by
posted in Celebrities
First-time mom Haylie Duff has found herself stuck between slimming down for a great "post-baby body" and trying to use that same body to feed her daughter. In her experience, doing both at the same time is a struggle.
"I had sort of an interesting situation when I was nursing where if I was working out too much or cutting my calories, my milk supply really went down," the Real Girl’s Kitchen host, who is the older sister of fellow mom Hilary Duff, recently told Wonderwall.
"So for me, it was a struggle because I really wanted to focus on losing weight and getting my body back," the mother of 9-month-old Ryan Ava elaborated. "But at the end of the day, I had to sit down and make the decision that meant the most to me — and that was breastfeeding my baby."
"It’s a slow and steady process — the same way it was when I gained it," Haylie Duff went on to say on the subject of weight, focusing on the bright side. "I’m feeling positive about it. Every week it’s like more off and more off. It’s just gonna be what it’s gonna be. The plus side is I have a beautiful, healthy little girl."
Although the topic of breastfeeding comes up frequently in the celebrity parenting world, it isn't too often we hear discussions about troubles with supply. At the same time, it's an issue I hear about fairly regularly in real life.
Recently a friend of mine has been struggling mightily to breastfeed, and we had the most touching, honest conversation. She nearly choked up trying to explain to me how she's perfectly fine with the idea of formula feeding on the whole, but personally experiencing watching her dreams of nursing disappear has been heart wrenching.
Isn't it funny how we can be perfectly fine with an idea on the surface, but when it's actually happening to us there's a whole new emotional depth to the story? My heart ached for her.
Haylie's story also reminds me of a conversation I had with another mom years ago. She also struggled mightily with supply issues, and I gave her the same "whatever works for you and the baby is just fine" speech, but much later she revealed she'd put herself on a strict lose-the-baby-weight diet. This was with her first baby, and I think she intensely longed to whip back into her old self and rock the ideal of motherhood. She wanted to be the one to do it all.
She later came to believe the low calorie diet was largely to blame for her low milk supply, and then had to deal with some guilt over having played a role in it not working out. That being said, I'm happy to report she had an easier time with her other children.
Still though, her case and Haylie's make me wonder if it's time we talked more often about how the pressure to lose the baby weight can have effects some aren't expecting.
Photo: Unimedia Images/REX/Shutterstock
Speaking of breastfeeding, a look back at some our favorite nursing photos from 2015:
“I know there will be people who don’t agree with me nursing in uniform. There are no regulations forbidding me to do so. I am a mother. Both inside and outside of my uniform. Breastfeeding is part of motherhood for me,”says Jonea, the subject of this much talked about image snapped by photographer Jade Beall.
See more: Powerful photo of female soldier breastfeeding speaks volumes
Photo: Jade Beall
"It’s hard, it’s a commitment, it’s a sacrifice. I’ve been frustrated, I’ve wanted to give up. I’ve been told I can’t do it. I’ve been asked why I don’t just give bottles," Ohio mom Brittany Yankowski tells BabyCenter of breastfeeding her triplets. She talked to BabyCenter to tell us how - and why - she does it.
See more: Breastfeeding triplets: One mom of five’s amazing story
Photo: Babymonster Photography
These images by Suzie Blake, on the other hand, will look very familiar to many moms. "This is about milk leaks and ratty hair," she tells us of the candid shots. "This is about giving in to all the demands of your 2-year-old while you try to feed your newborn. This is about dishes piled up in the kitchen and dirty laundry building in the corner."
See more: This is what breastfeeding really looks like
Photo: Suzie Blake
Photographer Jade Beall is used to being behind the lens, but she stepped into the spotlight when she posted this image of her nursing her 3 1/2-year-old son. “I see that with my discomfort in breastfeeding my son in public these days that there is a whole new way for me to promote and support feminism,” she said of her decision to share her own breastfeeding story.
See more: Bold photo gives a real-life look at extended breastfeeding
Photo: Jade Beall
It’s not something you’d expect to see smack in the middle of downtown Chicago: A group of 12 mothers gathered on a meridian at a busy intersection confidently, defiantly even, nursing their babies. That's exactly what happened, though, thanks to a jaw-dropping shoot staged by "Badass Breastfeeder" Abby Theuring and photographer Ivette Ivens.
See more: Photo: Badass breastfeeding moms literally stop traffic
Photo: Ivette Ivens & Abby Theurig
Angel Mickelle delivered her son at home, on her own. There was no doctor to catch the baby, no midwife to help her through the contractions. When baby Leo arrived, she immediately nursed him, and his big brother, too. “I wanted to tandem breastfeed as a way to introduce Paulo to his little brother," she explains. "To me it felt like the most gentle way for Leo to meet all of us and us to meet him.”
See more: Photos: Brave unassisted birth, immediate tandem breastfeeding
Photo: Earthside Birth Photography
Over the years, Jade Beall has turned her lens on expectant mothers, new mothers, survivors of abuse, survivors of eating disorders, survivors of cancer and mastectomies. Men, women, young, old. Her work is often controversial, and this breastfeeding shot proved to be no exception.
“We are so use to seeing hyper-sexualized images of women everywhere we turn, but when I want to celebrate a woman in an non-sexualized pose, nude, feeding a human that her body grew and feeds and calling her cellulite, curves or bones beautiful."
See more: The breastfeeding photo that sparked a backlash
Photo: Jade Beall
No comments:
Post a Comment