Three Things to Remember During a Newborn Session with Toddler Siblings
Newborn sessions with toddlers are probably some of my most favorite! As a mom of 5 children that are fairly close in age, I remember how stressful the thought of a newborn session felt. I could barely contain my active little two year old by herself, let alone trying to get her to sit still long enough for a peaceful session with a newborn!
Today’s post is about exactly just that. What can you do to make a newborn session with toddlers and a newborn a success? I’m here to tell you, not only can it be a fun experience, leaving you with a beautiful archive of this moment in your life, but it can often times be better than with just one child. You know that age old expression, ‘the more the merrier’, right? There’s a lot of truth to that when it comes to newborn family sessions.
The number one piece of advice I can give a parent with a toddler and a newborn is to just relax and let the toddler be. Let go of control and remember, as long as they are safe, I can take care of the rest. I know it’s hard as you envision perfect family and sibling photos, but hear me out. When we correct toddlers, they shut down. It takes a fun experience and makes it feel like a chore to them and they’ll resist. My job is to set the stage and step back and capture the moments, no matter what they are doing. Do they want to play with their cars on the bed? Let them. It’s real life and that’s what we are capturing.
Just relax. The moment toddlers sense stress, they fight back harder. But more importantly, if you’re on edge trying to correct them, YOU will look stressed and we don’t want that. Do your best to just relax and go with the flow. Take deep breaths and relax into the morning and your energy will transfer to your child.
Let go of perfection. I know it’s hard mama, but try to let go of that idea of the “picture perfect moment” during your newborn session. Take some pressure off yourself and let the real moments organically take place so that I may capture the moments you will truly want to hang all over your house. I promise, the moment you let go of the idea of perfection, the moments actually come. Each and every time.
