Image and text have Copyrights reserved and protected by La Dolce Vita Photography by Layne Fernandes
Babies who are born between 37 to 41 weeks of gestation are considered “full term babies”.
After 41 weeks of gestation, the baby is referred as “Post Full Term”.
When a baby is born before 37 weeks of gestation, he is a “Premature” infant. In that instance, the baby is normally kept at the hospital for observations, to gain proper weight and many other medical conditions or reasons for the baby's own safety and health, until he/she is officially discharged to go home with his parents and start new adventures in this life.
A baby's skin is delicate. The skin is the largest organ in our human bodies. With this being said, they can be sensitive to touch and "preemie" babies even more. Hygiene items and textiles should be thoughtfully selected by parents and reactions should be observed. Hands that will be touching and holding a baby, must be sanitized with neutral soaps and lukewarm water, in order to avoid triggering irritation or discomfort to the newborn baby's skin.
Image and text have Copyrights reserved and protected by La Dolce Vita Photography by Layne Fernandes
The ideal time for a newborn photoshoot
Until the first 28 days of life, a baby is considered a newborn. Although, the ideal period for a newborn to be photographed in those curled fetal poses, is around the first two weeks of life, I would narrow this phase a little more, to the first 10 days of life being the most ideal phase in the timeline.
During this brand new phase, babies can reach deep stages of sleep and his/her digestive system is, normally, not bothering the baby with the discomfort of gas or adjustments to external factors.
After the first two weeks of being born, the baby feels more comfortable to the external environment and starts becoming more alert and awake of the surroundings, flexibility changes, intestinal activities might cause a bloated tummy and expectations might be slightly different during a photo session, compared to those who are able to be photographed before the mark of first 10 days of life.
Premature babies normally have their days count for medical references, which is not the same “day count” for photographers, where each case comes with a different history and all details must be taken seriously during a safe and successful photo session. The day a baby was born IS the day he/she was born. It is not the case to say: "This baby should be born yesterday, so technically he/she is considered only 1 day new."
This is not a true statement when is comes to premature babies. As soon as the preemie baby was born, he had to start his adaptation journey to the external world, differently from those who are born as full term babies.
Pairing with new parent’s expectations during a photo session
During my newborn photo sessions, this step can not remain overlooked. It is very important to talk about general characteristics of each phase and the expected level of “permissions” the baby is going to be granting the photographer to work with during the session.
Image and text have Copyrights reserved and protected by La Dolce Vita Photography by Layne Fernandes
Phases and patterns of a sleepy baby
Did you know sleep patterns in newborn babies are different from older children and grownups?
A trained certified newborn photographer should be able to recognize the different patterns of your baby’s sleep.
Stage 1: This is the stage when you see the baby experiencing a heavy sign of drowsiness and, in sequence, falls asleep. This is the stage that “Shhhh… do not wake up the baby! He/She is starting to fall asleep…”
Image and text have Copyrights reserved and protected by La Dolce Vita Photography by Layne Fernandes
Stage 2: This is the stage when baby has a light level of sleep, eyes can move as an active sleeper! Arms or legs can jerk and, for a short period of time, breathing may become irregular. This is nothing to be scared about or seek for medical emergency procedures. It is all part of a baby falling asleep. It lasts, at most, around 10 seconds!
This is known as “normal periodic condition", which baby is expected to outgrow this condition in the first semester. It's all good and part of being a baby.
Whenever baby's eyes are noticeably moving under the eyelids, patience is key, because a beautiful “smile” may come up for that incredible picture!
This is the REM sleep!
Image and text have Copyrights reserved and protected by La Dolce Vita Photography by Layne Fernandes
Stage 3: Lastly, the phase of Deep Sleep can be a short one. This is when the photographer should benefit for those “goal poses” because baby is quiet, twitching and other movements normally cease during this stage of profound angelic sleep.
This is the non-REM stage of sleep.
Image and text have Copyrights reserved and protected by La Dolce Vita Photography by Layne Fernandes
Would you like to learn more tips about babies and, perhaps, start journaling “The diary of a new mom?”, "What new moms should know about babies"?
Feel comfortable to reach me via website form and let me know what would you like to learn about newborn babies, from a mom and/or photographer’s perspective and experience.
Time may drag day after day, but when we look back there is no denial how life goes by fast like crazy!!!
Let's have a plan in hands and Schedule your session now.
I'm here, glad, to answer all your questions and guide you through the entire way, so you can have the most beautiful photographs of your newborn baby.
www.ladolcevitaphotos.com
layne@ladolcevitaphotos.com
Aurora, Colorado, 80016
