03/24/2021
If you don't know me personally, I am a huge believer that women are total rockstars and we should all feel the freedom to empower each other in anyway we can. Women are such strong, capable beings and I am in awe of their raw beauty every single day. The things we are biologically capable of doing is just breathtakingly beautiful. The sacrifices we make for others on the daily, the pain we endure bringing a human life into this world... seriously, it's all just a beautiful mess and I am so honored to have the opportunity to capture these special moments and help tell these stories.
Her story:
I remember our first night home from the hospital, it was midnight, he was hungry and I had a breakdown. I didn’t know what was happening to me. No one in my family had ever breastfed before and all my searches were coming up empty. I was in so much pain. I couldn’t lift my arms past my shoulders or get Emmitt to latch because my ni***es became inverted when my milk was coming in. It wasn't until this random woman on a social media post started explaining everything and giving me advice on how to get through it! The power of community and strangers coming together to help one another is so beautiful and heartwarming.
Unfortunately, at 2 weeks old, my son started projectile throwing up constantly, had awful baby acne, burns on his butt and when I laid him down flat he’d start choking and was constantly crying. After 2 doctors and switching practices, I found someone who actually helped and didn’t just brush me off saying it was because I had an oversupply.
My son was diagnosed with GERD, then was prescribed reflux medicine and I was to start eliminating foods from my diet. I eliminated dairy, eggs, caffeine, seafood and acidic foods. After the 8 week detox period, we were able to get his reflux under control with my new diet and his medication. Things finally started looking better. I returned to work after 3 months. Pumping was exhausting, but so rewarding, as I was able to donate just over 3,000 oz of breastmilk to babies from all over the state!
Emmitt has been breastfeeding for 18 months now and showing no signs of wanting to stop!