Communication, trust, and honesty top the checklist of things that make a relationship healthy and strong. Sex is up there, too (if you’re into that sort of thing), as well as shared interests and the ability to remain flexible and supportive during times of hardship. Jennifer Mulford, a 36-year-old mom and former bartender is adding one more bullet point to that list: adult breastfeeding.
Mulford, an Atlanta woman who gave birth to her last child over 20 years ago, quit her job in order to breastfeed her significant other, a former flame named Brad Leeson, around the clock. She gives the guy a feeding every two hours, and it’s not because the guy’s struggling for calcium. Instead, it’s because both Mulford and her partner are into adult breastfeeding relationships (ABR) and she’s trying to trick her body into producing the milk that will hopefully bring them even closer together.
Mulford told The Sun that she got into adult breastfeeding after reading about its benefits on the internet:
She said: “When I read about the bond breastfeeding could create between two people, I was envious.
“I have always enjoyed my breasts being touched during sex more than anything else, so I knew I would enjoy it.”
Of course, Mulford didn’t want just any old stranger suckling at her teat (just like the mom who gives herself semen facials isn’t accepting donations from the internet), so she started looking far and wide for the perfect candidate to whom she could bind from breast to mouth with a warm stream of vitamins and nutrients. But the going? It was tough.
“When I read about the pure joy it brought others, I was desperate to seek out a partner to share an emotional bond with.
“I used dating sites, put messages on ABR forums and even put an advert on Craigslist, but I drew a blank. I started to think I’d never get to try adult breastfeeding.”
Fortunately for Mulford, she found herself discussing the issue with Leeson (with whom she’d remained friends after their relationship had ended) and he began doing some research on his own. When she suggested that the two might like to try the relationship for themselves and he agreed, Mulford said that she knew she’d “found a partner for life.”
“We both wanted the same thing out of the relationship — a magical bond that only breastfeeding can achieve.”
Magical is just one of the ways that one could describe the relationship. “Just way too much work” is another. No knock on Mulford and Brad, but according to The Sun, Mulford has to treat her boyfriend exactly as if he were a baby. Maybe she’s not burping him or changing his diapers, but she’s got to pump or feed every two hours in order to bring her milk in. And that’s not a quick process. According to posts in an ABR forum, it can take months for the process to work and may necessitate using herbs and vitamins, as well as changing one’s diet to make it happen.
No word on whether Leeson had to quit his job, too, but the pair seems to be happy. Expect a documentary about the ABR phenomenon — in the vein of the one about men who identify as puppies — to come to a cable network near you soon.