I’m so glad that my good friend Kate allowed me to capture these precious moments of her and her gorgeous daughter Heidi as they counted down the days until baby Tilda’s arrival.
My Story
My own pregnancy with little Harry went by as a bit of a blur. Andy and I decided to move from Essex to Northumberland, the same week as we got pregnant! We found a house pretty quickly and then before you knew it, we were packing and heading north. The removal guys were still drinking tea and eating Bakewell tarts when Andy started knocking down walls in our new home
– as he knew it was a race against time to get the 1970s monstrosity that we had bought ready for our new arrival. From that second on, my pregnancy was a tornado of dust, and noise and more dust. My feet didn’t touch the ground – literally. I felt guilty every time I needed a rest as poor Andy was slogging his guts out to get our home ready, we endured stress from the builders who after a point just kept getting everything wrong, I had the constant need to nest but couldn’t do anything as the house was just a big pile of crap, and then on top of that I got SPD. So when the time came that I could finally start to unpack boxes, clean, make things pretty, the doctors told me to sit down and do nothing – Ha! As if. Christmas was coming and so was my baby. This house would be ready, pretty and clean!
So, to be honest. I don’t look back on my time as being pregnant with Harry too fondly. I hear all these beautiful tales from other women about nesting, and getting to enjoy bump, and shopping for nursery things, and washing all the baby grows over and over just so they smell nice and then tidying them away so perfectly in the drawers. Well. That didn’t happen for me.
BUT IF I HAD MY TIME AGAIN . . . .
I WOULD CHERISH EVERY MILLISECOND, ENJOY EVERY KICK, CAPTURE EVERY CM THAT MY BUMP GREW BIGGER.
And that’s why I would also book my own maternity session.
Here’s a pic of me whilst preggars. Amongst the chaos. I really don’t have many photos of me during this time. Certainly none that I’m proud of. I suppose I could say that I put up with quite a bit of shit during pregnancy and therefore I’m proud of that, but I’d desperately love to have some photographs of me enjoying carrying Harry and possibly looking happy and gorgeous – not just pulling a very tired, dodgy smile at my husband’s iPad.
So going back to Kate. I asked her if she would like a maternity session. Because now, we both understand the value of these photographs. For Kate, she had the added beauty of Heidi and her own little {connection} with her baby sister growing inside mummy’s tummy. I just love how little ones, perhaps they don’t really understand what’s going on, but there’s still something there. I was so desperate to give her what I didn’t have. So I’m so glad she agreed.
So here they are. Here are a few images from our little maternity Mummy & Me session we had last year. Kate bless her, was enduring quite a bit of back pain on the day, as little Tilda had decided to make a descent – which is good in some ways, but not so much for Kate’s hip. But she endured. As us Mummys do – we’re a fierce breed aren’t we ladies? Motherhood gives us strength we never knew existed. Grrrrr! You’d never know from the beauty of the photographs though. I’m so delighted that I could capture these precious moments for Kate and also for Heidi and her new baby sister. As they really are part of their story. Their family history.
Enjoy . . .
xxx
If you are carrying a little one, or perhaps your baby has arrived and you’re enjoying every second – gift yourself a little Unscripted Session. Do it for you.
Don’t wait for someone to buy you a gift certificate, don’t wait until you have a little bit more money (we all need more money – we never stop saying that), don’t wait until they start crawling, walking, talking – you owe it to yourself to have some photographs of you enjoying motherhood. I do not want to hear again another mother say that they don’t have any nice photographs of themselves with their children. That they have no nice photographs of them when they were pregnant.
I know money can be tight. I know time can be tight. But you know what’s worse??? – looking back at things in 10 years time and going. SHIT. I miss that. I miss that feeling. I miss carrying my baby. I miss being mummy. I miss being needed. Even, I miss the mess. And SHIT. I don’t even have any photographs to remind me. I certainly have no photographs of me. Or worse – I did have, but guess what, they were all on my phone which my 3 year old threw down the toilet and I hadn’t backed them up and I lost them ALL!
It is your responsibility to capture these moments. And you know what – me and a lot of other photographers out there – we’re not that expensive. We will help you. We will help you capture these precious years, these milestones. If you think we’re expensive – tell us. Tell us what you can afford. And we can see what we can do. I would much rather help a mother in need than have someone go – oh that Claire – I’m pretty sure she’s out of our league, I’ll just use the phone or worse, not take a pic at all. Did you even ask me?
So. Here’s my email address: claire@unscriptedphotography.co.uk
Email me now. Tell me what it is that you love about being a mum so much. Tell me what is that you love about carrying your baby. And I will email you back with my client guide and price list. I promise you that there will be something in my price guide that can meet your budget. Because you and I know that these images, these memories – they are PRICELESS!!!!! And if you are at a stage where you want to go a bit crazy and have the full day documented, I can help with a payment plan. Just don’t put this off. It’s too important for you and your family.
Right.
Rant over.
I can’t wait to hear from you.
xxx
MUMMY & ME SESSIONS 2017
ONLY £90
These Mummy and me sessions are LIMITED. I only have three available on Friday March 24 at:
8.30am – BOOKED
10am – BOOKED
11.30am
Each session lasts one hour. I simply come to your home or favourite location and capture this little time in your life with your little ones. You’ll receive an online gallery from which you can choose your 10 favourite images which you’ll then receive as high-resolution jpegs. BUT if you like all of the images you’ll have the option to purchase them too – however, should money be tight, you’ll have up to one year to do this.
Now, these sessions are for you. Mums. Mums and their little ones. So you design a session you want.
Breakfast, snuggling on the sofa trying to watch Lorraine, playtime, the weekly shop, pampering at the salon, enjoying an ice-cream – whatever you want. You do whatever it is that you want to remember the most. What it means to you to be Mummy.
So what’s stopping you?
£25 deposit secures your session. The final balance is due one week before.
Come on. Do this – FOR YOU.
Before it’s too late. Before you look and those toys have disappeared, those windows you cleaned last week are still clean (miracle), the house is quiet, and then . . . on no – he’s gone, he’s at uni. (Quiet sob to self as you see your life flash before your eyes)
Details
- Mummy & Me sessions are ONLY available March 24, 2017
- Times slots are: 8.30am, 10am, 11.30am
- Sessions must take place within a 20minute drive of NE43 7QD.
- Sessions last for one hour.
- You will receive 10 digital negatives via online download with the option to purchase more within one year of your session.
- £25 deposit to reserve your session
- No offence, but no dads! This is for Mums and children only. Fancy a family / longer session, please contact me for details of my Unscripted Sessions.
I hope you don’t put this off. We didn’t. Last year, we finally paid someone to come and take those photographs I find impossible to take myself. I’ll be sharing my story with you shortly. And I’M SO GLAD WE DID IT! I finally have a collection of images, that tell our story, with ME in them. My little boy now can see I did actually do things with him. Nice things!
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