several times, but with my husbands support I just kept setting goals and encouraging myself not to make decisions until I reached my goal. Soon 3 months had passed and the pluses of nursing started to overshadow the negatives. I loved the freedom of not needing bottles and being able to grab my kiddo, a change of clothes, and a few diapers and run out the door. I was finally getting a hang of and feeling comfortable nursing uncovered which made nursing in public so much easier and less conspicuous. Around this time I also found a wonderful group of moms in my area and learned about extended breast feeding. I had had no idea that women breast feed past one, but the more I learned the more I thought this might be for us.
My daughter Sophia is now 2.75 years old and is still nursing tandem with her little sister Natalie (11 months). It hasn’t been easy, but what worth doing is? Every time I tandem nurse my girls and they sweetly hold hands I’m so thankful that I’ve had the ability to nurse both my girls and that they’ve started their lives with such an incredible bond thanks to breast feeding.”
-Amber
