5 Newborn Session Prep Tips
Your baby is here and your session is coming up….then you panic! “What if my baby doesn’t cooperate?” This is the worry of most new parents. I am going to share some tips that I give all my clients!
Keep baby awake!
When your little one wakes up for the early morning feeding do your best to keep them awake. Some ways to do this are to keep them unswaddled so they can kick around, putting Dad or Grandma in charge of making funny faces, and a sponge bath is always a good idea to freshen them up and get them ready to snooze.
Milk drunk = sleepy baby
If you live within 20 minutes of my studio feed your little one before you leave home. If not, I recommend that you arrive a few minutes early and you can feed the baby right before we get started. The session day is not the day to worry about your feeding schedule. If the baby acts hungry we will take a break and let him or her get a full belly.
Dressing the baby
When you arrive I will swaddle the baby, so what they are wearing will not be in photographs. With that being said, I recommend you dress them in a zip-up footie, so that we do not upset them by taking clothes over their head. Sometimes the car ride will rock them right to sleep and the last thing we want to do is wake them.
For Mom
Dress comfortably on the bottom, do not put on jeans for me (they will not show)!
If you are breastfeeding wear something that will easily allow you to nurse your baby. I have had clients wear a dress for the picture and forget about the challenges of breastfeeding in said dress.
The studio will be warm, be sure to have something underneath your top for pictures so you can take it off and be comfortable for the rest of the session.
For Dad
(Similar to mom) The studio will be warm, if wearing a button-up shirt be sure to wear an undershirt so you can get comfortable after the pictures!
If you have other children, make plans to take them somewhere nearby! Chick-fil-A is a popular choice! This allows your wife to enjoy the session and is a special treat/bribe for cooperating during pictures.
