There’s nothing like meeting another mom who understands the good, bad, ugly, and stinky aspects of raising a baby. You don’t feel so alone as you navigate your new world and your new teeny-tiny family member. Ashley Greene, an actor most known for her role as Alice Cullen in the Twilight movie franchise, is a new mom to a daughter named Kingsley whom she shares with her husband, Paul Khoury.
Ashley recently collaborated with Tommee Tippee as an advocate of the brand’s one-of-a-kind Made For Me™ In-Bra Wearable Breast Pump.
“Tommee Tippee recently launched a campaign called ‘The Truth Is’ which encourages mothers and parents to share their truth surrounding everything from their breastfeeding journey, postpartum, your fourth trimester … and it allows us [parents] to get vulnerable and share the truth surrounding what it's like to have a child and what the ‘after-effects’ are,” says Ashley. “That’s so incredibly important because, unfortunately, we’re surrounded by a lot of toxicity. If you go on social media it’s a lot of, ‘Wait, what am I doing wrong?’ or ‘How does my parenting style differ from someone else's?’”
Ashley points out it’s hard to not compare yourself to other moms, even if your kids are older. The actress describes herself as a "preparer" – but nothing could prepare her for a newborn who just wouldn’t take to breastfeeding.
“I had a natural birth with a midwife; after 16 hours of labor we got to bring Kingsley into this world in our bedroom surrounded by plants and candles,” recalls Ashley. “I always assumed ‘Oh yeah, it’s going to be great! She's going to latch and it’s going to be this wonderful experience.’ I was trying to breastfeed, but Kingsley wasn't latching well. I really felt like I should be able to do this naturally.”
Ashley, who truly yearned to breastfeed her baby, added that she "had a lot of anxiety surrounding feeding my child.” She also realized she was using the wrong-sized phalanges with the initial breast pump she had.
Because breastfeeding was a struggle, Ashley felt like “a failure."
"There was a moment where I was like, this may be the thing that breaks me,” she says.
The Made for Me Breast Pump “was really, really interesting to me,” says Ashley, who realized this product could be a huge help for her, mentally and physically.
“By using it, all of a sudden it gave me [my] freedom back, instead of pumping being this anxiety-driven daunting task,” she says.
Ashley points out that many breast pumps require mom to sit uncomfortably and pump for lengthy periods, taking crucial minutes away from the baby, resting, healing, and completing basic tasks.
“With this pump, I can walk around. I can get things done while I'm providing the milk for my child. Using it’s a win-win situation. I told my mom about this pump! She was like, ‘OK, none of this existed whatsoever when you were a baby.’ It’s wonderful that there's companies like Tommee Tippee creating products to make our lives as moms a little bit easier.”
Ashley describes the fourth trimester as something that’s still not quite openly spoken about but says “we’re getting there!"
"For me, Kingsley’s now 4 months old and as a first-time mom things are finally starting to fall into place a little more,” the actress says.
“I feel like I’ve found a little bit of light in the tunnel. Some of the best advice I’ve received is to just quiet the noise and do what is best for your child and that’s kind of my MO. Like I said, I was a planner, read all these parenting books…and finally I just kind of said, ‘This is not doing a service to anyone…so, expectations–out the window," she says.
"My child is going to do what she wants to do, and it's different from anyone else's child. Lesson learned! I’m still exhausted, but have a lot of support. It really does ‘take a village,’” she adds.
Learn more about actor and healthcare advocate Ashley Greene via Instagram @ashleygreene. You can find Tommee Tippee products in major retail shops and their website tommeetippee.com.
