Even though Princess Kate is regal and stunning, she’s oddly relatable. (Remember her rather nasty bout of morning sickness way back when? Poor dear.) She’s a perfect mix of celebrity, girl next door, grace and youth.
That's why I'm thrilled to hear that royal sources have told The Mirror that Kate is breastfeeding Prince George.
One senior royal source said: “It would be fair to say that Prince George has a healthy appetite. He is a very hungry little boy. I gather there were some difficulties at first – there often can be, as new mums can get a little tense. But after some help from the midwife, they both caught on very quickly."
I dearly wish she'd decide to breastfeed in public. I know! I know! She’s a royal! What would the Queen say? It would cause quite the stir, I’m sure.
Much like this imagining, below, by British photographer Alison Jackson, which she's released on her site to celebrate the news, is bound to do.
But that’s exactly what breastfeeding needs. Especially today as we celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. Breastfeeding, while clearly touted by every health organization out there, is still thought of as something crunchy folks do. People assume if you breastfeed -- especially in public -- that you are somehow making a statement. And, oh my, the people that get offended by it. Don’t get me started with those people.
As a mum, as a former breast- and bottle-feeder, as someone who’s sick and tired of parents judging each other, I think Kate could be the perfect woman to take the stigma out of breastfeeding and, I don’t know, bring some civility to the table. She does have some groundbreaking footsteps she’s following in, after all. Her late mother-in-law, the People’s Princess -- Diana -- breastfed both her boys back in the early 1980s. “All of a sudden breastfeeding was the innovation and it became something women wanted to do because ‘Oh the princess was doing it,’” wrote Delores James, Ph.D., RD, the lead author of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position paper on breastfeeding.
Of course whatever Kate decides to do is 100 percent fine. It’s hard enough to be a new parent. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have the world watching your every move. There’s no hooter hider big enough for that kind of scrutiny. Just know, Kate, if you decide to do it, there will be many people cheering.
Mum of two Holly Pevzner is a writer and editor. Follow her on Twitter and Google +.