Now that I work as a nurse in a neonatal ICU and spend my time helping babies grow healthy and strong enough to go home with their families, I’ve realized how fun and important it is to capture the precious early moments in a child’s life.

Emily and Brian brought their new son, Beauregard, over to my home studio a mere thirteen days after his birth to capture some early memories. Little Beau was not too into the photo shoot at first… or throughout really.

However, with a little patience and after a couple feeding sessions with his mom, I was able to capture some priceless moments of calm.

I find some of the most touching moments are the ones where the parents dote on the newest member of their family.

And I always love the detail shots. Babies grow so fast; I love capturing every little detail of the beginning of their lives.

Beau’s stuffed lamb and Brian’s hands will provide a nice sense of scale as he grows larger.

By the end, he was pretty tuckered out. We swaddled him up, shot a few photos in his blue blanket and then let him sleep. Meanwhile we scarfed down some Vietnamese food, which my husband was nice enough to pick up as the shoot lasted well into the dinner hour. It can certainly take some patience to photograph newborns, but the reward of documenting the beginning of a life is definitely worth it. A huge congrats to our friends Emily and Brian on their beautiful baby Beau.