This session will forever hold a place in my heart…
I met three incredible women with one incredible story of sisterhood. I learned that when motherhood has blindsided you, leaving you broken-hearted, you can come out on the other side feeling even stronger. These women really showed me how united in motherhood we truly are!
“Motherhood has been the most magical, beautiful and emotional journey I have ever known. What I didn’t know or anticipate, was the love, the struggle, the pain and the village behind breastfeeding. Since my baby girl was 3 days old, I have been an exclusively pumping mama. Pumping has brought me to my knees in tears. The pain has almost been unbearable, the time spent attached to a machine, the time it’s taken me away from my precious baby girl and the voice inside my head reminding me that I’m not nursing my baby took it’s toll on my heart. I dreamed of nursing my baby for 9 months as she grew inside me, and when those dreams came to an end, a piece of me felt gone. What I didn’t expect was, for that piece to be filled (and more) by two breathtaking mamas and their amazing baby boys. I get to donate my breastmilk to these two families and it warms my heart completely. My pumping and hyperlactation/donating journey led me to them and them to me and I honestly feel like the luckiest mama alive and beyond grateful. Those baby boys and their mamas mean everything to me. Even though I only contribute a portion of the milk they intake, I can’t help but feel like they’re my babes too. I can’t help but think of them each pump, I consider them on so many of the decision I make, because helping them makes this pumping journey that much more worth it and that much more magical. I never knew how much offering my daughter my breastmilk meant to me until I was faced with pumping and all it’s trials and tribulations and until I realized I have no plan on stopping. Pumping has been one of the most trying times of my life but also the greatest blessing I could have asked for. I love that my baby girl has two milk brothers and two extra mamas in her life. I will treasure this part of motherhood forever.”
“The effort and emotional rollercoaster I put forth to provide breast milk for my baby, but fell short on devastated me- I felt as if I wasn’t enough. That I failed. That my ability to not produce all my sons needs made me an inadequate mother. However, with every heartbreak there’s a lesson you gain. For me, I learned that for something so natural, many woman struggle in their own ways and I was not alone. I also learned that the most selfless gift I’d ever receive was another mother’s willingness to provide my baby with her breast milk. There is something so profound, so empowering and so gratifying when you feed your baby the milk of another mother. It is because of my struggles that I know the value of every drip of breastmilk I’m gifted. With every feed my son has received, I know the work that goes into it and I’ll be forever indebted for that labor of love. It’s shifted my perspective and made me appreciate what little I can provide and that it truly does take a village to raise a child. “ 
“Motherhood is amazing. So is the sisterhood of motherhood, where women come together in amazing ways to care for each other and their babies. This picture shows three babies nourished by one powerful and beautiful woman. The gift she gives to us is beyond priceless.”
Beautiful photos, and a testament to how we can help each other in small ways which have large meaning.
Thank you!! These women are incredible and I’m so happy they allowed me to share their story!