#babygottaboob? Welcome to real motherhood! A New way to help normalise breastfeeding today.

I don’t know about you but I love World Breastfeeding Week.

I love seeing genuine news about breastfeeding, news that isn’t blown out of proportion or sensationalized to sell papers, magazines, or increase hits on the web. Its news about the positive hope we have towards improving the support and opportunities for women, babies, families and communities through out the world.

On a normal week the only breastfeeding stories we see in media are The scary ones. Those that focus on the negative comments, attitudes, and/or behaviors of others towards mothers out feeding their babies. When we are not being informed about how much society objects to women breastfeeding in public, then we are seeing images of super models and celebrities looking glamorous as they feed their babies in luxury. Don’t get me wrong, I think its important to name & shame companies and public figures for criticizing women breastfeeding, I also love that celebrities are promoting breastfeeding. Yay! But we need a more positive balance, more normal, more ‘mums like me’ seen in public. #Brelfies , have made a big difference. They are brilliant for showing the different ways we breastfeed our babies, showing how diverse the community of breastfeeding mothers are, and providing opportunities to find and connect with others online, but also gives other mums the courage to feed and nurture our babies where ever they are. I only have a couple, one of which is my toddler in his Harry Potter glasses, not really sure why…

However, not every mum wants to share a #brelfie though, maybe they are shy,or maybe they just want to keep things private. And that’s OK! Its important to rrecognize all Women breastfeed in different ways, and don’t all feel the same way about our bodies or relationships, but if we are all able to share a small part of our experience we can build confidence for other new mums.

I really believe that we should be honest about what motherhood is like, what everyday breastfeeding looks like, for all the mums who are just focusing on their lives with new babies, older babies, toddlers, and beyond. We will see more trust & hope in ourselves as women and not be constantly striving for unrealistic lifestyles. We need more mums to find a way to share their normal, their ‘went to the shops, breastfed Harry, & oh bum, totally forgot breastpads. D’oh!,’ days, experiences, lives, frustrations, and fun.

So my challenge to mums everywhere is this, share your life, share it on posts, tweets, images, pins, vines, etc… and tag it with #babygottaboob . So it can be identified with the growing movement of positive, normal, honest or just real life views of every day living.

But why not #justbreastfeeding #normalizebreastfeeding #positivebf and so many other #’s out there promoting positive breastfeeding?. well, I felt we needed something that reflected more than just the nutritional aspect of breastfeeding. The fact that we nurture our babies at the breast. Our little ones breastfeed for nutrition, growth, health, nurturing, security, to quench thirst, to reduce stress, feel loved, to connect, to bond and to sleep (yay!) Its very important to them, And so when my toddler starts shouting ‘milk’ in the middle of a long shopping trip, I’m not convinced its because he needs a boost of antibodies, its probably because he feels bored and stressed, and honestly just wants a cuddle and to connect. Because sometimes #babygottaboob !

So dear mums, please reach out and share your experiences, please help those new mums out there know what the realities are, help them see that if we can do it, they definitely can too.

And if you happen to remember #BABYGOTTABOOB then all the better!

Cheers

Angie xx