The First Hello: Why Your Baby's First Hours Are Worth Documenting

There is a moment after a baby arrives when everything changes. Maybe the room is quiet. Maybe it's chaotic. Maybe you're exhausted and completely overwhelmed. Maybe you're staring at this tiny person thinking, you're really here. That is the first hello. And it's one of the moments I want to remember.

I clearly remember those first few hours after having my first daughter. The labor was long and exhausting and the anticipation of meeting her was building. The moments immediately after were a bit blurry. I was tired and emotional, and yet I was so completely in love with this tiny human being whom I had just met but had carried for nine months. It was a love I hadn't never felt and to this day, it is still difficult to describe the instantaneous, pure love you feel for your children. I can still see my husband's tears, I can see all the family members gathered in the room to meet this new little one. I can feel what those first 24 hours felt like even today. And with each baby, I understood more and more just how fleeting those first moments are.

Now, when I walk into a hospital room hours after a little one has been born, I recognize the emotions and the moments I might not have noticed before becoming a mom.

I see the way dad takes over and swaddles the baby or changes the baby without hesitation. I see the pride he has for his partner and for this new little life.

I notice the exhaustion and pure, unwavering love of a new momma. The way she snuggles and clutches her brand new child, providing comfort and nourishment even though her body is sore and tired.

I notice how the new parents look at this baby they created together. I see the love between them. I see the hospital bracelets proudly displayed on their wrists.

I see the doting siblings peeking into the bassinet. They point out all the features. They ask questions. They want to hold their new brother or sister. I see those first moments between siblings and their newest family member.

I notice the styrofoam cup on the table from a local fast-food joint, the pile of tiny clothes and blankets, the flowers someone sent you, the bags and pillows...all the things. The room as it is in that moment.

Before becoming a mom, I would look at photos of mothers with their newborns and see a beautiful photo.

Now, I see something much more complex.

Much deeper.

Much more beautiful.

I see the exhaustion. The pure love. The tenderness. The disbelief. The woman who is beginning to learn this new version of herself.

And being a mom who is now an empty-nester has given me another perspective entirely.

Now, as a mom who has become an empty-nester, I find myself looking at motherhood as an ever-evolving chapter of my life. I look back at photos and not only look at the people, but I look at the emotion and the details within the photograph. The moments of littles, especially the newborn stage, are so fleeting.

I know now how you can be in those moments, live through them and not realize how much you'll wish you could remember them.

Behind my camera, I have the privilege of capturing the little details that can so easily be missed in those first days with a new baby.

I get to preserve the moments they're standing inside of.

One day, you won't be able to hold that little one in the crook of your arm.

The tiny hospital bracelets and going home outfit will be tucked away in a memory box.

The little blankets and clothes will be outgrown.

You will forget what that hospital room looked like, the smell of their newborn head, how sleepy you were, or the way it felt to hold your baby in those first few hours.

But photographs have a way of taking us back. They hold onto all those things for us.

They can take us back to the beginning.

Back to the first hello.

If you're expecting a baby and these are moments you'd love to remember, I'd love to talk with you about documenting them.