5 things I wish I knew about my newborn baby, 9 years ago ……

Those pudgy newborn arms, tummy and legs will thin out ……

There is something so adorable about the squishy rolls of a newborn baby. I did not really think about it at the time – how she would lose all that pudgy babiness and grow into a graceful, slim young lady.  I wish I had captured this while she was still a baby.

That I would forget the precise colour of my daughter’s hair when she was born.

I remember being surprised about how dark her hair was when she was born (given my blonde hair and also my husband was blonde as a child).  But her birth certificate says “brown” – I filled that in ….. ‘brown’, hmmmm, really???!! I remember that it had some red in it and that it was dark blonde – but maybe it changed to that colour when she was around 1 – 2 months old when we started taking more photos (after the haze of being new parents for the very first time started to wear off). But honestly, I cannot remember her exact hair colour when she was born.

That by 4 weeks of age she would stretch out and no longer curl up into a ball in my arms  ……
She seemed so tiny when she was born and curled up. I did not realise that by the time she was 4 weeks old she would no longer be the length of my arm span, that by 12 weeks she would no longer fit between my two arms in a nursing position, that by 6 months I would be holding her on my hip and by 12 months she would struggle out of my arms to walk independently. Sigh. I wish that I had captured that moment when she was so tiny and being curled up in a ball in my arms was the only place in the world that she wanted to be.



That I would regret not being in many of the photos from the first few weeks of her life  ……

Life was busy and I was sleep deprived and, being totally honest – I was not feeling like I looked that great (make-up, hair styling and showers was not really a priority with a newborn baby!).  In addition, I was the one primarily ‘behind’ the camera – not that surprising for a newborn photographer!  But I did not realise at the time just how important those images were going to be to me 9 years down the track. I wish I had been in more photos with her. I wish that I had hired another professional to take those newborn photos.  I did this when my youngest was born – but I do not have these images for my oldest child.

That I would not remember her sleepy newborn face …..

The newborn phase is such a short time of your child’s life. Once their eyes start to open, their features may change and suddenly you have a toddler that grows into a little girl. I remember standing next to her bassinet and looking down at how peaceful she was when she sleeping and the hopes and dreams that I had for her. I remember the ‘feeling’, but I do not remember what her features looked like. My memories of her now are linked to her being awake and chatting (arguing!) with me and full of life and spirit. I wish I had known how fleeting those calm, sweet moments of sleep when she was first born were going to be – and I wish I had the photos that captured her tiny sleepy  face.

 

For an insight into a newborn photography session with Rebecca Connolly Photography, watch this behind-the-scenes video (click HERE).

We would love to hear from you – there is a contact form on the website.

 Rebecca Connolly Photography specialises in Newborn, Maternity, Baby, Family and Child Photography in North Sydney and surrounding areas including but not limited to Chatswood and Sydney.