The Mère Inspo - Yuyeth
Mère inspo - Yuyeth Fernandez
Yuyeth, Co-founder of Bows & Ribbons Photography, says: "Get to know your babies, even while they are still in your belly."
Mother of two, Photographer, Business owner
Bows and Ribbons Photography has some extremely endearing pictures. There are aesthetically shot pregnant bumps and pictures of babies that melt your heart. But more than that, there’s a story that each picture tells. There is a whole new world in each of their pictures. And it takes more than just photography skills to bring out these stories.
Yuyeth is the co-founder of Bows and Ribbons Photography, a Singapore based maternity and newborn photography company. She runs the business along with her husband, Tim. Their Instagram feed is full of heart-warming pictures that beautifully portray pregnancy, newborns, and baby milestones.
When I saw Yuyeth at work, I was awed by her passion and her attention to detail. And I was touched by the efforts she took to make the mummies and the babies comfortable during the shoot.
Today, Bows and Ribbons Photography are the creative minds behind the lifestyle shoot for Lovemère on the lace creations: Avery Dove Nursing Bralette and Love, Juliette Nursing Bralette. And we both love the collaboration.
Yuyeth is not just a talented photographer and a passionate business owner. She is also a mum of two beautiful children. How does she manage both? Read about her journey as a photographer and a mother.
1. Tell me, what is your current state of mind?
Honestly, I'm exhausted. Who knew being a mom was this hard!
As I like to practice telling my daughter (she's just 4 months now, but she'll eventually get it, I'm sure!), don't be fooled by what you see on the internet.
These days, it's so easy to go online, see so many women living these seemingly perfect lives, and feel that there's something wrong with your own.
It's important always to have a sense of perspective and realize that everyone has their ups and downs, good days and bad. So if you're feeling a little tired or overwhelmed, that's alright. You'll overcome it and be better and stronger because of it.
2. What about being pregnant during Covid? Have you experienced some difficulty?
When COVID-19 first made the news, I was in the very early days of my pregnancy, so I was a little worried about whether it would affect my baby.
There was so little information at the time about how the virus would affect the different age groups that I think most mummies-to-be had their concerns.
Then Singapore (together with many other countries) imposed the Circuit Breaker phase, which meant that we were discouraged from leaving the house and couldn't operate our business.
This obviously took a toll on our family's finances but also gave us some much needed time to take a break and spend some extra quality time with our toddler before the new baby arrived.
Yuyeth wearing Love, Juliette Nursing Bralette with her second-born, Emilia at 4 months.
3. What was your birth experience?
No matter how much you think you've prepared for it, giving birth is never a piece of cake. While some women may have it easier than others, almost all mummies will experience anxiety and even fear of the big day.
But I think no amount of worrying would have prepared me for the delivery of my little girl. I delivered her at home, and no it wasn't planned that way!
The experience was a genuinely nerve-wracking one, but not for me. While it wasn't something I expected to happen, I had an amazingly smooth delivery. You may read more about it here.
4. Why and how did you launch Bows and Ribbons Photography?
It wasn't quite our plan to start a newborn photography business that could pay the bills. We mostly started taking photographs as a weekend hobby and passion project.
But after our first newborn session for a friend, we were already getting inquiries from potential clients, so we decided to give ourselves a name. And that's how Bows and Ribbons Photography was born.
We've been doing it for over 5 years now, and are always pleasantly surprised at how much time has flown by.
Yuyeth wearing Avery Dove Nursing Bralette with her first-born, Enzo at 8 months.
Working and managing a baby and a toddler as an entrepreneur?
It's a very challenging balancing act, to put it simply. It can be extremely frustrating (as parenthood tends to be) at times, but immensely rewarding, too.
You will be pulled in many directions at once, sometimes quite literally so, and be forced to make decisions on the go - attend to my crying toddler, or pick up an important work-related call, for instance.
In fact, I was looking forward to the Lovemère session because it would be the first time in months that I'd be putting on some makeup and not have to wear a mask when I'm at our studio.
I would also get to feel like all our dolled up mummy clients for a few hours, instead of being the one ensuring that they look perfect!
6. Thoughts on raising your children today?
Every generation of mummies has its own fair share of challenges involved in raising their children. So I won't dare say that it's more challenging to bring up children today than a few decades ago.
I'm not sure about the challenges I'll face in the future as my children get older either, so my opinions will be biased toward babies and toddlers.
It's easier in some ways because of the internet. If your baby started behaving differently or had strange colored poop in the past, and you didn't have experience on your side, you had to bring them to the doctor.
Nowadays, we don't bring our babies to the pediatrician until Google tells us to. Also, there's just so much parenting advice available on social media, blogs, and videos online if you're willing to search for it and have an open mind.
Yuyeth wearing Love, Juliette Nursing Bralette nursing her second-born, Emilia at 4 months.
7. Breastfeeding?
Stressful.
Different women tend to have their own opinions about this, but the truth of the matter is that for a lot of mummies, breastfeeding doesn’t come quite as naturally as society can make it seem. It takes effort from the get go, even if it may feel rewarding to know that your body is actually nourishing another person. This means that you’ll need to take care of yourself by eating quality food, since your little bub will eat what you eat, so to speak.
However, I don’t believe that women should judge their ability as mothers by how much or how well they breastfeed. Everyone’s body is different and new mummies should just do what comes naturally and not feel pressured to keep up with others. This is why my husband and I have always been open to supplementing with formula.
My personal experience with both my babies was that my supply started to decline immediately after I got back to work. So I decided to focus on all the other ways in which I could be a great mom. Babies need so much more than just breastmilk to thrive!
Yuyeth with Enzo at 2.5 years old and Emilia at 4 months old, wearing Love, Juliette Nursing Bralette.
8. Any advice to fellow mummies?
I don't have everything figured out, but if I could give one piece of advice, it would be this:
Every baby is unique. So while you may receive an onslaught of advice about child-rearing from everyone as soon as they know you're expecting a baby - from your relatives to strangers in public even - what matters most at the end of the day is that you focus on your baby's preferences as well as your own.
Spend time getting to know your little one as soon as they're born (in fact, babies sometimes show a bit of their temperament while they're still in the belly!), and be open and sensitive to their needs and preferences.
Get to know your baby as well as you can, and don't forget also to be generous with yourself and get to know the new person you are becoming as a mum.