Sugar Magnolia, Blossoms Blooming... A beautiful, love-filled, in-home newborn session in Maplewood, MO

“She's got everything delightful
She's got everything I need
A breeze in the pines in the summer night moonlight
Crazy in the sunlight yes indeed”

—”Sugar Magnolia” by The Grateful Dead

Nothing makes me happier than getting to do an in-home newborn session with a family who hired me for birth photography. Being witness to the birth of a baby is such an incredible experience that leaves me feeling a special bond with that tiny soul for their entire lives. So getting to see them again all settled into their home with their family in those first weeks of life is so lovely and heartwarming.

I hadn’t been to this family’s home prior to their newborn photo session, and was filled with calm as I entered their warm, bright, and inviting Maplewood, Missouri home. From the living room to the nursery, there were so many lovely details that made the whole space feel earthy and cozy and instantly gave me a sense of who they are.

We started the session in the nursery, where I found baby Magnolia dressed only in a diaper. Her mama snuggled and adored her and we got a few shots of her in her bassinet with all that beautiful newborn skin showing (because a naked baby is the best kind of baby). Then her mama ever-so-gently pulled a beautiful magnolia-covered gown over baby Magnolia’s sweet little head.

Those details of dressing and changing baby are some of my favorite to document as they really capture the feeling of that fleeting time in a parent’s life. Sometimes it can feel like a whole day was spent snapping and unsnapping onesies. In this case, she changed Magnolia one more time, into a simple, sleeveless, white onesie, and then we joined daddy in the living room.

It’s so beautiful to see how new parents simultaneously fall madly in love with their new baby and also fall even more in love with their partner than they ever imagined they could. Watching your partner fall in love with this tiny person that you created together is such a magical experience and can make you see them in a whole new way.

So photographing the mutual adoration of parent and child and partner is full of so much tenderness and I feel such a fondness for the whole family. (Dogs included — who are themselves feeling a mixture of confusion, jealousy, excitement, and protectiveness with a new addition to their family unit).

It’s always fun to head to mom and dad’s bed for some family snuggles and the dogs were invited up for some cuddles, too. Again, the warm, earthy vibe of their space made for dreamy pictures of this gorgeous little family. You can just feel the love overflowing in that room.

Magnolia’s nursery is connected to her mom and dad’s room, so we popped back over to that sweet space for a few more photos of the family together. Plus, some of each of them admiring their tiny little love, and a few of mama nursing her baby, too.

This really was one of my favorite newborn sessions to date — so full of love and warmth and playful tenderness.

If you’re expecting a little love and this looks like your idea of a way to keep those newborn memories forever, get in touch and we can set up an in-home session for you, too!

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!

Family-centered home birth of Nova. A St. Louis birth film.

After weeks of prodromal labor, this beautiful mama wasn’t super sure if it was time to call me to come photograph her birth, but things had gotten more intense and didn’t seem to be dying down. Since home birth midwives don’t tend to rely heavily on cervical checks to monitor labor progress, I’ve learned to trust my own instincts in addition to timing of contractions, vocalizations, and the mama’s own intuition as a basis for deciding when to come. In this case, mama wasn’t sure, but she was a solid half-hour away from me and it was nearly rush hour in St. Louis, so I decided to come check in.

I arrived at a little before 5:00 pm to a full house — a mama handling labor like a champ, a dad being a source of support and strength, and three eager siblings wondering when they’d finally get to meet their baby sister, plus a midwife who had come to check on things, too. After spending a little time with mama, the midwife decided that she would stick around for about an hour, and if things didn’t change much in that time, she’d go find somewhere nearby to hang out (and invited me to do the same) so that mama wouldn’t feel “watched.” Sometimes labor can stall a bit if a laboring woman feels too much pressure for labor to progress — especially on a timeline. Stepping away to give her space to find her own rhythm can help things to move along naturally.

But in this case, before that hour was up, mama’s labor had picked up a bit more. It was so beautiful to watch her move with her body in between doing all the normal things a mom does on a summer afternoon — cutting watermelon and pineapple, snuggling with her littles, and taking care of little things around the house. As labor progressed, she began pausing as each wave washed over her to lean on the kitchen counter and sway her hips in wide circles. Each of her children and her husband found their way to her to rub her back or arms. It was so sweet to watch how supportive and loving her family was as she worked with her body and her baby.

The rushes began coming faster and faster, leaving mama with shorter and shorter breaks between. Even still, mama was remarkably quiet as she breathed through each one. So much so, that I was surprised to realize that she had made much progress in just a couple hours.

It was time to get into the birth pool and the littlest of the big kids was adamant about getting in to “swim” with his mama. His big brother wasn’t going to let him be the only one, so he got in, too. This incredible mom calmly welcomed her boys into the pool with her, as her labor became even more intense.

She began to vocalize more powerfully. Finally, the boys decided to get out of the pool, and within minutes mama was telling her midwife that she couldn’t do it anymore. The midwife assured her that what she was feeling was her baby and she was almost done.

A couple intense pushes later, as her whole family stood by in support and awe at her strength, this mama met her baby girl.

Birth is always intense and emotional, and this was no exception. The big kids were overwhelmed with emotion as they watched their mother roar out their newest sibling.

But they quickly settled into amazement and delight at the baby sister they’d been waiting for.

After settling in upstairs to watch the newborn exam from the comfort of mom and dad’s bed, the whole family began to relax into the new normal of life with a newborn.

Watch this beautiful story unfold in sound and movement in this birth film:

Welcome, Hayes! An In-home Fresh 48 after a homebirth...

After doing one of my favorite documentary maternity sessions ever at Missouri Botanical Gardens with this super fun and cute family, I was SO excited to meet their newest little guy during his Fresh 48 session. Rachel texted to let me know that labor had started, so I looked ahead at my calendar for the next couple days and started thinking about what might work best for their Fresh 48 session. They had decided to have a homebirth, so there was a little extra flexibility in terms of timing, since we didn’t have to work around when they’d be discharged from a hospital or birth center.

Once I got the text that their sweet boy had arrived, we scheduled their session. Unfortunately, the night before I was supposed to arrive, I had to let Rachel know that I was dealing with the tail-end of a little cold. I had hoped it would be completely gone by their session, but it lingered just a bit. I felt almost 100% and, for a normal, outdoor family session, I wouldn’t have hesitated one bit. But for a session with a new baby - especially in their own home - it just wasn’t worth the risk of passing any germs on. So we rescheduled for a couple days later.

By the time I rang their doorbell, I couldn’t contain my excitement about seeing this wonderful family again - this time, with the addition of a snugly new baby. This family is so joyful and there were so many super sweet moments of connection for me to document. Big sister was full of laughter and love for her mom, dad, and brand-new baby brother. And I just loved spending some time with them as they transitioned from a family of three to a family of four. Take a look!