This could be the most important post you will read before you have your baby.

But first take a moment to look at this image. This is how much your baby changes in just 9 Months!

Ok, so back when I was pregnant for the first time, I was also in your position. I had no idea what I was supposed to have ready for when baby arrived.

I mean, I knew I needed a pram, a cot, clothes, nappy cream. The internet is full of checklists, telling you all the items you need, even what you need to pack in your hospital bag. What it doesn’t tell you though is the most important thing you need to have organised.

Number 1 on the list should be……. Book your newborn photoshoot.

This is why…

Think of this, you plan your wedding day, you book a photographer to capture that day. When the day is over, what is the one thing you will have to directly look back at the details to remember that day…

Your photographs.

Now if you’re like me, having my babies was slightly more precious to me then my wedding, even though it was so amazing to marry the man of my dreams, and you may not think, but maybe once you pop out that perfect little human your mind will change. Your heart will fill with unimaginable pure love.

The second that baby enters this world you start your new job. Only, you don’t get a few days to slowly settle in. IT’S INSTANT…

That baby needs feeding straight away, relatives start popping up, wanting to visit, and as much as you love them, getting your boob out in front of them is going to take some getting used to, you can’t concentrate on anything else when you first start feeding, you’re too busy making sure your nip isn’t being damaged with an incorrect latch. Baby needs a bath, baby sleeps, but you forget to shower and make yourself presentable, because you were too busy staring at baby and making sure he/she is still breathing. In my case I was lucky I was staring at my little man because whilst were still in hospital he was silently choking on mucus. Thats another blog that will follow, and luckily I was educated, and knew what to do in that moment and I saved his life.

So then you leave hospital, now you’re really thrown into in. Now you’re the boss, you don’t really have anyone that knows your job, you have to work it out by yourselves. So you do what you know, now you’ve even managed to wash your hair, but know sleep deprivation is starting to kick in. You can survive though :), with the help of people around you, and let me tell you, DO NOT ever knock back help. If you can grab a couple hours sleep whilst grandma smothers baby in cuddles then DO IT!!

Then one day about three weeks into this gig you’re feeding baby, and you realise, aww his eyelashes are getting blacker….

HANDBRAKE!!!!!!

Wait!! Hang on!! My baby is almost one month old already! I haven’t even booked professional photos yet! Yes did you know you’re supposed to do that?

Think of this, by 28 days old, your baby looks NOTHING like they did in the first ten days, by 28 days your baby can even stare into your eyes. By two months baby is unrecognisable as what he started out like. He’s getting chubbier, he even smiles at you. By four months he can hold up his head when practising tummy time, and by five months this kid can roll!! By the age of nine months this guy can get around so fast crawling and you’ve changed his name to Speedy Gonzales, he’s closer to being called a toddler than he is a baby. All that and thats just in the same amount of time you were pregnant.

Your baby is sleeping more at night now (I pray for you), and you start to want to reminisce on that time that went so freaking fast. Those first weeks.

Back to my point.. Your life is so hectic once baby arrives, and the time goes by in fast forward x30. Having a photoshoot in the first two weeks is so important. If you are a person that has emotions, you will understand, your photos are the only thing you can take from this time to remember what your baby looked like. To see how tiny that baby was in your arms. That is the ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING you can take with you into the future. You will be sleep deprived, this time will be a blurr amongst the chaos. Getting older is inevitable, it’s sad, just ask your parents or grandparents. But it happens to all of us, being able to see images of our babies is a priceless experience. Your images are your direct gold ticket back in time, if only for a minute or even better if you hang the images on your walls, you can look at that precious little face every day.

Booking your newborn session whist your still pregnant, usually at around 3 months is recommended, you can then have at least a tiny bit of control, and rest assured that you will have your images. You can free up any energy needed to converse when baby is already here. We can talk about what setups you like, what colours you like, what images you would like to have on which walls in your house, how fun morning sickness is… not. ?

Here at Winni & Mini Photography, I do get a lot of early bookings, this allows us lots of time to be prepared, much like that wedding day, when you cross things of the “to do” list, you will start to relax, and feel happier, that you are as prepared as you can be. Although I do get the mums in my example above, and that is totally fine too. It’s never ever too late to take photos of your baby. If you have missed a certain age, you can bet, if you blink again your baby will have grown even more. I strictly only book 2-3 sessions per week, and whilst I will always do my absolute best to accommodate late bookings, parents that have booked ahead of time will always be guaranteed their photo shoot.

To book your session in please click HERE.

With all my love,

Tanha B