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Tips for a beautiful Newborn Session – Part 2

August 14, 2015

Newborn-Session-tips

Ahhh newborns…I love them and everything they represent. Last week I posted Part 1 of the Tips for a beautiful newborn session series, you can click here to read, and I promised that I would post more. So let’s get started:

LET THERE BE LIGHT. Lighting is everything and to a natural light photographer of newborns, window light is key. Tell your photographer where the lighting is best in your home, or show them! I have clients text me pictures from their iphones of places in their home where they think the lighting is best. I love that! All of our newborns sessions right now take place at our client’s home. They prefer it that way. However, being a natural light photographer it is essential to me that the area is well lit by a large, and I mean large, window.
NATURE IS YOUR FRIEND. Consider having part of your newborn session at your favorite park. We live in South Florida, and the weather is beautiful most of the time, so I usually encourage parents to hold part of their session at a park. It doesn’t take long for me to capture beautiful images of you snuggling with your new baby.
THE HEAT IS ON. Newborns like feeling warm, so we recommend that our clients warm up their home prior to our arrival. I usually carry a space heater with me for this very reason. I concentrate on the human connection; how mom and dad bond with her baby and how all of you connect as a new family. I also, however, like to take close-ups of these sweet little ones. Because I want you to remember every little detail: the shape of his toes, the wrinkles in his skin, and the soft baby curl. It is during these close-ups of the baby that we need the room warm, as for the most part they are either in the buff or in a light romper.

As you can imagine there are many more tips to share…make sure you visit us next Friday. Have a great weekend!

Black & White Newborn Photography | Miami, Florida

August 11, 2015

“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

– Nathaniel Hawthorne

This mama and baby are very dear to me and hold a special place in my heart. It seems like it was yesterday when she was this little. Baby Bella was eagerly awaited and welcomed with an insurmountable amount of love. I want to share with you a few words this lovely mama wrote in a letter to her unborn child:

” . . . When I wonder if I’m a good enough mother, please help me to know my strength again. When I fear failure, please pierce me with your eyes and smile. When I take things too seriously, I give you permission to make me laugh. Laugh often.

Please remind me that life is beautiful, when I might forget. I want you to be the best thing about me. I hope you always love me, I hope that you will be proud to be my legacy. I want to say, that you were the most amazing little lovely thing that I have ever seen before you even ever came to be. I will wait patiently for you, enjoying you on the inside. Come as you are. Come when you are ready. . . “

Tips for a beautiful Newborn Session – Part I

August 8, 2015

Before I get to the tips, I want to preface this by saying just how much I love and enjoy motherhood. When Joshua, my oldest, was born and at only 20 years-old I was scared, but in that cool December morning I was on top of the world. Nothing compares to the feeling a first time mom experiences when her baby arrives.

To say that I love newborns is an understatement. These sleepy little souls with tiny wrinkles are perfection and the true meaning and purpose of life. I sometimes find myself in a wave of sadness just thinking that my little babies will one day leave the nest. These thoughts are what help me get better at being present and remind me to capture the little glimpses of personalities that we see along the way.

I record my memories in albums and every time I opened them, they fill me with joy and bring me back to that very moment. This is why I do what I do, because I want you to remember this time in your life and reminisce just as I do when I open the pages and travel back in time.

So now that I’m done with my ranting; I want to give you some tips for a successful newborn session. This will be an ongoing series on the blog; for now, I will start with the first two:

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM. Book your session early! I’m not saying this for my benefit or the benefit of your photographer, even though I would love to have you as a client, I’m saying this because photographers get booked in advance and most newborn sessions occur during the first two weeks of the baby’s life. This leaves very little time for a photographer that is already booked to schedule you in. If your session was previous scheduled with a tentative date, the photographer is aware and knows the amount of sessions they can schedule around your due date.
THE EARLIER THE BETTER. If possible, schedule your session when your baby is between 3-7 days old. This time is when they are the sleepiest and stay curled up just as they were in the womb. After around two weeks, they start stretching and the curl pose that came natural to them starts to change

That’s it for now – can’t wait to share more. Next week I’ll be talking about natural light, outdoor sessions, and bringing on the heat…

The Beauty is in the Mess | Baby Photographer in South Florida

July 30, 2015

Khloe

We try to mold them and make them fit into a pretty little box of what is considered normal. But she is not normal; she is full of love, passion, and imagination like no other. Her dreams are big, her imagination wild.

She does many things at once because her brain can’t stop. It bursts with ideas, constantly.

This is my daily struggle with my 6 year-old. Her room is in a constant state of turmoil. Barbies on the floor, dresser, closet; clothes scattered in corners; makeup on her bed; blue eyeshadow dust on her dresser.

How can I stop her if when I do I feel like I’m crushing her. I hope to one day soon find the balance. In the meantime, I think I will sit back and appreciate the beauty of her untamed soul.

Beach Maternity Session | Maternity Photographer Miami

July 27, 2015

I love maternity photography sessions period, but add the beach as a background and a mommy-to-be willing to go in the water and I’m in heaven. There is a feeling of being connected to nature when you are surrounded by sand and water that has no comparison. I loved every minute of this maternity session.

The Simplicity of Newborns

July 24, 2015

There are many reasons why I love newborn photography sessions; each is so very unique. Even at such a young age, you sometimes get a glimpse of their personality.

Trenchbowl by: Traditions in Thyme // Lambskin Cover: West Elm

Newborns

July 22, 2015

They are their own little masterpiece. The closer you look at their little folds and wrinkles, the more you will be amazed by the miracle.

This little cutie was just a few days old at the time of his newborn photography session which is why you still see his legs tightly curled. Love it!

When to Book Your Newborn Session

July 21, 2015

When To Book Newborn Session

This is another common question I get because most moms wait to have their baby before booking a newborn session. But, just like you would book a wedding photographer way ahead of time, it is a good idea to book your newborn photographer while you are still pregnant.

Now, there are many different styles of newborn photography and other photographers might not mind the age of the baby, so you would need to know your style preference and what best fits your family.

Our style at The Crunchy Nest is simple and we try to stay away from the overuse of props because we prefer a more organic look; however, we still pose our newborns. We change the baby’s hand placement, turn their little face, change their position, etc. in order to get a variety of picture for you. Therefore, we prefer our newborn sessions to take place during the baby’s first two weeks of life. 5-7 days is ideal!

Why?

When babies are brand new, they position themselves in the way they were in the womb and they sleep all the time! As time passes, babies stretch out and are more alert, which makes it more difficult to keep them asleep and pose them. The older the baby, the more aware they are of their surroundings.

But what date do you pick?

Well, because we know that due dates are not set in stone – I wish they were (being a mom of three), when you book your newborn session while expecting, We will pencil in a date approximately one week after your due date. Once your baby arrives, you give us a call and let us know. We will then move our schedule around to accommodate the best time to hold your session.

Booking your session before-hand guarantees your spot once your baby has arrived and your session will take priority over new inquiries around the same time.

So what are you waiting for? If you are currently expecting, book your session today.

BOTTLE FEEDING & THE FORMULA I CHOSE

July 14, 2015

[Big Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form telling you that this is what you should do for your baby. This was a decision I made for my baby after many hours of research. Please make sure you do your own research before determining what is right for you and your baby]

I wrote in this post about my breastfeeding struggles and because of it I had to find an alternative way to feed my baby. Not only did I have to find the safest bottles, but also the safest formula.

When it came to bottles, I knew that we would be warming up formula, so plastic bottles weren’t an option. We decided on the Avent Natural glass bottle, and as he grew older and wanted to hold his own bottle, we bought the Pura Kiki Stainless Steel Bottle. These are the bottles that we still use today and he loves them!

The next struggle came when it was time to choose a formula. I started to supplement Gavin’s feeding since early on. He was only a few days old and already drinking Enfamil. I knew before I gave birth to him that I did not want to give my child commercial grade formula. My plan was to breastfeed and when I didn’t succeed, I was left at the last minute to do tons of research to find something that I felt good about feeding my child.

Now, to be honest, I fed both my daughter and my oldest son formula without thinking anything of it. As I got older and I learned more, I wanted a better option.

Gavin was not like my other children. He dreaded sleep, yet he wasn’t (that I know of) a colicky baby but he was crying as if he was in pain often. I did then what most mothers would do and hit google to find out why. I thought that he fit the description of possibly being lactose intolerant. Although he did not have diarrhea, he did seem to have gas, was very irritable, and was developing little red spots all over his face. So we switched to Baby’s Only Lactose Relief organic formula and he was doing well on it for about two weeks and then got constipated, really constipated, and the rashes that he had got dry and scab-like. At the pediatrician’s recommendation we switched formula brands again to see if this would solve the problem with no luck. I was at my wit’s end because I knew I had to switch formula again and this time the only other formula that the doctors were recommending was soy based and I refuse to give my baby boy soy.

So I went on a quest to find a solution when I came across this post and it changed my baby. The more research I did about homemade goat milk formula the more I started to think that this was the best option for us. I purchased Mt. Capra Goat Milk powder along with all the other ingredients. See recipe here. And I started making daily batches.

Was I scared? Yes! I was. I was scared that I wasn’t following my pediatrician’s advice; I was scared because this was not the norm. But guess what? Gavin thrived on it. His constipation went away, his faced cleared up, and he was a much happier baby. I still don’t know what in the cow milk was causing him problems back them as his formula recipe included lactose, and now at 16 months he drinks full fat organic cow milk, but I now know that I made the right choice for him then. It was a hassle making formula daily, which meant warming up the formula under hot water before every feeding, but I would do it all over in a heartbeat.

What do I recommend? Do your research, educate yourself, seek professional advice, and then make the right decision for you.

I would love to hear about your unconventional ways to childcare. Send me an email at may@thecrunchynest.com.

MOMMY GUILT SERIES: BREASTFEEDING

June 24, 2015

I got a call from my mom while at work today. She was telling me how the baby, who is now fifteen months, was refusing to eat lunch. She explained how she tried everything and it wasn’t until she handed over the spoon and allowed him to feed himself that mealtime resumed and he devoured his lunch.

Smiling I ended the conversation with my mom and an overwhelming feeling of sadness came over me. This feeling is not new to me. I have experienced it many times before. It comes during moments when I realize that my babies are growing up and I’m running out of time to be the mommy that I dreamt of being for them.

You see, Gavin is my third child and this time around I wanted to get it right. I’m older now and my ideas about parenting and my body have changed so much since I had my first baby. There were many things I wanted to do differently, and one of those things was breastfeeding.

During the last weeks of my pregnancy I read books, blogs, forums, anything I could find about breastfeeding and how to succeed. I thought I was prepared. I felt empowered being surrounded (both in my personal life and in online communities) by mommies, mine included, who did succeed. I was excited and ready to meet my new bundle of joy and dreamt of our nursing time together.

Now looking back I understand the many medical reasons as to why my body did not perform as it normally would: I did not go into labor on my own (it was a scheduled c-section), it was my third c-section, I lost a lot of blood, the baby was not able to nurse right away, etc.. Yet all of this didn’t stop me from trying. For weeks I pumped around the clock, took supplements, visited a lactation consultant, rented a hospital grade pump, and drove myself to exhaustion. And although I know that I gave it my all, even as the chips were stacked against me, every time I see nursing mothers I feel like a failure. I had one chance to get this right – a chance that I will never have again – and I somehow screwed it up.

I realize that as time passes the guilt becomes more manageable. I hope that someday it is gone all together. For now, I try to remind myself that I did nurse and although I did not produce enough to sustain him, we did connect in ways I never could have imagined. I remind myself that my determination was not in vain, that I am human, and that there will be many more opportunities in his life – and the life of my other children – to get it right.

How was your breastfeeding journey?

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