Preparing for your newborn session

I'm so excited and honored to photograph your new little one! Although I love awake newborn shots, many poses can only be achieved when the baby sleeps soundly. And at any rate, we want your little one to be content and relaxed during his/her session. Here are a few steps you can take prior to the session to help prepare your baby:

1) Try to keep your newborn awake for between 30-45 minutes before the session. Try engaging with your baby, talking to them, reading to them, or even giving them a little bit of tummy time. However, do not keep them awake for more than an hour, as this can cause them to be overtired, which can actually make it very hard for them to relax and nap during their session.

2) Give your baby a good feeding just before leaving the house. A baby with a nice, fully tummy is usually a contented baby. Moreover, a feed before leaving the house, followed by the car ride to my studio, will give your baby's belly a little time to settle and digest before we start posing.

3) If you are a breastfeeding mama, consider avoiding coffee or other caffeinated drinks/foods the morning of your session. If your baby tends to be gassy, you might also consider avoiding foods that commonly cause gas in babies: https://www.babycenter.com/baby/breastfeeding/will-my-breastfed-baby-get-gas-if-i-eat-certain-foods_9233 (of course, consult with you health care provider if you suspect your baby has allergies).

4) Dress your baby in an easy-to-remove one-piece. A layette with a zipper or magnetic buttons/snaps is the perfect option.

5) Please bring a pacifier if your baby takes one. Even if your baby doesn't usually take one, please consider having one on-hand, as I have found that most babies will take one during their session, and it can be so very helpful for soothing while posing. Of course, if you do not want your baby to have a pacifier, I respect your wishes.

6) Consider having a bottle of milk on hand so that we can top your baby off if they get a bit fussy during posing. Just a little bit of milk can do wonders for helping a newborn relax if they start to stir. Of course, if your little one gets really fussy and restless, we will take time out from posing and picture-taking to allow them to get a proper feeding--this is one of the reasons I allot so much time for newborn sessions.

During the session:

When you arrive, I will take your newborn out of his/her carseat and dress/wrap them. If they are very sleepy, I typically try to start out with unwrapped/table poses (unless we are doing baby with parents/family, in which case I typically wrap them to do that part of the session first). If they are restless, I usually wrap them, as almost all newborns will relax when securely swaddled. I will have both a shusher/white noise machine going and will keep the studio space quite warm (around 77 degrees Fahrenheit), as both of these help to keep your little one relaxed and comfortable.

In every case, I listen to your baby's cues and let him/her dictate the session. If they are hungry, we take a break for feeding; if they need to burp, we take time for that. Eventually, if they just aren't sleepy, although we are more limited in how we can pose them, we usually can still capture awake shots of your special and unique little one that I know you will cherish!