Newborn sessions are always something special. If you are not a photographer, you may look at newborn images and think they look easy. Far from it. Most of the time, newborn sessions are hard, sweaty work. With heat cranked up to 80, in addition to a space heater, in order to keep babies happy, the grown ups usually end up melting. Many times, first-time parents are a little unsure, a lot tired, and still figuring out their new lives. So I was pleasantly surprised how at ease these new parents were, which was a good thing since little baby Evan was a bit fussy. He was not overly upset, but he was very clingy and wanting to nurse pretty much all the time, which is apparently just how he is right now.
I always encourage moms to please feed the baby or top them off, even if they just ate, in order to soothe and get the baby calm enough to work with alone, and this mom was more than willing, which helped a lot. But even with all the breaks to nurse, little Evan was simply wide awake, alert, and wanting his parents. Aren’t they sweet? Because Evan was a bit fussy, we stuck with the more traditional images. And no matter how many times I see pictures of babies in their daddy’s hands, it is always something beautiful and powerful.
After two and a half hours, Evan finally zonked out deep enough for me to work with him by himself. But even in this sleep, he was a light sleeper, and we could not touch him or position him much. Good thing he was naturally so beautifully set.
A note to parents who want newborn photos. You want your baby to be as young as possible. Five to seven days old is ideal. The younger they are, the deeper and more they sleep, and also the more they naturally want to curl up like they are in the womb.
I want to send a quick Thank You to West Suburban Midwife Associates for including my newborn flyers with their new mom packet.
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