OUR STORY
Once upon a time, there were two globetrotters and a stork
It all started in Brussels, Belgium, the motherland of the most eminent fashion designers. Is it just a coincidence that Aurélie and John, the founders of Milk Away, are from there? No, we don't think so! #belgiandoitbetter It is in this cosmopolitan city the envy of the world that they met and that their love story began and very quickly turned into a real adventure: expatriation.
Brussels, Mumbai, Salzburg, etc. Their respective jobs took them to the four corners of the world, but it was finally in Austria that the creative duo decided to settle down in 2019. It was there, in the middle of the mountains, that they will have a life-changing encounter with a stork, which will be the starting point of Milk Away that launched in June 2021.
It is now from Brussels that John and Aurélie commit to watching and helping their two babies, Doug and Milk Away, grow.
A Stork Named Doug
In Austria, it is a tradition that every birth is proudly announced by the installation of a stork, made by relatives, in front of the family nest.
A tradition inspired by the legend of the Kinderbrunnen ("children's well"), according to which there is a lake under Strasbourg cathedral where the souls of children play whilst waiting for them to come into the world. Women wishing to become mothers must come and bend over a well leading to the lake to express their wish to see a child arrive in their home.
This wish is then heard by a kind white-bearded gnome travelling on the water in a silver boat with a golden net. His mission? To gently catch a newborn baby and put it on the edge of the well so that a stork can come and take it to its family in a pretty basket. The image of the stork quickly spread throughout Europe and even far beyond; as far as the Far East and South America.
And so it is thanks to the arrival of Doug (who decided to make his parents work on May 1st!) that Milk Away was born.
The wish to be a woman, a mother and to breastfeed
As a first-time mum, I made the choice to breastfeed. And the magic happened right away! At each feeding, I was overwhelmed with strong emotions and I took advantage of these moments of complicity to get to know my baby better. Right away, I wanted to move except that... I quickly realised that I didn't have the right clothes. I wanted to continue my life as a woman just as before going to the restaurant. Breastfeeding. Walking around. Breastfeeding. Shopping. Breastfeeding. Travelling. Breastfeeding. It was a no-brainer for me. All I needed was a nappy, a change of clothes and off I went! No bottle, no bottle warmer, no powdered milk (not to mention the headache of choosing which milk). My breasts and I were perfectly adequate ! (Laughs)However, all-terrain breastfeeding is not always child's play, due to poorly thought-out clothing. So how can you breastfeed without having to undress every time?
Frankly, I had nothing decent to wear. No comfortable, quality, discreet clothing. I didn't want to shout to the world that I was breastfeeding with a big slogan. I was often confronted with lousy models, badly cut, of poor quality and without a well thought out opening system. I just wanted to put my little summer dress back on and some nice t-shirts that didn't make me look like a sack. I just wanted to feel stylish, cool but not dorky, whilst still being able to breastfeed discreetly. If I couldn't find what I needed, it was obvious I wasn't the only one. So... why not start a collection?Thanks to my husband John's kick up the backside, I launched Milk Away !
I will never forget that time at the restaurant. Doug was five days old. Aurelie was nursing, he was completely hidden under her jumper. Is he even still breathing? I can't see him anymore! I thought to myself that life could go back to the way it was if there weren't all these acrobatics to hide the breastfeeding!
When she told me about her clothing collection idea, I was convinced. For me, it was THE right idea. Our target seemed to be won over, and I, the worried dad, was reassured. So we went for it (laughs)!
John, Super Dad
#wearefamily #inmumwetrust #indadwetrust #wearewomums #wondermums
