This morning I heard a discussion on the radio about what Mom’s find the most difficult (as far as being  a Mother). The top challenge was the feeling that we, as Moms, must be perfect….. in pre-baby shape, home looks great & clean 24/7, kids well-behaved, etc.  And if something wasn’t checked off in that area, we are failing. I want to encourage all mothers that I understand the challenges of being a mom. It’s tough. I remember having our twins as newborns and being incredibly lonely… and exhausted. My husband and my friends (at that time they didn’t have children yet) were at work during the day. My days were filled with feedings, baby schedules, etc. My favorite time was taking them on stroller walks just so that I could get out of the house for a while.

Second difficulty was the thought that our skills are wasted if we are stay-at-home mothers. But, I promise that isn’t the case!

As a mom of 4 (#4 due in a few weeks), my life has obviously changed and I’ve adjusted to the new career of Motherhood. But, there are days I wish my house was cleaner (best purchase ever… Dyson vacuum- kids can push them cause they’re light, ha). Days when I wish the kids would always walk like normal human beings in the grocery store (recalling a recent time when my 6 year old daughter demonstrated her ability to waddle down the aisle like a duck). Days I think about how nice it would be to have dinner prepared (as I’m scrambling to make buttered noodles for dinner… time escaped me). Days when I wish they could always say “okay mom” when I ask them to do something. Days when homeschooling feels like pulling teeth to get them to finish their work (but, then the next day everything ‘clicks’ and they ‘get it’ – THAT is fun!). Days when I wish they would just all stay in their beds at bedtime without walking down the hall to ask a question (they are improving, ha!).

But… I can’t imagine it any other way. What an amazing opportunity to love our growing children. To teach, guide and prepare them for their lives. As far as I’ve heard, they ARE listening to what we say. And those of you with babies, you’ll see that they do. What we DO matters as much as what we say… likely more. For the moms who work outside the home … those hugs and stories matter in the evening (my mom worked outside the home and I promise I love her lots and lots). I think the toughest thing in our mom generation is to turn off facebook, pinterest, smart phones, etc, and engage with our children.

A couple weeks ago my Aunt passed away from cancer. Her grown sons both shared about how important she was in their lives. She loved them. She always had a comforting hug for them. She shared her faith in Jesus with them. She was there when they needed her. It was really encouraging to see.

I  feel I am rambling, but overall, please be encouraged that the love and joy you show your child(ren) matters SO much to them. Please know that the best thing we can do is love them, teach them, allow them to make mistakes, and allow ourselves to make mistakes too. Now as my 3 year old is standing here next to me wondering if I’m done working on the computer, I’m going to sign off.  Know that YOU matter SO much even when it feels like all you are is a cook, chauffeur, maid, diaper-changer/laundry cleaner, doctor, nurse, appointment-maker, ….

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there! May you be blessed in your role as a mom!

It is very common for family and friends of an expecting mother to contact me about gift certificates for a baby shower. This is a wonderful idea! If you are an expecting mother or family member, one idea is to actually ‘register’ for a newborn session along with your normal baby items. This can be easily done by allowing family and friends to actually make a gift purchase towards your newborn session. While the fun baby things are used for a while, I promise you’ll treasure images from your newborns first days of life for much longer. If you’re interested in registering for a newborn session, feel free to contact me so we can make arrangements to make it easy on your baby shower guests to bless you with this unique and long-lasting gift.

It was a joy to spend time with this family. I was able to photograph their oldest son a couple years ago. It is always so neat to see the ‘newborn’ as a toddler! What a beautiful family. Thank you for peeking! xo, Jill

I like to post reviews from clients after their newborn, baby or family photography session. Personally, reviews play a huge role when I invest in something and I know must be important to others out there. Aside from beautiful session images, I also strive for complete satisfaction from you! In this case, there were a couple spots on a client’s print that I did not catch. When she notified me, the items were immediately replaced without a problem! This is the first time in a couple years that this has happened, but I am always happy to make sure my clients are 100% happy!

“Our newborn photo session was wonderful! Jill is so accommodating and was wonderful with our son. We were very comfortable hanging out in another room while he was having his individual session. We are very happy with our photos, they are beautiful! We even had some that arrived to us slightly imperfect and they were corrected immediately. Everything was done in a very timely manner.”

Some images from their newborn photography session:

Just a preview for this lovely family. Love these newborn images from their daughter’s session. Thanks for peeking!

Jill is a newborn, infant, baby photographer in Southeastern Wisconsin serving communities such as Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Shorewood, Waukesha, West Bend, Cedarburg, Grafton, and Sheboygan.

Thank you so much for taking a moment to peek at a few images from Reid’s newborn photography session. He fought sleep for a little bit, but he did great! Newborn photography takes patience – I so enjoy it! And look at the beautiful expressions he gave when he was awake (it’s fun to catch them awake too!). Sometimes parents comment later on when their baby has grown up more that when they look back on the awake images, they can see their little personality sparkling even at just a few days old. How neat is that!? Have a wonderful day everyone! Hard to believe that in 12 weeks we’ll have our new son too! ~ Jill

Jill is a natural light, on-location wisconsin photographer who specializes in maternity, newborn, baby and family photography.

What an absolutely gorgeous name to go with this sweet precious baby girl. It was so lovely meeting her family and spending time with them all. Her big sister was SO well-behaved and just adored her baby sister. I just love newborn photography sessions!

LOOK at these sweet little cheeks!!!

After each session, I like to have families do an honest review of their time with me, the products, etc. Here is one recent review Thanks for peeking!

“I feel that the session went incredibly well. I felt very comfortable leaving Jill with my newborn while I attempted to get some chores done around the house (although watching some of the session was fun and interesting as well). The resulting images are more than I could have ever imagined. We have gotten so many compliments and the grandmothers are crazy for the pictures. My baby is only four weeks old and he already looks so different, so it’s so special to have those early days recorded. Definitely worth every penny; I will cherish these for a lifetime.”

Those teeny cherub lips.

Sweet little feet and tiny hands.

Squishy little cheeks.

Gorgeous daughter.

I just love the calmness of newborn sessions. The time I can take to create the image. The warmth and white noise. The time meeting the parents and hearing the mother’s birth story. Thank you to the families that choose me to photograph their new baby!

I can hardly believe it is almost March! Time is flying by! If you’re due in March, I’m happy to email you specific pricing and answer any questions you may have! Contact me for details and availability (I only accept a limited amount of sessions each month – first come, first serve). Thank you!