The first year of your baby’s life is an incredible time to shoot priceless photographs.
There are so many firsts, and you want to capture as many as you can. Every baby has a unique personality, and you want to portray that also.
Hopefully, you took pictures throughout your pregnancy. I have met moms who took either very few or none. They thought they were too far or just did not like the shape of their body. It breaks my heart. For some, this may be their only pregnancy. You can never go back, so take those pictures! I took a picture every month of my pregnancy. I wanted a record of how my pregnancy progressed. I am so glad I did, because it did turn out to be my only viable pregnancy.
And now that your baby is born, carry on the monthly photo shoot of your baby. Nowadays, there are monthly number plaques you can purchase just for this purpose. They make shooting that monthly picture super easy. But what about all the other firsts?
Let’s start with the birth, of course. Capture those first few moments after birth. Have your support person shoot those with their phone. When our son was born, we did not have camera phones yet. So I hired a birth photographer, and she caught some amazing shots. I still have my favorites on the wall to this day! There is a scurry of activities after birth. Pictures of you, your husband or support person, family, even pictures of the doctor and nurses, the incubator with that tiny baby in it, and siblings meeting for the first time, make very memorable shots.
Then there is the first breastfeeding, diaper change, bath, cry, stretch, swaddle. You definitely want to capture those tiny feet and hands, and those perfect eyes, lips and nose.
Take pictures of how your husband responds to a new baby in the house. My husband would lay down on the couch, and put our tiny son on his chest. Our son would curl up in a little ball, with his feet tucked under, and they would both fall asleep. This became customary in our house. It just tickled my heart to see that sight! Talk about bonding—and some of the sweetest pictures!!
Our son was jaundiced when he was born. He was born in May, so we would lay him outside, in the sun, on a table for 20 minutes. He would tuck his feet under and curl up on a blanket. I absolutely adored the way he curled up. Of course, I got a picture.
Some of my other favorites were the first time he rolled over. I got a series of 5 consecutive shots! Then there is the first time they smile at you! It will melt your heart! Another one was the first time he saw himself in our full length mirrored closet doors. He was mesmerized by the “baby” in the mirror.
When our son was 5 months old, we sat his high chair out on the front deck. We filled the tray with water and let him splash away! He loved water by then, so he had a blast. And I got some darling photographs!
Other adorable photographs are when babies experience baby food for the first time. Most will make the cutest faces, not sure whether they like it or not. We also gave our son mashed banana, and he squished it and rubbed it all over himself! Yes, I got the picture!
Pictures of your little one with your dog or cat make some cute shots. Capturing your baby crawling for the first time, trying to stack blocks or trying to pull themselves up on the sofa, are all shots you want. There are so many things they do for such a short amount of time. Sometimes they do something for a few weeks, and then it is on to the next thing. Putting off taking those pictures can mean you may never get them. As soon as I saw something new our son was trying, I got the shot immediately. There are instances where they may only do something once, so always be prepared to take that picture!
Don’t forget to get pictures of that first toothy grin with one or two teeth. These pictures are adorable! Our son loved bath time. I got so many adorable pictures in the bathtub.
Some pictures are one of a kind. I had a diaper service when our son was born. I was sitting in the floor, with him beside me, folding the diapers and stacking them for the week. I got up to get something in the other room, and when I came back, our son had crawled over to the stack, laid his head down, and fallen asleep! It was the most adorable photo. It brought tears to my eyes. And, yes, it only happened that one time! I was so glad I got the picture!! Priceless!!