It is always a privilege to photograph a tiny little bundle, and I know that this little guy may just be leaping small buildings by his six month session. In the mean time, it was so much fun to spend time with him (and his parents), where he is already surrounded with care, attention, and generations’ worth of handmade things that show just how loved he was even before he arrived.

W is a cooperative little guy ~ he slept through the M-Dogs’ attentions and barks, got photographed with a combination of heirloom and brand new outfits chosen especially for his first portrait session, and is almost certainly going to root for the Blue Devils. So, I may be a little in love.

Given that at a couple of months old he’s been throwing things out of his crib and rolling over (!) for several weeks, I think that he’s earned the nickname Baby Superman.

Here are a few of my favorites…

One of my favorite newborn portraits ever. (I’ll try to snap a shot of W’s canvas that arrived yesterday, too ~ can’t wait to see it on the wall.)

I love those sweet moments between a new mother and her child.

And an adorable outfit made just for Baby Superman.

I love few things as much as I love photographing newborn babies. My preference is for the real life stuff ~ swaddling, soft blankets, and a basket here and there, an heirloom or a favorite book. Little Miss Laid-back was perhaps the most content newborn I’ve ever photographed ~ a little food and a little shhh’ing, and she was good for whatever. Need her to sleep? She was out. Sit in a rocker with her sister? She was cool with that, too. Maybe it was having a relaxed mama and a doting family around, or maybe she just really enjoyed that warm fall air, but she was definitely a go with the flow baby.

One of the best surprises of this session was being greeted by Little Miss L’s big sister in a princess dress that she had chosen herself ~ a carnation pink confection worthy of any dance recital, Disney trip, or tea party in these parts ~ and that was perfect for photographs.

Together and separately, these partners in cute made a really fun morning of photography and soaking up the little girl atmosphere that my home (at least for a few more months) lacks. Not that the basketballs and Wolfpack t-shirts that dominate my decor aren’t cute in their own way, too. But there’s just something about little girls…

From the tiny bundle that “posed” so cooperatively

From the Big Sister outfit that I could not have planned better myself,

To the care that Big Sis showed when she *finally* got to hold her little sister

Thank you for inviting me into your home to photograph such a fun session.

I’m still catching up on blogging my sweet, busy, crazy fall of portraits (and weddings). I have known P + J since we were all young, cool, and out after 8 PM on more than one Saturday night each month (quarter). It was such a treat to catch up with their growing family and to photograph sweet M when she was a brand new bundle. (For the mamas-to-be who are reading, one of the keys to great newborn portraits is to schedule them ~ with the date TBA of course ~ before your baby is born so that you don’t miss that two week window when your baby is still sleepy-curly.)

Sibling shots are often one of my favorite parts of newborn sessions ~ I love the challenge of navigating the New Sibling Invasion and the psychological stuff that it can bring (Jonathan and I are both oldest kids, after all), and I find that some of the most tender moments that I get to photograph occur as a big brother or sister is contemplating the newborn that just arrived… to stay.

I have to say that my favorite newborn sib shot of all time is one from this session ~ read on to see the image and the reason why it gets a super superlative.

But first, meet The Divine Miss M

Her fun-loving family

And her delightful big brother

And the shot that made me tear up when I shot it ~ Big Bro S is pretty attached to this blanket, but M was fussy, and he thought that his new baby sister might need it. So, with his parents watching (but with no prompting whatsoever) and me scrambling to get my camera focused without intruding, S offered M his special blue blanket.

It is a privilege every single time that someone recommends me to a friend, and when said friend happens to have a home filled with love, antiques, a brand new BOB, and a visiting grandma who grows her own fruits and veggies, well, that’s a really good day before the first shutter click.

My grandmother used to have a sign in her kitchen that said, “A good hostess is like a swan ~ calm and serene on the surface, and paddling like h*ll underneath.” Being a new mom strikes me as presenting a lot of the same challenges. (Did I mention that this snuggly little bundle is less than two weeks old? Which, for those of you who aren’t into math, means that her mama delivered her less than two weeks ago.) But if this mama is paddling, it doesn’t show. Little Miss Sweetness is a happy, sleepy, thriving newborn whose mama has great timing and a reassuring calm that seems to pervade her home.

S&K, thank you so much for trusting me to capture Little Miss S’s photographic debut. She is simply wonderful. I have so many more, including quite a few in your lovely ivy, but these two just begged to be blogged.

~Beth

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Newborns are one of my favorite subjects to photograph, and I could not have asked for a more welcoming family or a more cooperative baby. N was a tiny bundle of happy, milky contentedness throughout our session, treating me to sweet sleepy grins and tiny little sighs as we wrapped her up and moved her this way and that. A big shout out to Mom, who got in touch on the day that N was born to set the date for her photographic debut (!), worked our portrait session into those hectic first few days of life (!!), and looked amazing to boot (no !s… I suspect that that’s your usual).

You guys did everything right to have a wonderful session, right down to adjusting the thermostat, and little N definitely did her part to show off her abundant cuteness. Thank you so much for the chance to photograph your beautiful bundle. She is obviously a treasure and very much loved. I can’t wait to show you the full gallery — J & Patton & N’s grandmother are pretty good looking in their own rights — but I wanted to share a few of my early favorites, and I’m a tiny bit biased toward mama-and-baby portraits. Congratulations again on your very photogenic miracle.

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I’m a researcher and a chit-chatter, so between my penchant for gab and my subscription to Consumer Reports, I’ve amassed quite a lot of info that has been shared generously by other moms and a few professional kid people. One of my goals for 2011 is to do more “gosh I wish I’d known” posts to pass along the “mother wit” that has been shared with me.

If you have suggestions for topics or hints to pass along, I’m always looking for a good idea : ) As always, I think that mamas should use their superpowers to fight the evil of mommy guilt. If you want to try cloth diapers or are just curious as to why anyone would, read on and hopefully find yourself a little entertained. If you don’t, more power to you. I thought that I would make all of my own organic baby food, too. And then I realized that I was kinda tired and Gerber does puree so well!

Anyway, I decided to kick off the “mother wit” posts with one about the topic that provoked the most baby shower conversation when I was pregnant: my idea of trying cloth diapers. I know that cloth diapering is not optional in some circles, but my people love Pampers, and I love my people. So, cloth diapering made me weird in this area (probably not the only one). My favorite comment of all is the title for this post — and I heard it more than once: To be clear, I do not have a separate washer for the cloth diapers. Bleach is my friend, though, and my jeans smell just fine, thanks : )

In most things, I’m moderate by nature, so I went with the idea that I’d buy a few different kinds of diapers, would try them after we got nursing and other mysteries under control, and would just see how it went. The deal I made with Jonathan, who was ready to buy stock in Pampers and to install an outdoor chute (not shoot — sorry) to convey the diapers downstairs without sacrificing indoor air quality, was that he didn’t have to use or wash any cloth diapers.

With a small stock of cloth diapers in a bunch of sizes ready to go, I waited for David’s umbilical cord stump to fall off, and then we started trying some cloth amid the Pampers Swaddlers. To summarize about a month’s worth of experimentation:

What I hated: I hated disassembling dirty diapers (as most are composed of an absorbent liner and some kind of purportedly waterproof cover — and I should say here that waterproof was the least of our problems). I was also not a huge fan of diaper pins or of special washing rituals to cleanse the diapers of diaper creams, etc. (We’ve been lucky about diaper rash, but when D has had it, I have switched to paper diapers for the duration to avoid having to strip cloth diapers — a big pain — or to give up my beloved Desitin.) I did not like traveling with cloth diapers, either — so when we go out for the day, I probably use paper diapers 50% of the time, and I use them 100% of the time on vacation, as well as for the occasional fill-in if I’m behind on laundry.

What I liked: I found a brand of cloth diapers that I just love — they can be washed without taking the liners out (thank you, Aunt J!), they almost never leak (much better than Pampers, which released some icky gel crystals that scared me to death until I realized what they were — this is what sold Jonathan on cloth), and they are one-size-fits-most, meaning that my almost 18-month-old is wearing the same diapers that he wore as a one-month-old. They also come in the cutest colors that you ever saw — that’s their portrait above. I do appreciate the conservation aspect more now, and I appreciate the fact that my initial investment in diapers has made it about 15 months and counting, with the addition of flushable liners (which are kind of like dryer sheets) now that David is eating real food.

If you’re thinking of trying cloth: Ultimately, I found that 14 Bum Genius all-in-ones was enough for us, assuming about a load of diaper laundry every other day. They are easy to wash and to assemble, and they have fit David well from the time that he was about a month old until now (almost a year and a half later) and are still going strong. Jonathan actually does everything (except wash them) enthusiastically precisely because those things don’t leak. They are a great brand, but I would try one or two in a variety of styles before deciding about cloth in general and brands specifically.

If you do want to give cloth diapers a shot, there are many great local shops that carry diapers and accessories. Personally, I really like Green Pea Baby Store in Apex for advice, supplies, and even cloth diapering classes. In addition to an adorable brick-and-mortar store in the historic downtown area of Apex, they also have an online store that offers free shipping with orders of $75 or more. And they’re super nice. And they don’t even know that I’m writing this, but I’ll probably tell them. Who doesn’t like a little attagirl now and then?

Feel free to post a question if you have one, and I’ll try to answer or to point you in the right direction. I’m not an expert by any means, but I can probably help you get to one.

I don’t know how many times I have started this blog post. The funny thing is that I usually have trouble deciding what portraits to include (or editing down to a reasonable number), but this time it’s really the writing that is giving me a tiny little fit. So, I’m going to try a list this time:

1. Thank you so much for asking me to make S’s first portraits. It’s a privilege, and I’m honored. And that really doesn’t express it.
2. Wow she is a pretty little something.
3. The bracelet was a stroke of genius.
4. You two have what people look a lifetime for. It’s great to be around two people who are so much in love.
5. I am once again relieved that I did not teach B in high school.

I think that pretty much covers my key points. Here is a very small sampling of my favorites.

As always, you are welcome to share these digitally (email, FB, etc.). Please leave the watermark/logo intact. They will not make acceptable prints.