3 Tips to Soothe Your Newborn
Your new baby is crying, and you have already attempted the obvious. Clean diaper, check. full tummy. check, not too warm or cold, check. Despite your earnest attempts to calm your fussy newborn, they are still crying. What do you do next, or what can you try next?
Hi! I am Whitney and while most of the blogs and Pinterest posts floating around are from seasoned mothers, nurses, or child care providers, I am a newborn photographer, and my literal job, is to capture your newborn in the most precious way, and that requires them to sleep. Over the past 4 years of being the go-to Billings newborn studio, I have learned a trick or two to soothe an irritated fussy baby.
So here are 7 tips to soothe your fussy newborn baby.
Dim the lights
Imagine being face up staring into bright overhead lights, when you are overly tired. Ya, not fun. It’s not fun for babies either. So turn off the overhead lights and try a low lit lamp or other soothing lighting. Bonus if its a yellow/red hue. Studies have shown these colors mimic sunset and can increase natural melatonin in people of all ages, including your new baby!
White noise
I have had my fair share of white noise machines and apps. This baby shusher is a fan favorite in my studio. So do yourself a favor and order it asap! It plays consistently for 1/2 hr and has an adjustable volume. The bonus is that you can turn it on/off with one hand.
Swaddle them
Seems like I am stating the obvious BUT I have had parents come into the studio saying the newborn does not like to be swaddled. This is usually not the case. What I see is that new babies don’t like the act of being swaddled but once they are wrapped and cozy they settle quite nicely. I prefer a nice stretching wrap, like this one. The traditional muslin wraps will work too, but they aren’t as parent-friendly. I find the stretchy wrap gives babies enough wiggle movement so they can find a comfy position and feel secure ( just like in mommy’s tummy).
I hope these tips help you get some much needed stress relief. As always if your baby won’t settle don’t feel bad about reaching out to your health care provider. We never should ignore our parental instincts!
xoxo - Whitney
How to take amazing cellphone photos of your littles!
Now more than ever we are using our phones to document our family. So I thought I making a little video might help break down how I do it and my thought while I snap some quick photos of my kid!
5 tips for amazing cellphone pictures of your kids!
Avoid harsh light, diffuse it with a white sheer curtain or shower curtain. Harsh light can and will blow out the highlight of the image and you can actually loose part of your photo.
Get on there level, don’t over pose. This is the number one mistake when photography children, don’t over pose, they will loose interest, or give you one of the fake smiles, so they can be done quickly. Instead, find an activity they love and move around were they are, get down on their level. Stand on a chair and shoot from that vantage point.
I love showing how small my kiddo is so stand back and use the negative space to really give perceptive. Speaking of different vantage points, back up place kids in the right or left of the frame to give you some negative space.
Slow shutter speed with an app called Slow Shutter to show movement. Creates a really cool blurry artistic photography.
Edit. Clean up those horizontal line. Last thing straighten the horizon or the line in the background of the image, it makes for a polished image.
HAVE FUN! if taking a photo of your kid becomes a chore, don’t do it, hire a professional photographer and know that you'll have memories of your little ones as they grow!
xoxo- Whitney