I know you're tired, Mama...
It's the middle of the afternoon and you're struggling to stay awake. You were awake half the night and you woke up before the sun came up. Your baby is napping and you're deciding what to do with the limited amount of spare time you have. Maybe you'll tackle that load of laundry that's waiting to be folded. or sort through all the outfits they've outgrown, even though it seems like they were too big for them only yesterday. Maybe you'll have a nap yourself. Sleep when the baby sleeps, right?
You pull out your phone. Aww, look at that adorable lock screen photo. Wow, has it really been 3 months since that photo was taken? You scroll through the recent pictures of your baby and smile to yourself. Despite being exhausted and thankful for the downtime, you miss them. You spend the limited window of alone time you have looking through their photos because they make you feel so happy. That quote you heard recently comes to mind - The days are long, but the years are short. It feels so true. How is it possible that they've changed in such a short time, right before your eyes? It's hard to even notice the changes until you look back on old photos. That's where I come in...
What makes a sitter session so special?
Maybe you had newborn photos taken. They're beautiful. They capture your baby at the smallest size they'll ever be, when they're still sleepy and all curled up as if they don't realize they've entered the world yet. Maybe you're planning to book cake smash photos when your baby turns one. It's a big milestone, and it's so exciting to see how they react to their very own cake and how messy they get!
But what about the rest of their first year? So much has happened to transform them from that tiny little sleepy bean to a rambunctious toddler, full of personality and constantly on the move.
There's a sweet spot in the middle of your baby's first year that's the perfect time to capture them. Sitter sessions are admittedly my favorite, and I will forever encourage parents to book one because I love them so much. Somewhere between 6-8 months your baby will master sitting up. The world looks different to them now! Their personalities are starting to shine, and they're delightfully chubby and curious about their surroundings. They may have a few teeth poking out, or maybe they're still rocking a sweet gummy smile.
What do you want to remember?
Before they learn to crawl, they don't move much. They sit and stay put. smiling at things, giving curious stares, blowing raspberries and babbling away. They may lay down and play with their feet or munch on their toes, or they may roll onto all fours and rock back and forth, trying to figure out how to crawl. It's such a fleeting stage and it's so easy to forget as time goes by. What's your favorite thing about this stage? What little details do you want to remember before they're gone? The precious knuckle dimples? Their adorable little feet and toes? That face they make when you play peek-a-boo? Let me preserve that for you.
After the newborn stage, a sitter session is the perfect in-between moment to capture them so you've got a full picture of the changes they went through in such a short time. If you missed out on newborn photos, this is the next best time to capture them while they're still little and precious. They are so animated at this point that it makes the session quick and painless, and you get a varied gallery of different poses and expressions, from which you can choose your favorites.
A baby's first year is full of milestones. Every week is different, and by their first birthday they are nearly unrecognizable compared to what they looked like as a newborn. I want to capture these details for you so they're more than just a memory. Photos are a way to freeze time and hold onto that moment forever. I know exactly what to look for, as I've been there. I have two boys of my own who are growing up faster than I ever could have imagined, and I will photograph your babies for you in the same way I photographed my own.
