Working mamas do have it a lot harder. One of the hardest, darkest months of my life was October of 2010 when I started shooting again after having my baby boy. I started 6 wks after he was born with a full-blown full schedule again (at the time about 2-3 sessions a week and 2-3 weddings a month). I wasn't getting ANY sleep with a newborn, and was barely handling the transition to having two kids and no time for myself (or my post processing work). During that month I had to shoot a 14 hour wedding day, and THAT was the hardest day of my life. Everything came crashing down that week and my husband ended up being out of town, my babysitter fell through, and I wasn't able to pump like I had planned. I ended up keeping my baby at my sister-in-law's house who happened to live near the wedding event center, and every few hours I was able to rush over, nurse really quickly, and rush back. Somehow it all worked out. But I would NEVER do it again! When I have my next baby, I'm going to take off more time after the baby arrives (maybe 9 wks) and start off SLOWLY (like one session a week, and one wedding a month). It's not worth living in hell when you're supposed to be nurturing and enjoying your little one.

I nursed for 1 year for both babies, and it does still cause complications a bit for those 12 months of shooting. But I've been able to plan everything out really well with my hubby, who would often drive to where I was to let me take a nursing break during the wedding. There are always breaks in wedding days, so it all works out. :)

I now don't offer all day weddings. I go by hours (4, 6, 8, and 10) but most of my brides choose 4-6 hrs for their day, and 90% of the time they're broken up so there are breaks in the day. This helps everyone involved, whether I'm nursing or not...as a mother, I love to come back and see my babies during the wedding day instead of being gone the entire day.

Remember to put you and your family first! Don't feel like you have to be a slave to your brides' commands. If you're nursing, just let them know you'll need breaks. That's totally normal and necessary for anyone!