Three weeks ago, Sarah from Shutter Happy Photography came over to do a Fresh 48 newborn lifestyle photoshoot for us, and I love how she captured our little growing family! Sarah was also the amazing eye behind my birth photography, and I’m so thankful for her talent and her time spent with us.
Looking at these newborn lifestyle pictures of my boys and I, those 19 days ago, its crazy to think how much has already changed. Baby J was almost a week old in these photos, and he already looks so different and has chunked up so much! He was born at 8lbs 14oz, but at my midwife appointment yesterday they weighed him to see how big he’s gotten, and at 3 weeks 3 days old he was 12lbs 2oz!
Adjusting to life with two little ones has been anything but easy, and I still feel like I’m totally out of my element. I get J and H dressed every day, but I’m still basically living in yoga pants and tees that are easy to breastfeed in and I can change out of easily when they get inevitably get covered in breastmilk and newborn pee. I feel chaotic and scatterbrained and like a chicken running around with her head cut off, and it feels like all this time has already zoomed past us. These past three weeks have flown by and I’m left looking at these two boys who all of a sudden seem so big.
I had forgotten how weird the newborn phase is – how they don’t really do anything but sleep, poop on all the things (thank goodness for heavy duty washing machines), and eat constantly. Every day there is a little more awareness in J’s eyes, he now follows my face to track where I’m going, and furrows his brow as he scans my face back and forth, up and down. H is learning to share mom a little better, and still asks me every day “mama, I can hold baby brodder? I can hold him? And kiss him? And snuggle him? And love him? I can?”. I remember being so worried about how he would interact with his new sibling, and *knock on wood* he is blowing my expectations out of the water.
These pictures of us make me so happy. The joy of all the newness, the endorphins from his birth still pulsing through my veins and keeping me in that newborn haze of rainbows and butterflies. Before the every 3 hour wake ups started draining me, before my Husband started leaving on his work trips to leave me to wrangle the two on my own, before my boobs ached all day every day, and before I forgot how a hot shower felt.
This is why I’m such a big advocate of family photos – to capture these real moments between us, and so that I can always have these photos to look back on and remember how little they both were (although Harrison looks HUGE to me now! Where did my baby go?!) and the joy we felt. Life isn’t always as beautiful as these photos make them look, but my goodness it feels good to know that even on the rough days, the good days are still there, just waiting to happen.
Thank you ShutterHappy Photography for providing us with these snapshots of bliss during our family newborn shoot!
Happy family! I really love your photos, look so beautiful and touched.
Congratulation you have a prince! God bless you all.
SUUUUPER cute! Your daughter acted just like mine when we did an at-home photo shoot with her new little brother 🙂 I love the picture with her just laying on the couch. Because let's face it…this is going to be your life now 😛
Congratulations! These are so sweet 🙂
I love these photos because they are SO real!! You will treasure these forever! Congratulations on your new little babe!
Omg! Love these precious photos! You will def treasure these for a lifetime! Photos are so worth the investment…Sarah did a beautiful job! You family is amazing!!
These are beautiful <3 I absolutely love how wild and crazy your toddler is being in most of them – too cute! 😉
aww how sweet! I never did this when i had my daughter and probably should before she is too big!