Welcome, sweet Riley!
My dear friends Molly + Sam welcomed Riley into their family in early May, and oh my goodness, what a gift to photograph this baby boy. First of all, Molly + Sam are high school sweetheart, plus they're a couple of my best friends from high school and it is really amazing getting to watch their relationship grow and get married and now become parents.
We've come a long way from Duxbury High School music + theater, haven't we?
I touched on this on Instagram, but I always have to laugh when I realize that newborn sessions are all so similar. Like the bride and groom on their wedding day, you don't really know what to expect until you're in it as a new parent. Let me clear the air just a little bit:
1. I do not expect your home to be clean. In fact, if it's clean, I'll be highly suspicious that you have magical cleaning fairies stashed away somewhere and I will ask to borrow them to my house. Those early days home with a newborn? I've been there. You're tired. You're kind of only functioning on a constant drip of coffee, bagels from the Dunkin drive-through and random chunks of sleep that isn't really restful at all. You kind of feel foggy like you're swimming in a fishbowl and you know there's a bigger world out there but you can't quite think about anything other than what's right in front of your nose at the moment. And there are diapers. So Many. Diapers. And burp cloths. And tiny clothes that have been peed or pooped or spit up on. So please, do not ever apologize for The State of Things when I arrive. I've been there on the front lines. I will probably give you a hug and tell you it's going to be ok.
2. Babies don't sleep when you want them to! I know, you see pictures of these sweet little faces all bundled up and looking peaceful, like they're taking the longest sleep ever. Sometimes they do, but usually they don't. A newborn session can sometimes be 90% comforting the baby from being fussy, hungry, needing a change, or just darn not wanting to sleep, and 10% taking advantage of quiet, sleepy or content moments and taking as many photos as possible before baby becomes aware that we've tricked it into looking peaceful and asleep. We do everything in our power to comfort and console, keep them nice and warm and comfortable and fed. But sometimes? They don't sleep. And that's ok. I'll take pictures of you holding them, snuggling, kisses on the head, rocking, getting changed or fed. Do not stress over the fuss. We'll go with the flow.
3. The moments in between are my favorite. Since I come to your home, I want to photograph you as a family. I want to see the burp cloths piled over the back of the couch, and the mess of bottles or nipple shields on the coffee table. I want to see the odd thing you've figured out will comfort your baby because you are the parent and are the only one who can figure these things out. I want to see how tired you are. And how happy you are. And how you scoop up that baby when they fuss and rock them and hold them close and shhhhhhhhhh...
Life is so much more than perfect photos. Life is actually not perfect photos. There's so much more to it. The home you've built together and brought this baby home to. The tiredness and happiness. The moment you become a parent and kind of say "F*** it" to getting dressed and cooking meals because you'd rather just be comfortable, eat donuts and snuggle.
