5 Ways to Soothe Your Newborn
As a newborn photographer, lots of people think that means I’m good with babies… and it’s true! Hey, I’m not a super expert or anything, I’m just a mom of three who loves photographing babies and kids. With all that experience, I have some tricks up my sleeve to soothe a newborn baby.
If you’re reading this and worried about keeping your newborn baby happy during her session, please don’t stress! A newborn portrait session is baby-led. We’ll work together to choose an optimal time of the day for your baby, and during the session, we follow her lead. I make sure to block off extra time if we need it to work around a feed or a snuggle. I’ve seen it all!
5 Tips for Soothing Your Newborn During Your Session (and Beyond)
These tips will help baby calm down and feel safe. You can use these during your newborn session or anytime!
- Check Her Needs – Babies cry to communicate. Is she hungry, need a diaper, gassy, or just tired? Offer the breast or bottle, check her diaper, try patting her on the back, or offer a nap. It might not be any of these things, so don’t worry! She may just need some soothing or may be cold. HEAT is key to getting a baby nice and sleepy for our sessions.
- Swaddle – Your newborn will LOVE being swaddled. Use a blanket to wrap her up like a precious burrito and help her feel secure. My kiddos were little escape artists so I LOVED the sleep sacks by HALO to get them nice and snug.
- Walk – Take her in your arms and walk around or put her in the stroller. The change in motion and environment might be what she needs to calm down and relax. If the baby is really fussy or possibly overtired, a car ride would be an option to try.
- Sound Machine – Recreate the whooshing sounds of the womb with a sound machine or by shushing! I highly recommend a portable sound machine for the diaper bag or having an app on your phone to have handy. Shushing works too. In the studio, we use the “Baby Shusher” and it works wonders on getting little ones to sleep.
- Pacify – This does depend on the baby! Some babies love a pacifier and some don’t. If your baby doesn’t like the pacifier or you are breastfeeding and haven’t introduced one yet, then you can try your finger or your breast. The suckling actually releases a hormone that relaxes your baby!
Loving on Newborns
I hope these tips are helpful for you! Photographing newborns is probably my favorite. I just love meeting this tiny new person and capturing this special time in photos for you. I would love to be part of your story by documenting your baby’s first few days. If you’re interested in booking, let’s chat! Otherwise, please join my VIP email list to connect that way for upcoming spring specials.
