When my second born arrived, I was back in the world of diapers, round the clock feeding and not a lot of time or energy for much else. But I still had my little 22 month old daughter to take of and in the early weeks, she became mostly her Dad’s child. I grieved a lot. I missed her so much. I missed holding her, and snuggling with her to read her favorite books. But she wasn’t short of attention from her Dad and other family members, and once I got into my nursing and napping groove with my youngest, my daughter and I found our connection once again…

When you book your newborn photo shoot…

…it will be in the first two weeks of your sweet babies arrival. This is a time when it’s all still so raw and you are not getting much sleep and if you have other children they may not be getting the most of you, which is what happens and that is ok. I understand this is a tender time for families and especially siblings. Before our session together I usually consult with families a day or two in advance to see how the older siblings are handling the arrival of their new sister or brother, and what kind of behavior I can expect, so that I am prepared to offer support to any tricky behavior that may arise. On the day of the session when I arrive at your family home I spend the first few minutes connecting with your older child or children first. During our session I’ll give space for any tender moments that may arise for siblings and i’ll still photograph those moments because they will add to your authentic family story. The most helpful strategy I have found in newborn sessions that involve older siblings is to give the older siblings the freedom to do their own thing. If they move in and out of the frame while they are building legos or creating art that is totally ok, because giving them choices helps them feel empowered and will help them to be more cooperative for the more portrait style shots.

So while we are creating memories to celebrate the arrival of a beautiful new baby, it’s so important to celebrate the siblings too and to make the newborn session all about THEM!