Te Ara came into feeding her twins, Ava and CJ, with experience. She had breastfed three babies before, but “the twins were something completely different.” After a difficult birth, Ava spent time in NICU and was tube fed, which meant pumping, expressing and working hard to establish breastfeeding with a sleepy baby. “When you’ve breastfed before, you just expect to be able to do it,” she says. “But every baby is different.” Feeding twins brought its own doubts too: wondering if her supply was enough, navigating cluster feeding, and juggling older tamariki at the same time. Yet through it all, she persevered. “I knew I could do it.” And one beautiful myth was broken for her: even though Ava was fed differently at the start, “there wasn’t any sort of different connection… I shared the same love.” For Te Ara, the best part has been that quiet connection in the midst of busy whānau life – “just being in that moment and having that calm.” Support from Te Puawaitanga ki Ōtautahi Trust made a real difference, opening doors to breastfeeding groups and a wider village of māmā who understand that feeding can be both beautiful and hard. Her message to other māmā is full of aroha: “Let the pressure off yourself. Some things are going to work, some things aren’t, but you’re doing a great job. There are so many good moments in the hard… and it’s 100% worth it.”
