I have another beautiful baby girl to feature today!  But I first wanted to touch on something I get asked by parents a lot before their newborn sessions: “how should we prep the baby?”  There are a few tips I give new parents to answer this question, because the goal for each session is to have a baby who is sleepy, and whose tummy is full.  That’s really the secret to great newborn photos!

So, let’s tackle the sleepy issue.  If a baby sleeps at home all morning before the session, then it’s more likely they’ll be rested up and awake during their session.  So the trick to make sure this doesn’t happen, is simply to do what you can to keep them awake for a little while before you leave for the session!  Sometimes babies can be hard to wake up (which isn’t usually something I’d call a problem, unless you’re about to come see me for a session!).  If your baby is super sleepy and not easy to keep awake, you can try giving them a bath, or maybe even just undressing them and changing their diaper to stimulate them.  Wipe them with a wipe on their bottom and they’re usually WIDE awake!

The second thing we want to accomplish is to have baby come with a full tummy.  So this seems like a no-brainer… feed the baby right before you leave, right?  Well YES!  But it’s actually more than that.  Some newborn babies wake every hour in need of a feed.  The trick to making sure that doesn’t happen during your session is to feed them a LOT during the 24 hours before your session.  For example, I recently had someone whose baby was really hungry and wide awake for most of their session.  I wasn’t surprised when the mom told me her baby had slept through the night with no feedings the night before.  So, wake that baby up if they’re going on more than 3 hours without a feeding.  Most doctors advise to feed newborns at least every 3 hours, so make sure to follow that rule the entire day and night prior to your session.  Then they’re more likely to have a longer sleepy stretch during their newborn session.  And all of this ensures we can get as many poses and setups done during a session as possible.  And more setups = more pictures = more cuteness!!

So that’s my two cents for getting that baby ready for his or her big photo debut!

And last but not least is baby Katherine!  Such a cutie who came in for a newborn mini-session in my Wake Forest studio (more details on the mini-session available on my website!).  Loved her sweet little smiles she gave me, and her amazing hair!

If you have a newborn or are expecting one soon, and you’re located in the Raleigh Durham Wake Forest, NC area and would like some beautiful art of your baby, please contact me!  I can be reached through e-mail, or through my contact form on my website (link below) to book your photo session.  Thank you so much!

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