If you’re a mom (or just know one), then you know it’s just about the most demanding job on the planet.
Raising a kiddo or two requires energy, organization, empathy, and intelligence—basically a laundry list of qualities that would make you overqualified for just about any other job! It also helps to have a knack for diapering four kids in under four minutes.
Of course, things only get more complicated if you’re a working mom, juggling parenting with the demands of your boss and coworkers. Ultimately, every mom is a superhero, and there’s just no other explanation.
But what about the handful of moms who aren’t just heroes to their own kids and families, but to whole communities?
These are the moms who patrol our streets, fight our wars, and lead the next generation.
We’re talking about moms in uniform, the tough-as-nails mamas who are the subject of a beautiful and moving photo series called Uniformed Breastfeeding, by photographer Tara Ruby.
What do you think about this touching series? Let us know in the comments below!
Last fall, photographer Tara Ruby made viral waves across the internet with a single photo, a picture of 10 active-duty servicewomen breastfeeding their babies in a grassy meadow.
The image, as similar photos tend to do, stirred controversy, opening up a conversation about breastfeeding and motherhood on the job.
Though there were naysayers, the majority of responses were thrilled with this unusual and sensitive look at the challenges of raising a baby and serving your country.
Ruby, who is based in Texas, saw the incredible response to her first image and knew she was onto something.
She began to seek out working women, women in uniforms, who are also the mothers to young children who are still nursing.
She tells Cosmopolitan that the series proves "you can work a full-time job and breastfeed and do both equally well. If this is supporting someone out there, then let's do it."
She posts the images to Facebook, offering some insight into the live and backstories of the moms she pictures.
The above photo shows a U.S. airwoman, engaged in the tricky process of tandem breastfeeding her tots while in her uniform jumpsuit.
In order to feed her two little ones, she has to unzip the whole suit, quite a commitment for a mom of two and an active-duty servicewoman!
She's also careful to explore the many nuances of what it means to work "in uniform."
A military or police uniform is easily recognizable, but Ruby takes the time to call attention to other kinds of uniforms, like the white medical coat this doctor wears while nursing her baby.
Ruby notes, "Is it easy to go back to work and continue to exclusively breastfeed. Of course not… but is it worth it? Every minute of every day!"
Her series also pays attention to nurses, another group of hardworking medical professionals who are on their feet every day taking care of people, even when they might have their own little ones at home to take care of.
If you know any nurses, you know that they work hard, and nursing doesn't make it easier, just even more rewarding!
In one case, the nurse that Ruby profiled is in the unique position of working in maternity.
As a doting nursing mama, she's the perfect person to be on hand for a nervous new mommy just figuring out how to take care of a whole person.
After all, she seems pretty hard to ruffle; it's not everyone who continue nursing while your toddler sticks her foot in your face!
Ruby also takes the time to explore the "uniform" of professional attire, profiling an elementary school teacher who clearly has a well-honed maternal instinct for taking care of little ones, thanks to her own sweet baby girl!
Ruby writes, "Her uniform is one made for working with happy and smiling 1st graders."
And, for the grand finale, Ruby demonstrates her flair for the dramatic, showcasing a working mother in a surprising uniform!
This hot mama works as a showgirl in Las Vegas, but is happy to demonstrate her domestic side nursing her little one.
That can't be an easy act to juggle, but she certainly seems to have it down!
If you adore these tough mamas giving "working mom" a new meaning, make sure to SHARE and tag a hardworking mom in your life!
