Mother and Child Feeding

This image is very close to my heart. It is a self portrait of me feeding then 18-month old Harvey. It's funny, in the first 8 weeks after he was born I had such trouble feeding him. He had a tongue tie, and after weeks of pumping, blistered and bleeding nipples, I realised why sometimes mothers don't persist with breastfeeding, it certainly wasn't like it looked in the magazines! Eventually we worked it out, and I fed him until he was 2. For me this picture captures the love, the closeness I felt nursing my son. It was an honour. Harvey's look chokes me up all the time. Such a little boy, the hair falling over his eyes. Utterly safe in his mother's arms, but he almost looks like he knows that time is coming to an end, he is growing up and becoming more independent with every day. I remember the last time I fed Harvey. It was quite idillic. In our room in Bateman's Bay. I was 14 weeks pregnant and my nipples had become so sensitive, even for his once a day feed! I think the milk may have changed in taste too, as we both seemed comfortable with the knowledge that was the last time. This photograph won a Silver award at the Australian Institute of Photography's State awards in March, 2017.