Need to schedule a newborn photography session in Chicago? You can find more information on my website, or go ahead and fill out a newborn client profile form! Remember to enter the drawing for a free newborn photography session!
One of the most requested newborn poses-- make sure you choose a newborn photographer that knows how to do this safely!
You have a sweet, squishy newborn laying in the bassinet nearby. She opened her eyes and saw the outside world for the first time just hours ago and unknowingly changed your world forever. Whether this is your first time parenting a newborn or your fifth (or more!), the little details of those first few weeks should be captured. The wrinkles in her back. The baby fuzz on his arms. The wonderful way they still curl up like they were when inside you just days ago. Around 2 weeks of age, all those indicators of their journey into the world begin to vanish. He begins to stretch out whenever he gets a chance. She loses all those baby wrinkles as her appetite fills them in. He decides the world is a really interesting place and wants to stay awake to watch every little color and flash of light go by (or the ceiling fan like my youngest!). She flips her days and nights the right way and sleeps much less during the day (and parents love sleeping newborn images– later they remind you that she really did sleep during those early weeks!) making the session a bit trickier for everyone involved. The rapid development is exactly why it’s so important to have their newborn features captured as soon as possible after your baby’s entry into the world!
I always recommend that your photographer for your newborn is chosen before your pregnancy reaches the eighth month– I pencil in your baby’s due date and once your little one arrives we will finalize the session date. Because labor isn’t known for being predictable, I always keep a few different times available for my newborns so we can get your little one in during the first 12 days. If you haven’t scheduled your newborn photographer yet and you find yourself staring at that brand new gorgeous little one beside you, don’t panic! Like I said– I keep select session slots available for newborns (I set aside a few for each due date, and a few extras for last minute babies), and chances are I can find one that works for you! Contact your photographer from the hospital– after all, you have so much adrenaline running through you, there isn’t much hope for sleep anyway (and generally the snoring daddy in the chair beside you and the nurses that come in every 2 hours tend to interrupt any chance of sleep you do get… not to mention the little person you brought into the world– during my deliveries it seemed like the nurses had a little sensor that told them when I fell asleep so they can run in, turn on the light and strap a blood pressure cuff on my arm!). Contacting your photographer from the hospital ensures that you will be able to get your newborn portraits done within that first 2 weeks at a time that works well for everyone.
The day of your session… if this is your first newborn, plan to leave plenty of time to get you and baby out of the house! Most new moms are surprised by how much preparation it can take to leave the house for that first outing– and usually the first outing is either the doctor’s office for a weight check or to the newborn photographer! I know no one likes to keep a sleepy baby awake, but before leaving try to keep your baby up as much as possible– it’s the perfect time to give him a bath and take a picture of him in each outfit gifted at your shower to send to the gift givers! The bath will wake him up nicely, and the constant outfit changes will fight off that deep stage of sleep we are aiming for when you arrive to my studio! When you’re finished keeping him up, put him in an outfit that will not go on over his head for the short trip to my studio– a footie sleeper is perfect… bonus points if it’s the zip up variety for super simple removal when you get here! Feed feed feed the baby before getting in the car– it’s better than feeding her when you get to my studio for a few reasons: hiccups, spit-up and the “straight through” digestion of most newborns. If you feed her before you get in the car, all those things should be out of her system of by the time you arrive for your session, the car ride will put her nicely to sleep, and we can get started as soon as you walk in the door!
Coming up tomorrow– what to expect during your newborn photography session!
by Chicago Newborn Photographer
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