Sunny describes her feeding journeys as “pretty easy breezy,” and there’s a quiet pride in the way she talks about nourishing both of her babies. With her youngest spending a week in NICU and being fed through a tube, Sunny focused on expressing every drop of colostrum for him. “I had to produce all the colostrum for him,” she says. Once he was able to feed at the breast, things flowed naturally. With no soreness, no supply issues, and a baby who latched straight away, Sunny feels lucky. But she also recognises the commitment it takes. Because her pēpi never really took to a bottle, she became the sole feeder, breastfeeding to make sure he was always getting what he needed. What she loves most is the connection. “His body on mine, the little hand movements… I feel more connected to him when I breastfeed.” Supported by her whānau making sure she was eating and resting, Sunny found confidence in feeding wherever she needed to. She remembers a stranger once telling her, “Don’t you try hide yourself! You’re feeding your baby! Do you go and hide when you eat?” This kōrero stayed with her. Her advice to new māmā is gentle and reassuring: “Take it slow. Not everything is perfect when you first begin, but your body will naturally come to it. You can’t put a timeline on having a baby.”
