New parents Brian and April welcomed an early arrival of their baby girl this May!

Ten tiny fingers, and ten tiny toes. And two new parents, figuring out how it all goes. When Sullivan decided to make her grand entrance a little bit earlier than anticipated, I was more than happy to move up our scheduled newborn lifestyle shoot to catch all of that new baby goodness. Newborn photos within the first 14 days tend to give us the best odds of a sleepy baby who willingly goes along with all the fuss of a photoshoot, and Sullivan was eight pounds of sleepy bliss.

I arrived at Brian and April’s house and sent a quick text to let them know I was outside. I didn’t want to take any risks of waking anybody up, because I’ve been there! There’s always something so peaceful about walking into a home of a newborn baby. A quiet softness that perhaps I don’t quite have the words for. And that doesn’t mean the home is necessarily devoid of noise. Even if a TV is on or an older sibling or pet is playing, there’s still just a lingering softness in the air. I quietly took off my shoes and prepped my camera as my eyes caught the sight of baby gifts that had recently arrived to congratulate the new family of three and all the comforts of boppies and baby blankets on the living room couch. The zone that all of us mother’s know becomes baby central.

Sullivan was cozily sleeping on her lounger as I set up shop and prepped mom and dad (and grandpas) for the flow of the shoot. “Baby is in charge, so if she needs to be fed or changed or comforted, then that’s our priority.” And we were off, snapping away to capture all of the tiny details that we could!

With Sullivan still blissfully unaware of my heart bursting over how precious she is, we headed to the nursery. I always love seeing the special touches added to every baby’s nursery. It’s such a special place as you know their parents spent quiet time in that room, imagining what life would be like once they brought home a little one and started putting to use a closet full of pink clothes and baby lotions.

April was next for her spotlight moment. And this mama is glowing. There were moments that, out of the corner of my eye while taking those first images of Sullivan, I could see April quietly admiring her little girl as I clicked away. Eyes filled with pride and awe, soaking in the moment and those little internal thoughts of “I can’t believe I’m your mom.” It always makes me want to turn my camera onto mama to capture that, but I never want to interrupt those emotions. But April, you are such a beautiful new mama and I’m just so happy for you!

Now of course we can’t just make it all about mama. Dad gets a little credit here too. And, Sullivan, just so it doesn’t come as a surprise, anyone that plans to take you out in the future best come prepared with a strong sense of humor and quick wit because your dad is going to be prepared with a lot of material.

Dad is a character! As I chatted with the family while taking photos, we were discussing our backgrounds and hometowns since we were all transplants to the Michiana area for various reasons. I happen to be from a very small town, not often recognized by anyone who asks for the name and location. So I was very surprised when Brian casually started listing off other small towns surrounding my hometown. My head shot up pretty quickly, only to realize he was doing a deep dive on Google on his phone. I’m pretty sure if the session had lasted too much longer that day he would’ve had the town history memorized and possibly my family tree figured out.

An extra special component of this session was having both the maternal and paternal grandfathers of Sullivan present for pictures! And that includes the first time her paternal grandfather was able to hold her! It was very easy to see where Brian got his character from because Grandpa was keeping me on my toes too. Both of these grandfathers very clearly adore this baby girl, and it was an honor to be able to document them as apart of Sullivan’s newborn gallery. A special touch we were able to add were having photos of each grandfather holding their own baby to display as they now hold their baby’s baby.

Sullivan Rian, you are clearly in good hands and so loved by your mom and dad (and grandpas too)! It was such a sweet day capturing such a doll. Wishing all the best to these new parents as they navigate the beautiful world of parenting this angel.