As the due date for baby number two* looms ever closer, my mind is racing with the things I have to do. I’m a planner, by nature. I feel a sense of accomplishment creating lists and ticking things off those lists. But something I’ve neglected to plan? Maternity photos. Which strikes me as funny because I am a blogger, and so much of what I do involves taking pictures, creating and capturing beautiful content, and preserving memories. I think part of my reluctance to have maternity photos taken, lies with my own insecurities. I felt the same unease about my expanding body the first time around and never took official maternity photos. Though in my defense, Scarlett did decide to show up nearly a month early, so there wasn’t a whole lot of time left to squeeze in photos. Looking back on the photos we had taken of our newly-formed family of three, after Scarlett was born, I realize now that I should have captured every moment, because those photos are precious to me.
These days, Scarlett holds my belly, and demands to kiss her baby sister (my belly) “goodbye” each morning when I drop her off for those few hours of summer camp. She wraps her tiny arms around my growing mid-section and buries her face deep into the hardening belly that cradles her sister, and screams … yes, screams … “Mwah! I love you baby sister.” And I think to myself, how can I NOT capture these memories? Scarlett’s joy over her new baby sister only magnifies the feelings of warmth I get when I dream of our second baby.
I’ve never been very good at posing in a field. I can’t muster the look of serenity when I’m busy fidgeting, and nowadays, worrying over Scarlett’s every move. I’m convinced I look like the most awkward person ever in all of our family photos.
I keep circling back to the idea of doing a maternity photo shoot at home, where we’re comfortable. It seems natural to want to capture our soon-to-be family of four in our home, where we can be us. I flinch when I think about the stretch marks I’ll have to hide and the care I’ll inevitably put into when choosing our outfits, styling our hair, finding a way to superficially feel comfortable when I’ve never been one to like being the subject of photos. Vanity is awfully stupid, isn’t it? But I think that the end result will be worth it. Even if I can just capture the joy Scarlett feels over her impending baby sister.
So tell me, mamas: What are your thoughts on maternity photos? Did you have photos taken of your while pregnant? With your first? Your second? Your third child? Are you glad that you did? How did you find a way to feel comfortable in your own skin when rapid expansion and a dwindling wardrobe seems to have taken over?
*You can see how our little family announced that we were expecting baby number two here, how I told hubby we were pregnant (again) here, and the gender reveal here.
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