Liesl Grace: Photos of a 3-day-old Angel

We did it.  We splurged.  We did a newborn photography session.

We were debating whether or not to drop money on it, but in anticipating that Liesl would come early, we pessimistically realistically didn’t budget in getting any disability pay for the 2 weeks I got off before her due date (with my company’s plan, if the baby comes early, you lose those 2 weeks of disability pay).  But she ended up hanging in there long enough that we got all 2 weeks of disability pay, so we decided to go for it.  I don’t think we’ll ever regret capturing these photos of our sweet baby girl.  She was only 3 days old!!  Fresh from heaven…

I’ll admit, it was slightly traumatizing as a mother of a new 3-day old baby, watching her fuss uncomfortably as we tried to take photo after photo of her in cute little poses.  I just wanted to scoop her up in my arms and hold her close to me and warm her and help her feel surrounded and safe!  But most of the time I was actually helping my Mom corral Oliver so he didn’t destroy the studio, and Nick was in with Liesl and the photographer.  Once she was well-fed and finally fell asleep, she was completely comfortable and content.

Meredith, our photographer, was great.  She was so careful and patient and creative.  And once we got Liesl to fall back asleep, I was no longer traumatized and just drunk in love as I sat watching Meredith tenderly place her arms just-so to capture the innocence and beauty of this precious gift from heaven…

It really was fun to watch the process.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of it from behind the scenes!  Meredith really was a pro, and the studio was amazing.  It was in the top floor of this gorgeous old mansion in Northern Kentucky.  They had old vintage furniture set up all around the room.  They’d built an enclosed area in the very center of the room.  In there, she had a space heater going to make it nice and toasty for the little ones.  She kept pulling out blankets and scarves and pillows and more blankets and beads and headbands…every accessory you could dream of to create a perfect little baby scene.

Oh my gosh, don’t you just die looking at that precious little pouty lip?!

At the beginning of the photoshoot, Liesl was awake, hungry, and fussy, and Oliver was out of control.  I thought we weren’t going to get any good photos of the two of them together!  But after I fed her and we bribed him with fruit snacks (I think they’re hidden in this photo, but they’re definitely in his hand), we got a couple keepers!

We tend to be incredibly frugal, thrifty people.  But I’m glad that when we splurge, it’s often on things like this.  Someone once wisely told me, “When you do have money, don’t spend it on things.  Spend it on memories.”