Hey Friends, I know there can potentially be a lot of stress when introducing a new baby to the family. We wonder how will big sister or brother feel about the new baby. Will they be jealous? Will they be excited? Do they understand how life is going to change or become richer? With three children, I definitely understand how it feels. I want to tell you about a special Fresh 48 that I captured.
The Martin family is very special to me and when Jen told me she was pregnant and Ella was going to have a baby sister, I was beside myself with excitement! After I captured Ella & Aiden’s First Look, I was so impressed with the way that Jen prepared for it that I asked Jen to share her story and I wanted to share some fun tips to make that first meeting super special for your children.
#1 Set the scene – You want to clear away anything that is distracting both for the photos and for not distracting small children. You’ll notice that we did her Fresh 48 in their home. Around here the flu is preventing littles ones from visiting the baby floor at hospitals but she had a gorgeous master bedroom with beautiful light so it was the perfect setting.
#2 Find the light – Pictures are always beautiful with lots of light coming in. If you have a dark hospital room for your Fresh 48, your photographer will have to use a flash (which can still be beautiful) so open those windows up! I made them aware where the prettiest light was coming in.
#3 Go with the flow – You’ll notice that this session is so perfect but we didn’t pose anything. We followed Ella’s cues going slowly and gently. Toddlers need time to not feel rushed.
#4 A Big Sister or Big Brother gift – Jen did this with Ella and it’s something that I did with my kids. It’s a sweet gesture to make them feel included and special as there will be a lot of gifts coming in for new baby.
#5 A Big Sister or Big Brother book – As a family they sat and read a new “Big Sister” book to Ella while holding the baby. Ella LOVED her books.
Here are some of the beautiful images from their Fresh 48 and First Look plus Jen’s story and wisdom…enjoy!
“For the last 2.5 years, our spirited firecracker of a daughter has been the center of our world; and, when I use “our” I extend it to not only my husband and I but also 4 grandparents and 7 great grandparents as my husband and I are only children and have only a handful of first cousins. Needless to say, we all spent a great deal of time together and the love, affection, and spoiling was abundant. As only children, my husband and I knew we always wanted to provide a sibling for our daughter and we were overjoyed when we saw 2 pink lines in June 2017.
From the first doctor’s appointment, we began preparing Ella for her little brother or sister’s arrival. We frequently talked about the new baby — what he or she would be like, how Ella could help us, the fun of being a big sister, etc. We encouraged Ella to talk to Little Sister in Mommy’s belly, we prayed for her during our bedtime routine, we practiced with her baby dolls, we took her to ultrasound appointments where she’d frequently exclaim “how cute” and “how sweet” her little sister was. However, when you’re not quite three, the idea of a new little person coming into your life for the long run and requiring a good portion of everyone’s time, effort, and snuggles can be a very large idea to wrap your head around. While we felt we had attempted to lay a solid foundation for the little one’s arrival, we weren’t sure just how much of it “stuck”.
Despite everyone’s assurances that the best gift you can ever give your child is a sibling, the “mommy guilt” had started to creep in, so it was incredibly important to me that the first time Big Sister met Little Sister went as smoothly as possible. My desire was that Ella would feel like this new addition was just as much hers as it was Mommy and Daddy’s and that she could feel certain that our love for her was unwavering. Given that I hoped this would be a once-in-a-lifetime event (with equally as precious reactions), I reached out to Tonya to capture our Fresh 48. After what seemed like an extremely long 36 hours in the hospital and away from my big girl, we were able to bring our little girl home and into the craziness that is our lives.
Now that “Baby Aiden” was this tangible entity that she could see and touch and interact with as opposed to this abstract thought in Mommy’s belly, she loved her so much more than I could have ever hoped for. The first night home, after bedtime prayers, she asked me, “Mommy, is Baby Aiden going to stay for a while?”. “A long while,” I responded, “Is that okay with you?”. “Yep!” she declared, seemingly pleased with her new situation.”
The moment Ella laid eyes on her little sister for the first time is quite possibly my favorite moment ever. I truly believe it was love at first site. She was so thrilled to finally have “Baby Aiden” home. The images Tonya captured for our Fresh 48 dearer to me than words can express.
