Ashley Graham isn't interested in hearing anyone else's opinions when it comes to how she feeds her twin sons. During a recent TV appearance, the 35-year-old model defended her choice to quit breastfeeding after five months of grueling tandem nursing.
The mother of three dished to host Chelsea Handler.
Ashley opened up about the crazy amount of criticism she's received around her nursing choices. "There's this whole thing with people telling you how to feed your child," she said, while appearing on The Daily Show on Tuesday.
The body-positivity advocate has been very candid about her breastfeeding journey, which has prompted a public response.
It sounds like Ashley wasn't as hard on herself this second time around.
Even non-famous women receive pressure when it comes to nursing versus formula feeding, which is why Ashley said she initially was all in on breastfeeding.
"With my first kid, I was like, 'I can only breastfeed. This is the right way,'" she confessed of her oldest son, Isaac. "Then I had the twins, and I was like, 'I'm not doing this. This is not working here. Both of you want both of these? This is a lot of work.'"
Now her boys are flourishing.
It sounds like Ashley made the right choice for her family, but she says twins Malachi and Roman are both "so strong and so happy" now that they're strictly formula fed. "I don't think we should be telling people how we should be feeding our kids," she added.
Ashley may be feeling a bit better too.
From the sounds of it, breastfeeding twins was taking a toll on her physically."Your body fills up with nutrition, and then the baby sucks it out of you," she joked of her time spent breastfeeding. "You get acne, the weight doesn't come off, [and] your boobs go down to here when you're done."
Now that she's done, we're willing to bet that Ashley is feeling a bit more like her old self again.
Hopefully this sends a message to other parents who may be struggling with breastfeeding.
Nursing a baby is hard, even when you're a famous model with plenty of resources. It's clear that Ashley felt pressured to do one thing and then discovered the opposite was actually the best choice for her and her family.
We hope other mothers are giving themselves permission to do the same and follow the path that works best for their babies.
