Mansfield, TX Newborn Photographer | Santiago’s Newborn Session

There’s nothing quite like the journey of motherhood. Some say that most women become moms from the moment they find out they’re expecting. And in some ways, it’s true! The way we go about every moment of the day with the knowledge that we are carrying our baby so we watch everything we do from what we eat, how we move, when we lift something, what we wear, even what beauty products we use. But before all that happens, there’s a journey that not all of us talk about, and it’s just as important, I’m talking about the journey to actually becoming pregnant. For some of us it comes easy, sometimes even unexpected, while for some of us it’s a long line of waiting and disappointment month after month. Each time, we closely stare at the test, waiting and sometimes even hallucinating that we see the small parallel lines. Hoping it will finally be the month we get to celebrate the new life growing inside of us! For those of us who have had to endure fertility treatments, the journey is even longer and the parallel lines are about the halfway mark into our journey. So when we finally get to hold our babies, it’s quite literally, a dream come true.

This was the case for this mama. Alayna underwent a long process to becoming a mom so when He was finally here, she was ready to celebrate it all. I wanted to be sure to capture not only her baby’s photos but the journey as well. This wasn’t just her first born baby, this time in her life is a culmination of all the memories made while her and Sam waited to hold him and physically see themselves in his little face. It was finally time, baby was here a week past his due date so we had to move fast.

Since we planned for the session, throughly a few weeks ahead, we were ready as soon as they were home. Dad is a firefighter and mama wanted to incorporate that from the get-go as well as items from her IVF treatment. She also chose a color scheme for the session and talked to me about some additional items they would be bringing. Lastly and most importantly, Alayna wanted photos of Baby Santi with his mom & dad.

The session went as expected. I began working with Santi right away and got him swaddled and fed one more time before beginning posing him. Alayna was finishing getting her and hubby ready for their part of the session. Snuggled and safe, Santi slept through the changes in poses. We started with everything Firefighter related. Besides my studio props and wardrobe, Alayna had a knit outfit she wanted to use, so we did. It fit Santiago perfectly! We moved on to a couple custom onesies and the IVF theme.

Lastly, we moved on to parent & baby poses. Santiago was most relaxed and happy in his mommy’s arms. He smiled and cuddled in on her chest in the most beautiful way. Daddy got some shots alone too, Santi gave us the "‘I’m the man too, now” look which was pretty great. The photos of the three of them, were my favorite. They’re a family now and a new journey has now just begun!

I’m always honored to capture these photos, whether they’re planned months or days in advance. What I want you to have at the end is the memories of your sweet baby’s face and every time you look at them, you can remember what got you here with them and how now you can’t imagine your life without them in it.