Baby Spencer's 6-month Milestone Story
Baby Spencer was such a beautiful newborn and I LOVED her sweet session 6 months ago! Her momma and daddy booked me for a mini maternity session and newborn session, and discussed the possibility of future sessions, but nothing was decided at the time. Which is understandable, because once a new baby arrives, it's difficult to decide whether or not you want to shower, eat, or nap when you have a free 5 minutes...let alone, whether you want photos done every 3 months!
They Grow So Fast
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when I received the email Spencer's momma asking to "upgrade" to a Grow With Me 3 package (full newborn and all-inclusive one-year sessions, plus 3-, 6-, and 9-month mini-milestone sessions). Even though they had missed out on the 3-month session, I smiled SO BIG. What she said in her email is so true and EXACTLY why I offer these packages!
"We didn't realize how much she would change/grow the first year...Anyway (Daddy) said he really wanted to get some more pictures while she is small..."
YES.
6-month Milestones
Milestone sessions are short and sweet, with the focus being on baby's emerging personality and accomplishments (milestones). There are three major 6-month milestones that I like to try to capture, all of which little Spencer has mastered:
Starting to sit assisted (soon to be sitting on her own)
Rolling over (she is a pro!)
Straight arms during tummy time (working on those crawling muscles)
Planning the Session
For Spencer's mini session, her momma and I decided it would be fun to "revamp" one of her newborn photos, with the same pearl-and-lace headband and a strand of pearls (PSA: the pearls were NEVER wrapped around Spencer's neck and we NEVER left her unsupervised with them...safety first!). Once again, she ROCKED it and I am excited to continue to watch her grow in this set up!
Another thing I like to do for milestone sessions is have the parents choose one or two special or "impractical but cute" outfits for their little one to be photographed in. Parents, you know the ones: the frilly dresses (with buttons all the way down the back), the dry-clean- or hand-wash-only suits or rompers that you were gifted or were given as a hand-me-down, or just a sentimental outfit that you really want to see baby wear but never had an occasion and he/she is going to grow out of it soon...
Spencer's momma had a couple of sweet dresses for her to wear for her session and luckily, they PERFECTLY matched a couple of the larger/stretchy/adjustable headbands I had bought for her newborn session. I couldn't be more thrilled for another opportunity to see these on her!
Hangry
So, the morning of her session, little Spencer decided she needed a bit more breakfast before her photo could be taken...Momma said her daughter already takes after her because she gets "hangry", too. So funny! (No; we didn't make her wait long...we quickly snapped a few crying/serious photos in this set-up and then gave her two bottles.)
Bonus: I got to snuggle baby Spencer and feed her a bottle until she dozed off in my arms. Day. Made.
From there, we decided to let daddy hold her for a couple of minutes while she woke up and got used to the idea of having a camera in her face. After that, she was her happy self again!
Loving to Kick
This kiddo is going to keep her momma and daddy busy; I can tell! She LOVES to kick those long legs! It was a challenge to snap a photo of her sweet little toes with all the kicking going on, but it was worth waiting until she took a break!
Happy Girl
Usually, 6-month-olds are a little harder to get them to crack a smile because of "stranger danger" starting to kick in and they are just wanting to stare and figure things out. But, this girl would grin (and crinkle up her little button nose!) whenever we made a "buzzing" sound with our lips. I am sure in a few weeks she will start trying to practice making that sound herself! I can't wait to see what else she can accomplish in 3 more months!
