Newborn Photo Shoot

     The day of, or day after, having a baby is usually a whirlwind for any mother.  Whether the baby is her first or not, the amount of people coming in and out of the hospital room can be a tad overwhelming.  During this time, the hospital photographer will usually pop in and ask if pictures are wanted.  I don't remember this happening with out first, maybe because it was a military hospital, but it did happen with our second.  They come in while your are still in a euphoric state, completely in love with this new baby you have in your arms, and they take advantage of this and ask if you want pictures.  Pictures?  Why of course I want pictures of my precious baby.  What would it look like if I said no?  No, I don't want to remember this day with beautiful pictures?  

     Well, we did do it the second time, and don't get me wrong, I loved the pictures we ended up with.  But they were mostly all the same.  There were no photo props, except for the bear we brought to the hospital with us, and the few headbands the photographer carried around.  It's not like these hospital pictures are cheap either.  I can't remember exactly what we paid, but I remember they were pricey!

      This time around, we decided we would get our friend/babysitter to do our pictures (http://www.impressionsbyme.com/).  We would be firm, and so no to that pesky hospital photographer!  We would have someone we knew and trusted to take pictures of our perfect little addition.  Someone who would take more than 15 minutes taking pictures on top of the hospital bed to get those perfect few poses.  

      Knowing these pictures were coming up, we were able to prepare for them to make them the best they could be.  Our photographer assembled a list of items that would help for the shoot (blankets, boppy, heating pad, milk at the ready, etc).  Since this shoot was done on our terms, my husband and I decided it would be a great way to show off some of my crocheted items, as well as capturing lasting memories of our precious little boy.  

     So, I compiled a list of patterns that I wanted to make for the photo shoot.  I knew that I could not have a list a mile long, because our baby most likely would only last so long, plus we were paying by the hour!  So I narrowed my list down to these 7 photo props: a sailor outfit, a tuxedo outfit, a cocoon with matching hat, a bowl, a dinosaur hat, a pea in a pod, and a pom pom hat.  I did have our photographer try to take pictures of him in his aviator hat as well, but he ended the photo shoot real quick with a number 2 explosion right after we put it on.  No, he was not wearing a diaper at the time so you can imagine the mess!!!

      After two hours, we had captured all these shots (and some of my girls with him as well).  He did such a good job!  I had to feed him a couple times, but for the most part, he slept right through it.  It's so hard to choose, but my favorite props would have to be the pea in a pod, and the pom pom hat!  What are your favorites?  

This outfit was requested by my husband.  He was in the Navy for many years and wanted to see his son sporting his very own sailor outfit. 

This one is one of my favorites.  The pattern suggested also doing it in a yellow with a brown stem to resemble a banana!

I wanted to do one that was a little more on the classic side.  He's looking suave in his suit don't you think?

I think this was our baby's favorite outfit.  It's a cocoon, but to him, he just felt like he was being swaddled.  

This one is great because you can make it in any color you want.  You have to be very creative at taking the picture, and positioning the baby, as to cover all privates!

I love this one as well.  You can have fun strategically placing the tail and pom pom around the baby. 

Grrrr.  This is the cutest dinosaur ever. I"m not sure he's scaring anybody though!

**  All of these photo props, as well as others, can be purchased at my online store: https://squareup.com/market/the-crocheting-mom  **