An end of an era
While pregnant with her fifth baby, Dani and her husband knew their family was complete. Dani birthed her baby at home during the midst of a pandemic, and suddenly she realized all her baby’s firsts became Dani’s lasts. As she soaked in the newborn period, the end of babyhood loomed ahead of her.
For Dani, it was bittersweet when her baby turned one. She didn’t know how much longer she would have breastfeeding before her baby wanted to be weaned. This transition was proving to be difficult for her. Until she had a stroke of genius.
A genius idea
Dani approached me with a brilliant idea: a photoshoot of just her and her baby. For Dani, this last baby signified the end of pregnancies, the end of preparing for labor and delivery, the end of newborn snuggles, the end of breastfeeding. It’s hard transition from one stage of motherhood to the next. Dani was used to being in the pregnancy/baby stage for so much of her life. Now, she looks to a new phase of motherhood, and a photoshoot was going to cap off the last phase like a cherry on top.
She was beyond excited to show me her outfit she purchased for her and her baby. She texted me photos of her and her baby’s hair piece. We made plans for a certain location, and she scheduled a time for a hairstyling with her favorite stylist.
Motherhood photoshoot
The day of the photoshoot came. We drove over together to the designated place. Dani was specific about the background – tall wild grass illuminated by the setting sun. We found a perfect spot and spent less than an hour shooting in different poses with different angles. Her baby was an angel and Dani was glowing.
Dani felt complete after this session, and knew that she could move forward, growing and learning, just as her baby is.
