Now that I’ve shared her birth story, I feel like I can share Emerson’s newborn photos! This session sticks out in the hazy memory of the newborn days, because it was the first glimpse into motherhood that wasn’t images of sweet snuggles and soft baby kisses. It never occurred to me prior to booking Emerson’s session that she might not be content and agreeable until we were deep into this session with a fussy, mostly inconsolable baby. Our photographer, Amanda, was so sweet and promised that she was still getting some good shots, and allowed me to step away to nurse her several times to try to console her. I felt like such a failure as a mama because I couldn’t get her to settle down into the sweet, smiley baby she was for Jody and me.

But, despite this, we still have the sweetest memories from that day. Miles, our notoriously hateful cat, transformed into the best big “brother” and star of the show resulting in several hilarious additions to our photo gallery. The personalized gown that I had ordered for Emerson (and was delayed multiple days) arrived in time for the last 10 minutes of the session; Jody sprinted down the stairs and more or less chased the FedEx driver down the street to get it! And, I had crossed a rite of passage into motherhood – embracing the chaos for images of our little newborn that we will cherish forever.