Kitchener Breastfeeding Photos - Mommy and Me

I'm going to write about a hot topic for this blog, and share some personal experiences I had while breastfeeding my sweet babes. But first, how did we end up here? Well, back a few short months ago, I photographed a family and their newborn son in studio. I completely felt like I bonded with this family. We just hit it off. Unfortunately they live quite a distance from me, so when the opportunity came up to have them back in studio, I felt both blessed and excited!

That "little" newborn happened to be the biggest baby I have ever photographed! He was 8 days old, but I swore I was photographing an almost 2 month old! Now, he is 9 months old and sitting all on his own, so of course I had to have him back for the popular "sitter" session! I've discussed "sitter" sessions in previous blogs, but I'll say it again, it"s literally one of my favourite sessions to capture. So much personality has blossomed in such a short time! I just get such a kick out of it.

Anyhoo - this little guy comes into the studio and I felt like I was looking at a 2 year old! He is now 26 lbs of pure BOY! When Mum and I were planning the session, she had asked if I wouldn't do a few special photos of her breastfeeding this little (big) guy as she wasn't sure if they would have more children or if their family was now complete. I was completely thrilled to have been asked to do this! Of course I said yes... and I am so glad we captured these moments for them.

The photos turned out wonderfully perfect, and while I was shooting, and again when I was editing the photos, I really reflected on my experience breastfeeding. Now, I will say that I was fortunate to have had plenty of supply, both my babies latched easily and overall there was no struggle to find a rhythm with feeding my kids naturally. I had comes to terms before delivering my kids that if I found that I couldn't breastfeed, I would be okay going the formula route too. I just wanted my babes to be fed and nourished! As a new mom, I was completely overwhelmed and I don't know how I would have coped with the struggle of getting it all to work had it not been as easy as it was, or the pressure of "breast is best". I immediately felt my first twinges of guilt, because I did have friends at the time who were struggling. This was the first of many moments of Mom guilt that I experienced. I sympathized with those who struggled and at times, even felt bad or slightly uncomfortable for admitting I didn't struggle with it at all. But that doesn't mean there weren't other kinds of struggles... I was postpartum with my first baby and I probably wasn't coping very well with the newness of motherhood. I found that I didn't always enjoy breastfeeding, despite having read in so many places how precious it was, what a beautiful bonding time it was for mum and babe, and how I should cherish it. Don't get me wrong, I did eventually have moments like those, but it took a long time. So there was more guilt. Was I doing it wrong? Was I bad mom for not loving every second of it?

I eventually had our second little babe and by then I was more experienced and maybe more relaxed. I do think I was able to enjoy it more by then. During this particular photoshoot, memories of how it felt to be engorged came flooding back, how the latch felt and the moments of calmness and when babe was older- squirmy as heck! I also felt sad for not having photos of my babes breastfeeding. Even though my kids are only 8 and 10, I don't believe breastfeeding photo sessions were trending as much back then as they are now, and even if they had been, I admit I was way too short sighted to even think about potentially wanting memories such as those documented for the future. I can say now that I do wish I had photos of me and my babies as lovely as these, even just to keep for myself.

With Mum's permission, I share with you the beautiful bond she shares with her little hunk of love. He is SO heckin' cute!! I hope you love them as much as I do. If you are breastfeeding and think that you'd like to capture some of those moments to hang onto, I would be absolutely smitten to chat and plan a session together.

Kitchener Sitter Session!

Gahhh! Give me ALL the little sitters! On Friday, I had this little beauty in the studio for her Sitter session. It was wonderful seeing her again! The last time I photographed her she was just a wee babe - maybe a week old!

This is one of my favourite sessions to capture before the BIG O-N-E Cake Smash session because we get to showcase all the charming personality that shines through. She has grown and changed so much, and its easy to see what an amazing toddler she will be soon!

For this session, a custom outfit was ordered from a very talented vendor who is wildly popular in the biz. If you have the chance, check out her work here: https://www.facebook.com/Propsbyjeana
She has beautiful outfits for almost any age and is open to ideas, which worked out awesome, because I made a few special requests for this particular outfit. And oh my goodness - the colours!? My all time fav!!

This can be a session that is sometimes overlooked for a special photoshoot, and I truly wish more parents booked it. Its just so cool to see the in-between stage, where already so much development has taken place, yet SO much more is about to happen! In just a short while this precious little princess will be walking and talking up a storm! I can't wait for her 1st birthday. Mum and I are 100% in cahoots planned the perfect custom theme which will absolutely knock everyones socks off!

Let me know what you think of her session, and if you have a little one at home who is sitting, or just about to start, get in touch today and let's plan something awesome to remember this fun stage with!!

Kitchener Newborn Session - Baby T!

Happy Long Weekend everyone! It's almost time for the kids to go back to school and I have a feeling there are a lot of parents secretly excited about this. lol We've had a great summer and fortunately, I haven't experiencfed too many moment's were I was counting down the days until school begins, but here we are! The EVE of a new school year!

It' has definitely been a busy summer for me in the studio...A few weeks back I had 4 babies in the studio nearly back-to-back and 3 of those babes were wee boys! I'm always excited when I get the call that a babe has made his/her arrival into this world because thats my cue to start planning their session! This session was especially dear to me because it was the baby of a close friend of mine who works in the industry. His work is awesome and you can check it out here: http://www.justinalexanderstudios.com/

This sweet baby boy was just 6lbs of pure perfection. He slept the whole session and let me dress him and pose him to my hearts content! In my business we call this kind of baby a "Unicorn Baby" because not all newborns come into the studio ready to sleep and be posed as easily as this one! WIN!

We had a terrific session. Mum and Dad got to sit, relax and watch some TV for a bit while Little T and I had some fun! I'm extremely pleased with his session and hope that one day he has the chance to book back on these memories of his earliest days with awe that he was so tiny way back when. :-)

So far, the winter is promising lots of babies in studio!! I'm excited as always, but if you happen to be expecting a new family member it's a good idea to reach out and book in your Maternity and/or NewLife session as soon as possible.

Beautiful Sunset Maternity Session in Kitchener, Ontario

A few days ago I received an email from these gorgeous clients of mine. It was strange because I had literally been thinking of her the day before! It turns out their baby has arrived and it made me realize I needed to blog their stunning Maternity session AND of course book their baby boy in for his Newborn session! I cannot wait to meet their little man on Sunday and create some memories for Mum and Dad to show him one day.

We photographed at Huron Natural Area in Kitchener one evening. It was while we were having a heat wave, which I'm sure will one day be referred to as "the heat wave of '18". The air felt like fire. lol Oh and did I mention the bugs? My goodness. But my brave clients they didn't flinch, they didn't complain, not a word was said about the heat or the bugs! Amazing! And so are the photos we captured that evening. I am so in love with the outfit Mum put together for this session! She looked absolutely stunning. Paired with fresh hair and gorgeous makeup, it just all came together so perfectly!

I often run promotions during the summer including a mini-Maternity session with booked NewLife newborn sessions because to me, it's just such a wondrous, beautiful time in a woman's' life. When I reflect back on my pregnancies, I didn't always feel beautiful or pretty, and at times, I wanted my body back. But I'm definitely grateful to have photos of that part of my life to look back upon and see the miracle taking place. And you know what? I think I look stunning and am so happy I have those photos now! I want that for my clients too! I have also shown my kids photos of them inside my tummy and I love the look on their face. You can see their little minds turning trying to figure out how it all works. lol

I hope you enjoy the photos from this Maternity session. I'd love to chat with you if you happen to be expanding your family soon!