Magazine

A realistic look behind the scenes of a messy newborn photography session

Dear past Priya: what I wish I knew about that first photoshoot

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're currently sitting on a sterile puppy pad in a stranger's living room studio, sweating through your nursing bra while a woman named Crystal adjusts a giant ring light. You have a fresh milk...

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Stressed mom looking at a digital template on her smartphone while holding a newborn baby

Why This Baby Announcement Template Saved My Postpartum Sanity

I was standing on a wobbly dining room chair on day eight of my first postpartum recovery, clutching my phone high over my head, sweating entirely through a nursing tank, while my oldest son screamed bloody murder from a faux-fur...

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Exhausted mom holding newborn on hospital bed during a professional baby photo session

The Honest Mom Guide to Bella Baby Photography in the Hospital

I was exactly forty-eight hours postpartum, bleeding heavily into a mesh diaper the size of a surfboard, when the sharp knock came at the door. My mother-in-law had just proudly handed me a stiff, scratchy, sequined tulle gown that looked...

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A tired mom holding a wrinkled newborn baby who looks like a grumpy old man.

The absolute truth about those ugly baby pictures we all hide

I was sitting there in the hospital bed, wearing a gown that had somehow become completely unsnapped in the back, holding my literal firstborn child. My husband, Mark—who usually has absolutely zero filter—was completely silent as he held up his...

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Stressed mom holding a baby in a plain white bodysuit in a waiting room

The Brutal Reality of Baby Modeling: What I Wish I Knew Beforehand

I was sweating completely through my only clean maternity bra in a strip mall off I-35 in Dallas, holding a screaming eight-month-old while twelve other perfectly coifed infants stared at us in dead, judgmental silence. My oldest son, who's now...

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A baby lying on a white sheet taking a passport photo from above.

How to Take a Baby Passport Photo Without Losing Your Mind

My mom told me I had to physically hold my three-week-old’s head up from behind the scenes like a puppeteer to get his picture taken. The lady at the local pharmacy counter swore the only way was to photograph him...

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A sleeping newborn swaddled in a breathable blanket near a bright window

Why That Viral Froggy Newborn Portrait is Actually a Photoshop Trick

I was scrolling social media at three in the morning during a seemingly endless feeding session when I saw it. A newborn, maybe six days old, propped perfectly upright with their tiny chin resting on their folded hands. The classic...

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Mother standing near a bright window taking a photo of her sleeping newborn on a bed

How to Take Good Newborn Photos Without Losing Your Damn Mind

I was sweating through my third nursing tank of the day, teetering on a dining room chair with my iPhone hovering over my oldest son, Leo, who was currently screaming his head off in a hand-knitted Yoda costume my mom...

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A stack of addressed baby announcement cards sitting on a messy wooden table next to a half-empty chai mug.

Baby Announcement Cards: A Postpartum Letter To My Past Self

It's two in the morning. The Chicago winter wind is rattling the bedroom window, and I'm staring at a stack of heavy-stock envelopes sitting next to a cold mug of chai. My breast pump is making that rhythmic, dying-cow sound....

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