Marin | Newborn Days

“Several realities play themselves out at once on the inner landscape of a new mother. Meanwhile, she is often hidden from society and--lets be honest--far too tired to adequately explain the miraculous and painstaking labyrinth she has suddenly found herself living within.”

Brave New Mama, Vicki Rivard

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When your job is to glorify motherhood, as it deservedly should be, yet you’re in the throes of new motherhood…let me tell you, it’s a weeeee bit intimidating to get back to work. While these past three months have abso-f**cking-lutely been glorious, they’ve been disheveled and messy. They’ve been sleepless and cranky, and full of a type of love sprinkled down straight from unicorns and fairies.

Nothing and everything prepares you for motherhood. Raising a human takes everything you’ve ever known, combines it with a dump truck of random, yet vitally important things you couldn’t have possibly known, then motivates you with the cutest little cooing, smiling face to put it all together and be the best possible version of yourself. It’s the most beautiful and welcomed chaos I’ve ever been a part of.

Thankfully, amidst the fog that is the first weeks with a newborn, my dear friend Lauren encouraged me to let her snap a few photographs of Marin and I. You see, I had a full newborn session booked with another friend as well, but we had to cancel due to sickness, then never rescheduled during those first days. I had all of the plans to take every little cutesy, cuddly photo of Marin with me and Cory. Surely, as it’s my bread and butter to document this season of life for other women, I thought I’d document this season with my girl so beautifully. I preach it ALL OF THE TIME as I observe and photograph motherhood for my clients, but those days pass by even more quickly than I’d imagined.

Here’s a little glimpse into one of our perfectly imperfect first days. My hair was in a braid because the thought of actually fixing it was more than laughable. My makeup was thrown on in minutes in between cries and nursing attempts to soothe a fussy baby. My dress, the first thing I grabbed out of my closet that I thought might fit. Being on camera felt like a gross bother to me and all I wanted to do in those sleepy, early days was admire my baby on my couch. But oh, my cooing, laughing baby. My baby who already doesn’t want me to hold her like a baby when awake. My quickly growing baby, how I will cherish these blurry, emotional, sleepy first days and the snapshots that will remind me of a little you’ll never be again.

And for all of the mamas out there, I now understand more than ever before, you are the superheroes, GOAT, rockstars, and the real MVPs.

As I mentioned, my good friend Lauren took the above photos for me when Marin was just a few days old.

Here are a few snapshots I took of my girl today, because she is THREE MONTHS OLD. Wah!

Elle | Mandeville Newborn + Family Photographer

“You are the books you read, the films you watch, the music you listen to, the people you meet, the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in.  You are what you take from these.  You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air, the brightest light and the darkest corner.  You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life.  You are every single day.  So drown yourself in a sea of knowledge and existence.  Let the words run through your veins and let the colours fill your mind.”

- Jac Vanek

This quote hangs on my refrigerator. Every time I see it in the midst of rushing or being overly stressed, it humbly reminds me to not move too quickly and enjoy even the mundane minutes of my day. What’s funny is, while I often take for granted my own repetitive actions of each day, I soak them in fiercely when I’m spending time documenting my clients.

When I have clients who hire me continuously for their family’s growth and changes, I get to know them a little more intimately with each encounter. For the children, this means a familiar face who plays on the floor with them or holds them while mama finishes getting her makeup on. For dad, this often helps take the stress factor out of wrangling kids and smiling continuously, as I do not ever go in expecting them to naturally feel comfortable in front of my camera. For mom, the lady who’s heart and soul this is likely all for, this may look like sharing a story of vulnerability with me after a few encounters with her family, knowing that I’ll understand her heart and use that information to document her family with that much more authenticity. Whatever the ways my clients choose to invite me more deeply into their lives, it allows me a connection to the art I’m creating for them that is invaluable to the both of us.

Here’s a peek at my most recent visit with Allison’s beautiful, growing family…

I’ve been documenting this little lady since she was as new as her sister. See some of our past hangouts when Kate was a newborn and when she turned one.

Demi | Baton Rouge Birth + Motherhood Photography

“If time has taught me anything, it’s that our differences are what makes this life unique.  None of us are exactly like the other, and that is a good thing because there’s no right way to be.  The room mom, the working mother, the woman without children, the retired grandma, the mom who co-sleeps, the mama who bottle -fed her baby, the strict mom, the hipster mom, the one who lets her kid go shoeless, or the one who enrolls her baby in music enrichment classes at birth--whoever, whatever, you are, you’re adding spice and texture and nuance into this big beautiful soup of modern-day parenting.”

Girl, Wash Your Face - Rachel Hollis

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I could sit here and blab in a multitude of pieced together words about the scope of emotion I've felt over the past few months, learning so much about myself, life, love, family, and entrepreneurship, but no words could truly articulate how overwhelmingly beautiful the learning experience has been. 

Demi's birth day was full of beautiful human connection, support, and love.  As Duston held Deirdre's hand through every painful contraction and kissed her forehead every-so-often for supporting reassurance, I found myself watching from the other side of the room with the most content grin painted on my face.  There's something about the various ways that partners show support for one another during births that sends a reminder to the core of what life's about.  Similar to the ethereal feeling that comes over me when couples recite custom-written vows to one another, it's just one of those moments where I feel like I have to pinch myself and ask if it's real life that I make my living documenting moments that make people feel in such monumental ways.  I could not be happier than to be where I am right now, in this moment.

I hope you enjoy a glimpse into some of the intense, quiet, and love-filled moments captured during Demi's first few days in this world...

Welcoming Rodge | Baton Rouge Birth Photographer

“Good news!  Tomorrow is a new day.  Tomorrow you’ll count to ten before you lose your temper, and maybe they’ll eat every bite of the dinner you made and say something so hilarious you’ll think, Man people without kids are totally missing out!  You will experience every kind of day as a mama, and you will need to accept the grab bag of good, bad, ugly, awesome, magical, and miserable days as a parent. You don’t have to get it right all the time. You don’t have to do things like anybody else’s mom.

You only have to care.”

Girl, Wash Your Face - Rachel Hollis

As I've taken on a new realm of photography with birth photojournalism, it's been such an exhilarating journey.  From the hours of connection, quiet, and vulnerable moments during laboring, to the sleepless and unsure first days of parenting, we have several weeks of fairly consistent communication and time spent together. By my clients keeping in such contact with me about their unique journey, feelings, and even struggles during this time, it allows me to truly enter into their lives, hospital rooms, and homes with my role as a quiet observer. 

Before contacting me to document their birth, I knew Sarah and Justin only as acquaintances and sibling-in-laws to a close friend of mine.  After the weeks leading up to Rodge's birth, the moments scaling in emotion in the hospital room, and spending a few hours hanging with them when they were settled back home after his birth, I left feeling like I truly connected with them as a family, documenting this beautiful budding season of life with raw authenticity.

Here are those days...