Lindsay For every newborn session I have an email full of tips and tricks that the parents can use to help make sure session run as smooth as possible. I thought I’d share of few of them here to help others out in preparing for their session.
1. Keep the baby away the hour or two before our session. I realize this can be tricky and often result in a cranky baby but it also means we have a tired baby that once fed and swaddled will zonk right out and let us get all of those beautiful sleepy baby poses that are impossible with an awake newborn. A great way to keep them awake is a bath right before we get there or get them naked – naked babies tend to be awake babies because they can feel the air temperature more.
2. Speaking of air temperature – warm it up! If we’re not sweating it’s likely too cold for the baby. Remember, we’re going to strip them down to get those new, fresh from the womb naked shots. Turn off your AC or increase it to 80 degrees for the time of our session.
3. And speaking of stripping down – dress them in loose, easy to remove clothes. Tight restricting clothes are both hard to remove and leave red marks on the baby’s sensitive skin. If you’ve given them a bath then just a diaper on them and wrap them in a blanket to stay warm. It will make it easier to strip them down later.
4. A bottle and/or paci can save a session! Being a model is hard work and also quite foreign to babies. While I will shush and sway like a mad woman to get a calm sleepy baby, a paci to suck on can really make the difference. I understand the hesitance to use a paci with a baby that’s new to breastfeeding so if you’re not comfortable just say and we can charge on without it
5. Allot enough time. Newborn shoots can often take up to 4 hours. It takes time to get them into the various poses and set ups and often we have to pause to feed and/or settle. I let your baby guide me and sometimes that means we drop in a quick snuggle mid session – and I’m totally okay with that!
For the rest of the tips and tricks just book a newborn with us and the email is all yours:)
