{2nd PRIZE WINNERS !! } Bed Rest Mom - Photoshoot with 2Cherries Photography

When my first 2 kids were born, barely a year after each other; life was an endless struggle! I was in my early 20's, had no idea who I was or what I was doing, and I was a complete and utter mess. A total fashion disaster! I struggled, and I cried - A LOT. But I survived those days with a tremendous amount of help of my family. I guess no matter how much time passes or how big my kids grow; the struggle and sacrifice I've been through stands out as a pivotal period in my life.

Worse still, There was no social media platforms to share my woes and struggles...nor, thankfully my fashion faux pas. I had no blog to record my children's milestones and memories. No cell phone camera or a Selfie cam in the initial years to capture every cute moment or epic adventure. No Instagram. In fact, my camera for a good few years was one of those old contraptions that needed a spool which you would end up spending a fortune on to develop, only to have half of them turn out blur. But despite my blur images, that time in my life remains as vivid as if it were yesterday.

I guess it's the memory of the struggling times that makes me sentimental every time I see a mom with a pair of kids with a seemingly similar age gap. It's what makes me strike up a conversation with one of these harassed mom's in the elevator of the mall. It's what drives me to point to my now overgrown duo, to give these moms some kind of hope that it does eventually get better. It's what drew me to second prize winner, Nazneen, in our photo shoot giveaway with 2Cherries Photography.



Nazneen's story was like a chapter out of my own book...but with some added drama! When she was pregnant with her first child, she was put on bed rest at 27 weeks. In this modern day and age it meant no maternity photo shoot; and after suffering from post natal depression, it meant that she wasn't in the right space to have a new born photo shoot either! As mothers all over the world usually do, she was constantly behind the camera capturing all the precious memories, and hardly ever in the pics with her son. Fast forward to a year later, and she was admitted into hospital; 33 weeks pregnant with her second child and in pre-term labour! Her hopes to have a maternity shoot completely dashed once again! Nazneen really wished for a photo shoot to capture the first memories of them as a family of 4, and 2Cherries Photography couldn't pass on the opportunity to grant this young family their first family photo shoot...



We made our way to their home one sunny Saturday afternoon, and the shoot took place in a lovely, lush, open landscape just across from where they live! Nazneen reminded me so much of my sisters and me...she was fully prepared with colour coordinated outfits PLUS outfit changes. She was a complete dream in front of the camera and has the most delightful, vibrant personality. It was really lovely being part of this young mother's family shoot. She provided me with some major flashbacks of my own struggles...only difference is that she is still managing to do it all in style ;-)

To see more images from this shoot, visit the 2Cherries Photography Facebook page here

Thanks for reading!

Peace,

NAMU :)