As newborn photographers (and new parents), we’ve come to realise a bittersweet truth about babies. But happily, we think we may have found a way to face it.

It’s a widely accepted fact: Babies do more growing in their first year than at any other point of their lives. That’s a lot of growing up in just 12 short months. A newborn baby changes so rapidly in the days and weeks after birth that if you blinked, you’d probably have missed some adorable little development. Another “fun” fact we learnt was that babies easily double in size and weight in their first 4 or 5 months, before slowing down a little bit after that. 

Newborn baby wearing a white onesie and hospital ID band lies in a clear bassinet with tiny feet raised.
Sleeping newborn in a white cap and swaddle rests in a hospital bassinet with one small hand raised.
Hospital bassinet holding a swaddled newborn sits beside a bright window in a quiet maternity room.
Sleeping newborn with dark hair wrapped in a pink-patterned blanket beside a proud to be a baby pillow in a hospital bassinet.

While all this talk about growing may be music to the ears of new parents who constantly worry whether their baby is drinking or eating enough for his or her age (those upper percentiles may not mean much but can awaken a competitive streak in new parents!), it isn’t great from our point of view as baby photographers.

This bittersweet truth—that babies grow too darn fast—is what inspired us, as newborn photographers, to offer Baby Milestone sessions which allow mummies and daddies to capture their little one’s developmental and growth milestones starting from about 2 months of age. But what about before, like wayyyy before. Do babies not grow and change relentlessly from the moment they are born?

Newborn in a pale blue knit cap yawns while swaddled in a white blanket with tiny hands near the face.

The truth is, they absolutely do change, a lot, in just those first few hours! But there’s no reason not to have some photographs taken while mummy and daddy are just chilling in the hospital ward for a few days. That’s what our Fresh48 Session is for.

Newborn in a gray striped knot hat lies swaddled in white inside a clear hospital bassinet, photographed from above.

What exactly is a Fresh48 session, you may be wondering? Is it a newborn session done at the hospital? And are there props and backdrops and makeup involved? Well, it’s a hospital session where we aim to capture all the joy, tenderness and affection that new mummies and daddies are just brimming with after meeting their little bundle(s) just a few hours ago. We’ve been there, and it is definitely a feeling that’s difficult to describe.

New mother sits on a hospital bed holding her newborn baby in a bright, sunlit maternity room.

Mummy’s instant bond with her new baby,

With a Fresh48 Session, we think we’re helping relieve some of the pressure to remember everything, and everyone; the way your brand new baby looked hours after birth, the wrinkly skin, those first few grimaces and smiles babies make as they take in the world around. And of course, there are the new parents: the admiring eyes of daddy, mummy’s instant bond with her new baby, and the way new parents oh-so-gently caress and snuggle their newborn

Parents' hands gently touch a swaddled newborn in a white cap lying in a clear hospital bassinet.
Smiling father and mother sit on a hospital bed lovingly holding their sleeping newborn baby.
Parents gently hold the hands of a sleeping newborn baby swaddled in white in a clear hospital bassinet.
A bearded man in a white t-shirt sits on a couch and gently cradles a newborn baby's head in his hands.

We also love capturing the unrestraint expressions of glee of older children when they meet their new sibling, and gushing grandparents are a welcomed addition, too!

Two newborn babies lie side by side in a clear hospital bassinet while two people look down at them from above.

We’re really maxing out our vocabularies here trying to describe the feelings surrounding a baby’s arrival. Maybe words don’t do enough justice. Photographs really are an easier and more expressive way of remembering those important first few hours with baby at the hospital. As trite as the saying may be, pictures really do paint a thousand words.

A newborn baby sleeps in a clear hospital bassinet on a rolling cart beside a window with soft natural light.
Fresh48 Sessions are offered exclusively to Bows and Ribbons Photography clients who book a newborn session with us. They are not presently available as standalone sessions.

Written by Timothy Fernandez © Copyright 2019 Bows and Ribbons Photography