Cozy, Laid-back, In-home Maternity Session in a Lovely St. Louis Loft

As I write this, I’m awaiting a text or phone call from this gorgeous, fun, easy-going couple to say that labor has begun and it’s time for me to get ready to photograph the birth of their baby girl.

But on the day these photos were taken, there was no hurry or pressure. We were able to relax and chat and get to know each other a bit.

It’s one of my favorite things about doing a maternity session with a couple who’s hired me to photograph their birth, too. Having the opportunity to get really comfortable with each other before I enter their birth space is truly a gift.

In-home maternity photo sessions really allow couples to feel relaxed and comfortable, as they are in their own space. And gives me a really good sense of who they are. Plus, it’s such an easy and fun way to honor this pregnancy and document the whole story of this amazing journey.

We get to document what their life feels like now — before a baby comes and changes everything about their days and nights. This is what a beautifully lazy Sunday morning looks like when it’s just two.

We get to capture them chilling on the couch together with a hot cup of coffee, playfully and lovingly baking cookies as a couple, playing with their current “Baby” (that’s their super-awesome dog’s name), casually strumming the guitar in the bedroom, and perusing some of the gifted and collected items for their new little bundle’s arrival with sweet anticipation of her actually using or wearing them oh-so-soon.

Life changes so drastically — and joyfully — after your baby is born.

Suddenly, your days are filled with caring for a tiny person’s basic needs. And when you aren’t doing that, you’re staring in wonder and adoration at this little human who you are more in love with than you ever could have anticipated.

Your days change. Your love grows. Your heart expands.

So having a record of these before days is a gift. Remembering what your relationship felt like… Reminiscing about the excitement you both felt at that growing belly and your growing family…

It’s a time you will never get back. And as incredible as the next chapter of your life will be, this one is worth documenting and remembering, too.

Stay tuned for a peek at the rest of this story. I couldn’t be more excited to document the birth of this baby who’s already so loved. And then I get to come back to their lovely home to see how that sweet newborn baby fits so beautifully into their lives. I can’t wait to watch the evolution of their days. And I’m so grateful they’ve asked me to document this journey.

A Documentary In-home Newborn Photography Session with Sweet Lucy in Benton Park

“Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes”

—”Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by The Beatles

The first days and weeks with a newborn at home can feel like a dream. One day flows into another and hours can pass just staring at this tiny person. Her needs are few, but they are relentless, so you find yourself completely absorbed in fulfilling them. She wakes you constantly — contributing to the dream-like feeling of this phase of life — but even in your sleep-deprived state, love streams out of you in a way you’ve never experienced before. Especially when it’s your first child, there’s a sense of wonder and magic that you share with your partner… this awe and reverence for the fact that you created something so inexplicably beautiful together.

It’s why I adore in-home newborn sessions. Getting to peek into those precious moments with new parents and their tiny creation is an honor. Being tasked with documenting that ephemeral time in photographic proof is even more of a privilege.

Newborn sessions lend themselves really well to documentary work because the moments that I want to capture are happening whether I’m there or not. Diaper changes, nursing or feeding sessions, swaddles, and snuggles, are all on the agenda. Those moments might seem mundane when you’re on the 8th diaper change of the day, but I promise that you’ll want to remember them sooner than you think.

This lovely little baby is Lucy. She and her parents were a complete joy to be with and to photograph.

It’s so nice when the parents are as relaxed as Lucy’s mama and daddy were. As is typical of a newborn session with me, I gave barely any direction, and instead followed their lead to create the flow of our time together. We hung out mostly in the beautiful nursery which had gorgeous light pouring through the large windows. Lucy wanted to nurse a lot, so that’s what she did. Mom and dad worked on perfecting the swaddle and gave her some time in her crib. She needed a diaper and outfit change, so dad was up to bat. Some sweet alert time was spent in dad’s arms and I was grateful to capture them adoring each other. Then the whole family moved to mom and dad’s bed for some snuggle time together. It was all so real and so beautiful, and I hope that these photos will forever transport these parents directly back to that hazy, magical time in their lives.

If the laid-back, cozy vibe of this newborn photography sounds and looks like what you are hoping for when it’s time to document your own family growing by one, let’s chat! I serve the entire St. Louis Metro area, but I’m always happy to discuss travel, too.

Sweet and Sunny Documentary Family Maternity Session at Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis

I remember being pregnant with my second baby while parenting a two-year old. It felt impossible to imagine our little family with a whole other person in it. Our little three-some was so sweet and the parent to kid ratio was pretty great. I mean, we could devote so much of our time and attention to our girl. Even when parenting was hard, it felt manageable with one little person. I’m not going to lie; I was scared of what life would be like with two.

When I met this sweet family-of-three-with-one-on-the-way at Missouri Botanical Gardens for their maternity photos, they reminded me so much of that time in my own life. Their daughter, E, was exactly the age my older daughter was when I was pregnant with my second. They were such loving and fun parents to their girl, and really seemed to be soaking up that moment in time. It was like they knew in their bones that life was about to change in this big and irreversible way.

It’s an amazing thing to add another person to your family. To give your child a sibling. To expand the love in your heart in ways you didn’t know you could. You wouldn’t ever really want to go back to the time before those incredible changes. But it’s sure sweet to be able to look back on those moments before you really knew what life would be like as a parent of two. To see the way you were able to focus your love and attention so fully on the child that made you a mom or a dad.

I’m so happy that this family chose to document this part of their journey. Life is different for them now, with a baby brother for E. You can check out what their Fresh 48 session looked like here, and see that their love surely grew. But before you go, take a look at all the fun they had in the precious and fleeting moments they had on that summer day as a family of three with all attention on E.

Interested in booking your own documentary family session? Get in touch now!