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Tube-Fed Babies Pose With Mums In Beautiful 'Fed Is Best' Photoshoot

Tube-Fed Babies Pose With Mums In Beautiful 'Fed Is Best' Photoshoot

Photographer Anna Poteet wanted the shoot to be a display of acceptance for all the ways mothers feed their babies.

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara Sheppard

When Tennessee-based photographer Anna Poteet put out a call for mums and their babies to star in a photo shoot embracing the many different ways of feeding, she got more than she expected.

Anna's shoot took on an entirely different meaning when, as she says, "only tube feeding mamas showed up."

The mothers who were tube feeding - the method used to give nutrition to infants who cannot eat on their own - showed up to the shoot with their babies, who were all hooked to feeding equipment.

Anna Stacy Photography

The result - a beautiful photo shoot showing the feeding babies being held by their mothers in picturesque field - has since been shared over 8,000 times on Facebook.

"Yesterday evening I held a 'fed is best' shoot. The original idea was to have moms come out and show love and appreciation for other moms no matter how they feed their babies," Anna wrote by the post.

"Only tube feeding mamas showed up and this was the result!"

Anna originally expected two get a mixture of mums and babies who feed in different ways to show up.

Anna Stacy Photography

"The idea was to gather moms together and show the world that no matter how your baby is fed, whether it being breastfed, formula-fed, tube-fed, you should be accepted," the photographer told Yahoo.

Anna explained she first became interested in the subject of feeding after her four-month-old had trouble eating and gaining weight.

Of the three mothers and babies in the shoot, one was Lizz Hendrickson who posed with her six-month old daughter, Katherine. Baby Katherine has severe reflux and has had trouble swallowing since she was born.

Lizz Hendrickson and baby Katherine.
Anna Stacy Photography

"She struggled with constant vomiting, leading to poor weight gain," Hendrickson told Yahoo. "When she was three months old, the doctors placed a feeding tube through her nose, down into her small intestine."

The little one has slowly started to gain weight and now doctors are looking to deal with her reflux, she told the publication.

Another of the models include Brianna Lorenzo and her son Bellamy. Despite being two-years-old, Bellamy is the size of a one-year-old due to allergies and acid reflux.

Brianna Lorenzo and her son Bellamy.
Anna Stacy Photography

"In just three weeks, he has already gained 3 lbs.," mum Brianna told Yahoo. "He is now thriving instead of surviving."

Lastly, Samantha Parsons and her five-month-old daughter Hailey star in the shoot.

Hailey has had issues nursing and bottle-feeding since she was born leading doctors to insert a nasal tube.

"She gets fed by pump continuously into her intestine rather than stomach, because she has a history of aspirating," Samantha told the publication.

Anna Stacy Photography

The shoot has attracted thousands of likes and comments on Facebook with many sharing their own stories of having tube-fed babies.

"This is beautiful!!! My youngest grandson is also tube fed and he is growing every day!!!," said one woman in the comments.

"My son was tube fed for his first 6 months. Love seeing these pictures!!," shared another.

"Thriving beautiful babies and Mothers, this is pure love. Anything to make sure your baby can grow, you all are amazing," said a third.

"It's a Mom's choice on how they feed their babies . As long as they are feed and Happy this is what matters," said another.

We can't agree more.

You can see Anna's entire shoot here.


Featured Image Credit: Anna Stacy Photography

Topics: Life, Parenting