I have enjoyed working with these amazing families and enjoyed them so much I will be doing this again come Summer (more than likely) but with breast feeding.  Because really Filled With Love is all about showing the love between babies and their family.  How they eat maybe different the love they receive while eating is no different.
I love the connection and emotion of it all!
I love having the opportunity to just photograph what my heart is in the mood to
It’s for the love of the actual art of photography…not the money.
I highly suggest every artist do such things from time to time…it does and artist good!

Moving onto today’s little cutie!

Olivia is a complete doll baby!

Remember to view it in all it’s beauty I highly recommend hitting the little  circle in the bottom right hand corner with the arrows.   That will bring it full screen

Favorites!  Such a love hate relationship with telling my favorite…
Love getting to show why I love an image…
Hate having to pick only a few…lol!

Ok I know this one is totally WRONG coming from a photographers view.  The head is cut off the angle is all wrong….
But something about it…I love.
Maybe just that little look like “I see you down there you silly woman….”
The little toothies…
The little toesies…
The little wispy hair with a toy randomly thrown to the side….
Just such a cutie!

and then the “shy” baby pose…

but back to it….

Oh and the sweet mommy hugs….
Who doesn’t love getting baby hugs?

and hairy twirling….
I love hair twirling babies.
I have known a few in my day and its just so sweet!

Well I think that about sums up the final session.
I have so enjoyed these.
I hope this series has helped show that bottle fed babies are indeed every bit as loved…
bonded with their families….
and as happy as any other baby that has the love of their family.

Remember….next time you see a mama feeding her baby with whatever method..
She is doing the best she can.
Take a second and just give her a smile.
Smiles go along way in this world

Shall I ramble into today’s Filled With Love session?
The lovely Bennett family…
As I was editing these I was flashing back to those first few months with just Adam.
The love and attention you can give to that first…
It never happens quite the same with the following children.
That first is always just a bit special….
Now don’t get me wrong….ALL of my children are equally “special” to me…but that first baby is the one that makes you “become a mom”.
They form you and they teach you to be this woman you never knew you could be.
I remember hours upon hours spent rocking Adam and singing to him.
Long walks and endless cuddling.
Poor Haley and Lucas….they of course got those things but they are always shortened really.
Gone are the days of spending hours rocking in a chair…
After all you have other children demanding your time as well.

Working with Ashley and her sweet little fella just had me remembering how magical it really all is…
this thing called “motherhood”.
Heck…”parenthood”…it changes you.
It just does.

How about some more sweet images?

Favorites…
Oh this fella was adorable and I have to say I LOVE the ones in the kitchen the best..
I love that I am not the only mama putting babies in bumbos on the kitchen counter
Lucas has moved onto a chair attached to the table but I just love the babies in the bumbo’s!

I love the interaction they were having…

Happy happy happy….
Love the shirt

and then the sweet way all these babies hold hands with their loved one…
I love that…

Well that sums up today…
Onto tomorrow…The Schettino Family

Then it is back to business as usual around this joint…
Ok well maybe it’s the same old same old around here at that point but I have some things to share and get caught up on towards the end of this week…
Like Lucas’s 5 month sessions and his first snow…
My new love of kale chips (thanks Mag’s!)
and other various day to day ramblings…
until then though…
Back to another sweet Filled With Love session!

The Balagots….
A few years back I photographed Laurence’s, sister’s wedding.  It was such a fun wedding and his family was one of my favorites immediately!   We laughed and had a great time the whole day.  I love working with families that the love for one another is wide open to be shared with the world…completely contagious…
I knew I would love his family when the limo driver never showed for April and she was like “Let’s just pile in the mini van…”  never missing a beat and no dramatic melt downs…(at least not that we saw)  Always the sign of  an amazing family!

When Laurence said he would love for his new baby to be in on the action I was like “Heck yes!”
I mean this kiddo is CUTE!

I know you wanna see some more….

Remember to view it in all it’s beauty I highly recommend hitting the little  circle in the bottom right hand corner with the arrows.   That will bring it full screen
 hmmm…..favorites.
I was in love love love with Bryson’s room…
I was like “Bryson you are so lucky…Lucas has paint on his walls…that’s about it!” ….
(poor Lucas is in the middle of being the third child…decorating got bumped to the bottom of the “to do” list. )

but Bryson’s…Oh I love the blues!

but of course my actual favorite images are of Laurence cuddling with little Bryson…
I have to say the great thing about bottle feeding is that others get to bond and have that closeness to baby too…

and that little smile…such a sweet little fella!

Love it!
Actually love them all!

Well onto tomorrow….
Next up The Bennett family!

I suppose it didn’t help that she had just had a birthday party….and it was that time of the day when naps are not far off.
Did I mention her baby sis Kate had been very fussy for weeks?
Poor mom and dad….
Nothing is tougher than those first few years with 2 babies in the house.
I would know….
Daryl and I survived Adam and Haley being 22 months apart and it was hands down one of the toughest jobs we ever took on.

Worth it…but hard hard work.
We always say that when Haley hit about two we all of a sudden realized the birds were still singing and the sun was still rising and setting.
We had just been head down in the work of raising little ones.

Here is the thing…
I have never…ever gone into a home or to a session with a 2 year old and not had them give me some level of this…

THIS is 100% normal for a little one…
It doesn’t fluster me in the slightest because I know to give them 5-10 minutes and it they will calm down and gather themselves…

Did I mention yet that Claire was one of my little POH babies?

I think one of my favorite parts of this image series is getting to visit with so many of my past POH babies and see the miracles they continue to be….
But now she is the “big sister!”
Check out adorable little Kate!

Remember to view it in all it’s beauty I highly recommend hitting the little  circle in the bottom right hand corner with the arrows.   That will bring it full screen

Favorites?
Let’s see…..another tough one!

These two…

I love that little pouty look…
So tough being a new big sis…

and then that look…
Love the way Kate is like “What the heck are you doing lady?”

Well…onto tomorrow….
Up next the Balagot Family!

If you have followed my studio work for sometime you will probably remember that both Lauren and Gabby are very special miracles.
Any family who has had a Pictures Of Hope session with me has Brenda to thank for it.
She was the one who got me in contact back in the day with the March of Dimes folks out at Henrico Doctors Hospital.
I think what I love about Brenda and Matt is they have to be two of the most down to earth, good old fashioned nice people.
I love that we have been able to get to know each other beyond photographer/client relationship over the years…
In return, as always, it shows in the pictures I take for them.

Lauren is used to me and I really think that when children are used to having me photograph them they just act like themselves.
It comes right out in the pictures….
They are just always relaxed and fun images that show how stinking cute these girls are

Two babies that you would never know by looking at them the battles they have fought.
These two little girls humble me…
and amaze me.
True miracles.

Onto the gallery…
Remember to view it in all it’s beauty I highly recommend hitting the little  circle in the bottom right hand corner with the arrows.   That will bring it full screen

So favorites…I am growing to dread this part because it is so hard to choose!
But I shall give it a shot

Lou….oh how I love Lou.
When Lou dies I know…for sure…without a doubt…I will cry.
This dog is fantastic!
Lou and I go way back…

We’re pals…
He is just that soulful old dog…

and then there is of course Lauren…
I heart Lauren…
She is sass with a touch of frass…
A big ball of love.  I will never forget how excited she was when I came to visit Gabby in the hospital.
She acted like I was her long lost bff…and we had a good old time.
Cuteness really doesn’t define this ball of energy and love…

and off she goes…
Have to admit…that chair is perfect for bouncing off of…funnest chair in town!

I shall title this one “Be the Barbie…”

OH and then the “I’m gonna bounce on sissy” images…
“Lauren your not gonna bounce on poor sissy are you?”

 ”No….”
Insert face that makes me think…uhmmm I am not so sure about that…

I swear Gabby escaped the wrath of “the threatened sissy bounce” this time..
But she is the little sister…I am sure it is nothing more than a temporary reprieve.
Tis the life of being the youngest…I would know..
I am the little sister in my family

Hope everyone is enjoying all of these fun sessions as much as I have enjoyed working with these sweet families!
Tomorrow…onto the Francis family!

Have you ever met someone who you seem to have the same taste in things?
It goes like this…
Megan is a fella photographer (very talented gal) so we have been FB friends and known of each other for some time now.  Throughout our pregnancies we started gabbing on Twitter and getting to know each other better.  Our boys are born about 2 months apart….

Once the boys were born we started to realize that we have the same taste in…just about everything…lol
She will post a picture of something Eli is doing and I almost always have to say “Hey Lucas has that!”
Or I will post a picture of Lucas and she will add in a “Eli has that too!”
It became apparent very fast that we have alot in common.
It was about time we finally got to meet and get to know each other for real and become friends.

I love actually getting to know people for real…in person…and finding out they are someone you actually have a ton in common with!
I am so thankful for the pictures she took of Lucas and I as well!  So nice to finally have some beautiful images with my little guy that include me!
I am sure we will be meeting up again and swapping out sessions with our little guys

But for now…
time to share her beautiful images with Eli!

and now for the hard part…
Picking a few favorites…

I have to start with hand holding…
I absolutely love that in almost ALL of the FWL sessions babies love to hold hands.

I absolutely love those sweet little fingers wrapped around mamas hand
Almost like a “I am soooo glad you are here with me…don’t go anywhere please.”

and then the eyes!
This boy has some killer eyes…

and the “pass out”…
Nothing sweeter than an adorable little babies dead weight as they fall into that deep…
“I am full!” sleep…

Well that sums up today!
Hope you guys are enjoying these fun sessions as much as I have enjoyed shooting them
Tomorrow…onto the Conley family!

Sweet Sophie was one of my Pictures of Hope babies back a few years ago…
She was such a cute little doll baby herself!

but guess who is a big sister now?!?!
Sophia!
She now has a little sister…Emmy!
Every bit as cute as her big sister!

Without further ado…
A peek at there sweet moments…

So my favorite part of this session?
Hands down the love between the sisters…something special about sisters.
Somedays I am sure they will hate each other but most days there will always be the love between sisters…
Hard to pick favorites but if you forced me too…

Love love love their sweet little hands helping hold the bottle…
Teamwork.

and then the dog…
This dog has personality…
I would have gladly taken him right on home with me!

and then the kiss…
Oh I LOVE the kiss!!

I could go on and on and on…
Cause I love them all!

So until tomorrow….
Up next…
The Garrison Family

Lexi…oh sweet Lexi!

I was lucky enough, years ago to be the lovely Tiffani’s second shooter for Lexi’s wedding.
Such a beautiful and fun day!
I have loved getting to know Lexi better over the years and watching her family grow.
I now call her friend.
She has even found her own love of photography….no wonder I like her so much

I had so much fun finally meeting her youngest little fella a few weeks ago…
Such a cutie!!
Going to give you a tip on watching the slideshow…see that little circle button with arrows in each corner?
Hit that to make the slideshow pop to full size images…I love that…

So which image is my favorite from this session?
So hard to narrow that down!
It is between a few…

Love his sweet blue eyes in this one…
and the lipstick…love the mama lipstick on the cheek …
totally makes me smile

and then these two…
Just make me go “awe!!!!!”

and then this one…
love that he was totally mesmerized by his mama

Up tomorrow…The Barret Family

In a perfect world I would have kept nursing Lucas…but in reality there were real underlying health/hormone reasons why it just wasn’t ever going to work for us.
The reality is he is happy, healthy and growing just fine on formula.
Is it the perfect choice?
No.
Do I feel lucky to have a choice and options?
Yes.
Many mothers in the world just aren’t so lucky.

As I researched it a bit more I found that I could google “nursing mother photography series” and come up with pages upon pages of artist who had taken the time to  take some beautiful images of mother’s nursing their babies.
I too love these images.
I love the emotion and sweetness behind the mother and baby…
The bonding…
Those little smiles they give you when you are nursing…
Yes…I totally love those images.
It is not the nursing though that I love..
It’s all about the connection between the mother and baby that the image captures.
The everyday…lots of times a day…bonding time.

After my post I googled “bottle feeding photography series” and “formula feeding photography series” and about a million other variations.
What did I find?
Some stock images for advertising…
And debate.
Always the debate….
“Breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding”
Enough already…we get it.
The message is loud and clear.  Something about a mother opting to give her child a bottle is somehow taboo these days.
Smack me silly…never saw that coming 10 years ago.

When I had Adam I could openly feed him a bottle without fear of any on looker rude comments or judgement.
So not the case now.  I am the first to admit if Lucas is hungry I will probably feed him his bottle in a car or somewhere private just the same as when we were nursing.
Why?
Because I have no desire to field the questions and judgement.
Just easier to have some peace and find a quiet spot unless we are desperate.
Still blows my mind that those are the same reason I always did the same while nursing.
Goes to show that mothers with babies these days are in a hard position.

They have just about judged each other into these horrid corners…
Breastfeed vs. Bottle
WAHM vs. SAHM
I could go on….do these woman not have a life?
What happened to being a supportive village?

Well I for one decided that the best way to change these stereotypes and judgement calls is to tackle them head on.
Perhaps onlookers have only heard the breastfeeding advocates talking points?
We all know them so no need for me to go over all of them BUT there is one that gets me ticked…
I mean really ticked.
The idea that breastfeeding mothers have some special attachment to their babies that bottle fed mothers and babies do not.
I stand by this fact….I have done both.
Normally the above statement will come from someone who has never even held a bottle…
Or a man who will NEVER be a mother and has no clue.
It is all straight up misinformation.
Straight up good old fashioned B.S.

I have three….I have attachment parented all three…well before “attachment parenting” was a hip and trendy buzz word.
Never have I felt that I was any less attached to my bottle fed babes than I was to my nursed for much longer time babes.
Love is love.

I had had enough…
Time to not just talk about how much bottle feeding families love their babies just the same as breastfeeding mama’s but…
Time to show it.
See photojournalism has my heart.
I have a passion for the mundane day to day activities we families do.
I love capturing everything….
the basic comings and goings of daily family life.
It is beautiful you know.

Over the last month I have taken the time to start photographing some of the most loving families who happen to be bottle feeding.
When I put the call out on Facebook I wondered if anyone would be interested.
Was it just me?  Am I the only one who feels this way?
The only one interested in trying to change some stereotypes one family session at a time?
Is it possible that what you chose to feed your baby isn’t as important as the what you do while you are feeding the baby?
These brave families signed up and I have to say…
They amazed me.

All had stories…
Stories of love…
Guilt…
Struggles with nursing…
Reasons….real reasons…why nursing didn’t work for them…
Being judged and the harsh harsh words spoken by others…
New beginnings…
Battles hard fought….

I came away from these sessions knowing that if I can make one person smile at a mama feeding her baby a bottle in public one day that this series will be worth it.
This image series isn’t about “Breastfeeding vs. Bottlefeeding”.
This series is about finding a way to not sit in judgement of another mother.
Of realizing that parenting is tough enough.
Why must me make it even harder on each other by making it some sort of sick competition?
No need for comments or posts going on and on about why breastfeeding is so much better.
No this isn’t about “better” this is about “here I am…take me or leave me this is my reality.  I have my reasons.”.

Am I going to share each families reasons?
No.
Why?
Because it really isn’t anyone else business “why”.
This is about the love…
connection…
cuddling…
daily life…the good and the bad….
the chaos…
the survival…
of each of these sweet families.
I ask that you know that they are kindof to let me share a glimpse into their day to day…
Amazing families.

Each day I will share one family and their sweet images.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
As I sat up finishing the editing last night I found myself laughing at some of the images and then five seconds later getting teary at other images….
Emotions….I thrive off of capturing emotion and story.

I shall start with my own images of Lucas and I.
Fair is fair after all…
Wouldn’t have been right for me to not share Lucas and I’s time.
My friend Megan…amazing Megan…that is a whole other post to come very soon
I can’t thank her enough for taking the time to take our images.
God Bless her!
I am a terrible subject to photograph….I am much better hiding behind the camera.

Lucas and I have a routine…it’s called “fake booby”…
Yes, I know….very classy.
But we nursed for months so really taking on the “nursing pose” is really just a natural thing for us.
Often “fake booby” is the only way we can get him to bed at night…he just needs his mama time

We cuddle and talk…
He smiles at me and I make silly faces back…

I stare at him often and notice things like…
His hair is turning either blond or red or both?
His eyes are turning my dad’s pale pale blue…
Definitely not going to be Daryl’s brown….
 We practice new skills…
Like holding the bottle and playing with the bottle…which by the way seems to make a fantastic toy he thinks…

Yep…I definitely don’t feel like I love him any less than when I nursed him.
Actually…if it’s even possible…I love him more and more everyday

Tomorrow…
The Jones crew
and each day this week I will add in another family.

And when it is all said and done….
I may just have to take the Spring and do a nursing mama series because I love those images as well…
It’s about the love.

Do you know that now they even have fancy “baby food makers”?
These gadgets steam the food and then they are attached to food processors and have all these little cute containers to save the food in.
Me?
Am I spending the big bucks for the fancy $100+ baby food making machines?

Nope.
Sorry.
I will of course still make my own baby food but it looks more like this…

See sometimes “simple” just makes me happy.
This fancy fork pictured above…takes up so much less room.
The same steam pot I use for the adult steamed veggies works perfectly for baby food…
Or even just roasting on a pan works just fine…

Did you know canning jars work just fine for storing those steamed veggies?
Or even recycled baby food jars?
Or maybe some tupperware…
Or a bowl with plastic wrap…

Yep they all work….
Ice cube tray to freeze cubes of food…pop them out and store them in the above containers…
Work great too.

So why is this post under “finding happy”?
Because sometimes doing things the simple old fashioned way…
No fancy gadgets…
Actually makes me pretty happy