10 Tips to Newborn Soothing Success!
Thank you for joining me!
Although there is so much more to newborn photography than 5 soothing tips, It is my hope that through these 5 detailed tips that you will be able to learn to adapt to each baby’s unique character by anticipating their needs. Soothing knowledge will enable you to really hone in on your newborn posing and creativity. Keeping in mind, there is no quick fix, every baby is different and what works for some, may not work for others.
Let’s get started!
Preface:
First, we need to look is the psychology and the physiology of a newborn. Our ultimate goal as Newborn Photographers is to make baby as comfortable as possible throughout their session… which presents the question, when are they most comfortable?
learning about these key subject will answer this question and is actually a very important aspect to working with newborns!
It’s important to recognize, they’re not rag-dolls to place as you’d like and won’t make a peep as you do so. They’re people and have needs too, just as you or me.
So ask yourself, what are their basic needs, what environment are they most used to?
Newborns are still getting used to their life outside of the womb and so It’s no secret they have spent most of their existence warm, not hungry, snug, with almost constant movement and noise. Therefore, it would only make sense that they feel most comfortable when their brand new world mimic’s their time in the womb.
That’s where some of my following tips come into place…
Start baby on a full tummy:
Learn to read a baby’s hunger cues.
If parent arrives to the studio and baby is awake and hungry make sure you’ve left enough time for them to feed their baby. Ease their mind, that there is no rush and to take their time making sure baby is nice and full AND burped.
Gassy & Constipated Baby:
We all get them and they’re tough. A gassy baby may be pulling their arms into their belly, have a furrowed brow and cry seemingly out of nowhere. There’s no quick fix for to remedy this but there are some things we can do to help relieve some discomfort:
Outline baby’s intestinal tract, in three movements. First, with a gentle, yet firm, line down their left side. Secondly, an upside down L, starting from the top and working your way back to the left side. Thirdly, trace an upside U starting from their bottom right, trace up and back down to the left.
Bicycle baby’s legs 1,2,3,4 times and push legs into belly.
And repeat for two these techniques minutes.
Reflexes:
The Moro Reflex: If you’re a parent yourself, you’ve more than likely experienced this and you’ll know that babies have a pretty wild startle reflex, aka The Moro reflex, which can disturb even the deepest sleeper. The Moro reflex is an infant reflex that develops between 28–32 weeks of gestation and disappears between 3–6 months of age. It is a response to a sudden loss of support, drop in temperatures, loud noises, sudden movements and involves three distinct components: shoots arms out and pulls arms in and sharp crying.
Solution: Keep gentle pressure baby’s limbs while handling. Wraps are such a great way to keep limbs in place and I recommend keeping several nearby to match your setups. Additionally, keeping gentle pressure on limbs during posing is a must! This is where an assistant or a parent can come in VERY handy.
The Rooting Reflex: Baby is Hungry! There are early signs of a hungry baby so it’s a great idea to become familiar with that. However, sometimes you might get a baby that seems to want to eat constantly. This can be frustrating for the Newborn Photographer but remember babies are working on basic instincts, this is all they know! If baby is showing signs of hunger make sure to give baby back to mom and ask her to take her time and give baby a full feed. Also, don’t be afraid to ask; “When was the last time baby was fed?”, “Is baby breastfed or bottle fed?”, “Formula or Breastmilk?”, “How often does baby eat?” These are great questions to get a better feel for each individual baby.
Here is a great article with visuals for reading hunger cues you should check out.
Solution: If you know baby has a full belly but baby is still rooting and you don’t know why, well it might be you! Make sure to keep your hands, baby’s hands, fabrics, props away from baby’s mouth, cheeks and chin so as not to initiate that rooting reflex. A pacifier may help or hinder, every baby is different. If baby can sleep without the pacifier just keep it away so as not to initiate that rooting reflex again.
Please Note: Some baby’s may be going through a cluster feeding cycle so if you suspect baby is hungry or baby will not calm always give baby back to mom.
Palmar Grasp Reflex: When an object or stimulus touches/strokes the baby’s palm, baby will tightly grasp the stimulus. This can be particularly frustrating if you can’t get those fingers out for those adorable poses!
Solution: Baby may be initiating their own Palmer Grasp Reflex, look closely, is baby’s thumb tucked tightly into their palm? If so, gently move it out. That may help flatten the hand! Also, stroking the back of hand also relaxes the hand.
The Gallant Reflex: This reflex occurs when baby is held midair and face down. Stroking the back beside the spine(whether it be with a bonnet, blanket or hand) will cause baby to curl body towards the touched side. Which can be very concerning when attempting the baby on arm position.
Solution: Keep the baby secure. Never balance baby in mid air or allow a parent to do so. Keep the opposite side of the body secure against the parent and always use a spotter. It’s also a good idea to avoid tickling baby with props or use an assistant or parent to help you.
Noise:
White noise mimics sounds from inside the uterus and is such a great tool to use throughout your session. There are many different options of noise machines. I use white noise to drown out any background noise and a shusher machine closer to baby. However, there are some cautions to be aware of when using noise during your newborn session.
Advised by the American Academy of Pediatrics, noise decibel from 80dB and above, will cause hearing damage after prolonged exposure, 4 hours or longer. Solution: Grab yourself a Decibel Meter from Amazon to keep your noise level in check!
When using your phone for noise or even video: I’d advise putting your phone on airplane mode as we don’t truly know the effects of cellphone radiation on the human body.
Movement:
When you think about it, babies are pretty used to constant movement from being inside the womb. This is why they typically sleep well close to the chest of a moving parent or in a car, as it mimics that time in the womb. It’s familiar and comforting.
While holding snug, and keeping baby from startling, I like to lightly jiggle or pat that part of baby(typically the feet & legs, their bottom or on their back). I compare the jiggle to what they would feel if they were in the car with mom and dad driving down a bumpy road.
Disclaimer: Never, ever, EVER…. shake a baby as you can cause severe damage or death.
Don’t panic, be prepared:
Don’t panic if baby is awake! Also, an awake baby is not a bad baby.
Be prepared for every possibility because “today’s baby” might be colicky, or hate sleep. It happens even to the best of us and is not a reason to throw in the towel!
If baby is sleepy, great! Move on with your normal workflow, you got this!
If baby is not sleepy, roll with it by wearing them out first! Have your favorite awake baby setups ready and remember to get that adorable eye contact and expressions. Trust me, awake baby shots will be the parents favorite and always sell, get them if you can!
Also, know that babies cry, and they cry for various reasons... especially when they’re in a different environment with someone handling them like they’ve never been handled before. Crying is the only way they communicate and it doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong or hurting them.
Learning their different cues, what is safe & not safe, and how to anticipate their needs will really help you rock your awake baby session with confidence! The best ways to do that are to invest in newborn safety education, as well as lots of practice.
Disclaimer: Only do what you feel comfortable with. Want to try a new, or difficult, pose? Make sure to ask or invest in how it’s done safely before attempting it.
Get a flow going:
Flow posing will come with a lot of practice and learning from a mentor. If you’re struggling on your “next move”, after the wrapped or awake baby shots, you need to consider what transitional posing/setups can you achieve with what you have FIRST and then unwrap baby, little by little... making sure you get your shot in between each transition, just in case baby wakes.
The goal is to keep baby settled, while also giving parents as much variety as possible. Find the wraps techniques that give you the most out of your posing. Prepare that flow before your session, write it down and keep it nearby.
After a lot of practice this will get easier, I promise!
Closing statements:
Relaxed babies start with good parent prep and knowledge on newborn safety. It’s 100% worth investing in your continued education, like workshops or 1:1 mentoring with your favorite Photographers. Just a quick plug-in… these topics, and more, are covered with my 1:1 mentoring curriculum!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my top 5 tips for newborn soothing success! If you’d like to find out more about my story check out the About tab above. If you’d like to learn more about my 1:1 mentoring program check out my Photographers tab above, where you can find more information on mentoring and video tutorials.
I sincerely, hope you enjoyed, and learned a thing or two, from my list above!
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Also, I would love it if you’d let me know how this set of tips helped you in your journey of newborn photography and if there’s anything else I can help you learn! Contact me at kayleighashworthphotography@gmail.com, Instagram or Facebook, links below!
