PBAP 2015 | World Breastfeeding Week Review | St. Augustine Family Photographer

Having sat on both sides of the fence I find it challenging to find the balance between celebrating and supporting women who breastfeed, while not excluding or offending moms who, for whatever reason, chose a different path. 

My oldest daughter is turning five next month (WHAT?!). When I was pregnant with her everyone was adamant that I breastfeed. I didn’t want to. I tried it. I hated it. We stopped. She had formula. I don’t feel the bad for her having formula in the slightest - and if your baby gets formula you shouldn‘t feel bad either.

All that to say - The Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project exists for a reason. We all have it drilled into our heads that 'breast is best' from the second you start as much as thinking about having children. But we don’t see it.  We don’t see people nursing their children out and about on a regular basis - and it’s not because babies magically aren’t hungry when they leave the house. 

This year has been amazing for so many reasons. The project has gotten a lot of attention locally - far more then I could have ever dreamed. But my favorite parts? Meeting new moms. Forming new relationships. Watching moms on the project form friendships. Connecting a community.

I had moms walk into their sessions timid and walk away feeling strength. I photographed a mom a few months ago nursing her baby as part of a regular non-PBAP session. She picked a private location and didn’t want the images shared. Easy Peasy. But you want to hear something amazing? That mom reached out to me halfway into the first week of the project and said she shared one of her breastfeeding images and was interested to being a part of the project. How amazing is that? I had the biggest grin and happiest heart when I read that message - knowing and seeing the difference we’ve made in empowering moms. 

That’s what it is all about. Reminding moms that what they are doing is normal, natural and OK. They shouldn’t feel shame. They shouldn’t feel embarrassed to feed their children. Showing moms that they are not alone in their struggles. That they are not alone in this journey. And showing the rest of the world that seeing a woman’s breast with a baby attached really is no big deal. 

I’m a painfully practical person and I think there is something to be said for finding beauty in the daily grind. I love Leilani’s vision for the project for that very reason - showing, celebrating and normalizing moms breastfeeding in everyday life.

Rock on mommas!

*PART TWO IS LIVE! Find it HERE!*

Places Megan Soto Photography & PBAP2015 have been featured:

Action News Jax: CLICK HERE

Jacksonville Moms Blog: CLICK HERE

Light Inspired:

Want to see more work from other awesome photographers on the project? Follow our blog circle! Up next is Tammy Bradshaw from Philly - to see her work CLICK HERE

Big Latch On 2015 | Jacksonville, FL | St. Augustine Family Photographer

When I was asked to photograph The Big Latch On in Jacksonville this year - it was a no brainier! 

First off - the location - Bay & Bee is like a dream! They have it all : a HUGE clean and green play area, COFFEE, Amber teething necklaces, cloth diapers, baby carriers, AIR CONDITIONING (which is beyond nice this time of year)and so. much. more!

It was awesome meeting so many mommas and vendors at this event. I'm all for things that bring people together and help build community - so events like this are really close to my heart. 

Jacksonville latch count: 29 !

PST! Did you know all during August we're sharing images of moms breastfeeding around town to help erase the stigma of public breastfeeding?? Follow us on social media to learn more about the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project!! 

You better breastfeed your baby- but don't you dare let me see it!

I have been babysitting for as long as I can remember. I had watched dozens of babies by the time I got to college. But by the time I got pregnant with my first daughter I had only ever seen one person breastfeed, once. And it was not in public.

When you get pregnant everyone and their mother feels the urge to coach you on what to do. I remember being so annoyed with everyone asking if I was going to breastfeed. ‘NO. I AM NOT. I do not want to- the idea grosses me out. I was raised on formula and I am fine- my baby will be too. LEAVE ME ALONE!’

Ultimately I caved to the pressure and guilt and decided I would try to breastfeed my daughter. I did not like it. It made me immensely uncomfortable. We started formula at 6 weeks. I completely stopped nursing when she was just over three months old. And my daughter is now your typical sassy know it all almost 4 year old.

I start off with this because I want to make it abundantly clear that this IS NOT an attack on formula moms. Whether you‘re formula feeding because you couldn’t breastfeed, because breastfeeding simply seemed like more of a hassle than it is worth or anything in-between- who cares. As long as you’re not feeding your baby a bottle of bleach you win in my book. I’ve been in your shoes and I think the guilt that others (and your self!) place on you for how you feed your baby seriously needs to stop.

But what also needs to stop is society treating moms who do breastfeed as if they are... well… gross.

I started meeting other moms when my daughter was about 4 months old- after I had fully switched to formula. The moms I met were all still breastfeeding. All the time. We would get together and the babies were on the boobs. At first it made me really uncomfortable. I would be lying if I said I didn’t judge them. I thought the moms still feeding babies who could crawl around was inappropriate. But in time it became normal. Just another part of life.

When I really forced myself to think “why am I so uncomfortable with this?” my logic was actually quite simple- ‘my breasts are for sex‘.  But the reality of breastfeeding isn’t sexual. In the beginning, the first words that come to mind are- pain and exhaustion. Thankfully you find a rhythm and the pain eventually fades.  But it isn’t ever sexual. Even when I was breastfeeding my oldest daughter, I was never uncomfortable because I was having a sexual experience; I was uncomfortable because I had been conditioned to believe that breasts are for sex and sex alone. Although breastfeeding her didn‘t FEEL wrong - it just‘was’ wrong.

Two years later we became pregnant with our second daughter, and I actually wanted to breastfeed her.

When my second baby was a month old I had a birthday party for my oldest daughter at the beach. Halfway through the party my 4 week old decided she was hungry, as 4 week olds tend to do. I sat down, pulled out my breast and fed my baby. My mom, looking very uncomfortable, started to interrogate me. “You’re really going to just do that here? In front of everyone? Shouldn‘t you at least turn around?”

We were at the beach. There were women less then 100 feet away wearing thongs. Women showing far more of their breasts from their bikini tops then I was exposing while feeding my baby. I could count over 50 uncovered nipples from my chair, all men of course (because we all know female nipples are the only ones that contain any sensation or sexual association- and thus need to be hidden to stop God only knows what). Yet somehow I needed to hide while I fed my baby.

I decided in that moment that this whole “breastfeeding is gross” thing was completely ridiculous. And anyone who has seen me this past year can testify that I unapologetically nurse without a cover - always.

Seeing moms casually feeding their babies was far more influential than all the pamphlets and lectures thrown in my face about why I needed to breastfeed.  The more I was exposed to it the more I realized that THIS IS NORMAL, this is what breasts are for. Breastfeeding is how we survived as a species for countless years before bottles. Thanks to the moms who fed their babies with complete transparency, I was able to develop an amazing nursing relationship with my daughter for the past 12 months (and shes had plenty of formula bottles within that time).

My hopes in joining the public breastfeeding awareness project, for these images, is simply for people to be exposed to breastfeeding; to realize there is nothing to hide. That hiding implies you are doing something wrong and that you should be ashamed - but you’re not and you shouldn’t.

 It isn’t uncommon to hear nursing moms say something to the tune of ‘I’m covering because I don’t want to make this or that person uncomfortable’. But the reality is- the people who are uncomfortable with it- the people like me - are the ones who need to see it the most. Shine on momma!

And a HUGE thank you to the moms who allowed me to photograph them. Putting yourself out there in such a vulnerable way is not easy and I am so incredibly thankful that you all joined me this past week.

I have also been very fortunate to connect with a group of moms online who all had babies this past August. Moms from all around the world. All different ages- all walks of life. All different parenting styles. This group of women have been so very helpful in supporting me and opened my eyes to so many things. Because they are far I couldn't photograph them- but I wanted to include them. So in typical 2014 internet form #letmetakeaselfie..

To see more from the #PBAP2014 I send you to Sophia- an amazing photographer based in Miami. Three Plus Photography's blog on the project can be found

here

This Blog and these images are part of Leilani Rogers Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project #PBAP2014 you can find more work from participating photographers

here