Mom who 'tandem breastfeeds' BOTH of her daughters, aged one and three, hits back at critics, insisting it helps her children to feel 'nurtured and connected'

A mother who breastfeeds her two daughters, aged one and three, simultaneously said it helps the girls feel 'nurtured and connected'.

Chelsea Craig, from Corpus Christi, Texas, said she did not plan to feed her two children in tandem but that she does it because it gives her 'time to be present' with her eldest daughter Addilynn, three, and her younger sister Emilynn, one.

She invited motherhood photographer Mae Burke to capture the tender moments between Chelsea and her daughters breastfeeding and playing together by the water because she wanted to 'capture us living life'.

Tandem: Chelsea Craig, from Corpus Christi, Texas, pictured feeding Addilynn, three, left, and Emilynn, one, right, said she did not originally plan to feed both her daughters at once

Intimate: But Chelsea, pictured with her daughters nursing, says she found feeding together helped them feel 'nurtured and connected'

Love: Chelsea, pictured playing with her two daughters, said simultaneous breastfeeding gives her 'time to be present' with the girls

'This is how my girls feel nurtured and connected. I don’t nurse to prove a point and I don’t nurse to declare my superiority. I nurse for my girls,' she told Kidspot.

She said she realized soon after becoming a mother that nursing 'could not be planned' and instead started to see it as a 'journey'. 

Chelsea, who works with the elderly, added: 'Some days that journey is hard and I want to quit, but others that journey is beautiful. 

'Breastfeeding allows me a time to be present with my girls where nothing else matters.'

Chelsea, whose eldest daughter is nearly four, said she has come up against judgement from some - who give her 'crazy eyes' - for still breastfeeding her children but she said the pictures help people to understand.

'Whenever someone hears that I breastfeed, they always seem surprised by how old my kids are. Usually, they assume they misheard me and I must only nurse my younger daughter. When they find out both of my girls nurse and at the same time, I get their crazy eyes,' she said. 

Bond: Motherhood photographer Mae Burke, 26, from Rockport, Texas, captured intimate moments between the mother and two girls, pictured breastfeeding

Tender: Mother-of-three Mae said breastfeeding pictures bring out 'vulnerability' in pictures, such as those she took of Chelsea and her daughters, pictured playing by the water

Normal: Chelsea, pictured with her daughters playing, said she invited motherhood Mae to 'capture us living life'.

'I have found that once people see us nursing, their understanding shifts. It is as if the picture in their mind was so foreign they couldn’t understand it.'

Chelsea accepts her way of nursing 'is not for everyone' but she said 'it works for us'.

She is delighted with the images that Mae took which she said capture their love.

'I share these images for the simple fact that this is our normal,' she added. 

'It is not always this pretty, my hair isn’t always down,and my kids don’t always have clothes on, but this is what it looks like for us.'

Mae, 26, who has three children of her own with husband Eamon, 28, first started taking pictures of mothers breastfeeding in 2011 when she started working as a photographer. 

Hungry: Mae said whenever the children were hungry, Chelsea, pictured breastfeeding, let them 'snack'

Attached: Chelsea, pictured with her children, accepts her way of nursing 'is not for everyone' but she said 'it works for us'

Open: Chelsea, pictured on the beach with her two daughters, said she wanted to share the images because they show 'our normal'

As she was breastfeeding herself at the time and many of her friends were, it was a natural choice of subject matter.

She said Chelsea was 'incredibly joyous' during their shoot and did not make it tandem breastfeeding feel awkward during the shoot - despite the taboo around it.

Mae, who lives in Rockport, Texas, told Daily Mail Online: 'Tandem nursing is still taboo, it kind of freaks people out. She didn't make a thing of it at all.

'They were just playing, when they needed a snack, they got it...It has never happened for me [tandem feeding], but mothers who do tell me they were met with a lot of fear.'

She said there was 'no competition' between the two siblings, adding: 'This is a way they get to connect that an lot of other siblings don't.'

In total, Mae has photographed more than 300 breastfeeding women but she also likes to photograph other aspects of motherhood as well.

She said breastfeeding is a particularly special moment to capture because of the vulnerability it reveals.

She said: 'Breastfeeding necessitates a woman to become vulnerable that family photography in general or studio photography doesn't require...

'It requires them to show a deeper connection because the moment is so intimate.' 

Playtime: Mae said Chelsea, whose youngest daughter is pictured on her hands and knees, was 'incredibly joyous' during their shoot

Trio: Mae said Chelsea, pictured playing with her two daughters by the waterside, did not make tandem breastfeeding feel awkward during the shoot

Judgement: Some still see tandem feeding, favoured by Chelsea, pictured with daughter Addilynn, as a taboo

Experienced: Mae has photographed more than 300 mothers breastfeeding, including Chelsea, pictured with her two daughters

Truth: Chelsea, pictured with her two daughters, said: 'It is not always this pretty, my hair isn’t always down, and my kids don’t always have clothes on, but this is what it looks like for us'

Connected: Chelsea, pictured with her daughters, says people give her 'crazy eyes' sometimes when they hear that she still breastfeeds both her children

Monochrome: Chelsea, pictured holding both her daughters in her arms, was overjoyed with Mae's pictures

Motherhood: Mae, 26, who photographed Chelsea and her daughters pictured, has three children of her own with husband Eamon, 28

Inspiration: Mae, who captured Chelsea and Emilynn, pictured, first started taking pictures of mothers breastfeeding in 2011 when she started working as a photographer