The Boob.E.Life
When Christina Lopez’s son Dominic was nearly four months old, she lost her supply and stopped breastfeeding him. She retreated to isolation and didn’t know who to reach out to.
“I really wanted to breastfeed,” she recalls. “But I was also dealing with severe postpartum depression and other challenges in life. I did not properly communicate how much support and encouragement I needed from those closest to me.'”
Prior to that, the young new mom had opened an Instagram account, a blog and a Facebook group offering moms a space to receive non-judgemental support about parenting and breastfeeding. She called it: The Boob.E.Life.
Once Lopez stopped breastfeeding Dominic, her social network, which had already garnered thousands of followers, suddenly went on hiatus.
“I felt like I had betrayed my followers. There was no way I could explain what I was going through,” she recalls.
Moms everywhere noticed Lopez wasn’t active on her social media accounts and started messaging her and reaching out to see if she was doing okay.
“I suffered depression after I couldn’t breastfeed my son,” she remembers. “I wasn’t eating right. I really needed to get it together.”
Then came the news she was expecting her second child.
At that point, the LA born and raised Lopez decided she would start over with her breastfeeding efforts when the baby arrived. She also reignited the mommy support network she had launched with more determination and openness. She says through her experience, she realized the journey of motherhood goes far beyond breastfeeding.
“We’re in a new generation of parenting,” she says. “If we’re more open minded about things, we can make a big impact.”
Lopez’s second baby, a girl named Camila is 8 months old and happily breastfeeding on demand. Plus, not too long ago, Dominic, her toddler boy asked Lopez if he could latch on too, and she gladly let the three-year-old nurse, although he only tried it for a couple of days.
Recently, Lopez partnered with another mom to host their first “BoobETribe” gathering in the Fall, which is intended to offer moms a ‘safe zone’, especially if they’re dealing with taboos with the way they’re parenting– whether it be because they’re going through anxiety, depression, choosing home birth over a hospital delivery; breastfeeding in the open or not nursing at all, or using cannabis as a way relax, Lopez says her goal is to be supportive in an open minded environment.
Meanwhile the Boob.E.Life Instagram account continues growing and providing motivational messages and quirky uplifting quotes for moms such as “You’re the Tits”; and “Posture Makes Perfect”. There’s also a Meme of Sleeping Beauty that says: “This could be me but I have to nurse.”
“At the end of the day, what moms should understand is that whether your breastfeeding or formula feeding, there’s so many things going on in the world, we shouldn’t be wasting energy on judging. We are more efficient, effective and powerful as moms who come together with an open mind. If you parent differently than I do, but your kids are happy healthy, that’s all that matters,” says Lopez.
Connect with Christina Lopez & The Boob.E.Life!
Instagram: BoobELife
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boobelife/