From the tiny baby toes to the cute baby yawns, adorable Avery was only 11 days old during this at-home lifestyle newborn photo session. When I arrived at the apartment, Avery was soundly sleeping as babies do in her swing. Knowing that the baby had recently eaten and was in quite a slumber, I walked throughout the apartment to get the lay of the land, took some test photos, and then we jumped right into the photo session.

Now, as a mother of two, I know that even the best of the best laid plans can often go awry when kiddos are involved. So, that’s why I go into family photo sessions 100 percent expecting that we’ll need to go with the flow … and that’s exactly what happened during this lifestyle newborn session. The newly minted parents were so full of love and patience as they worked to calm the cries from sweet Avery. The lifestyle session was just that … a parenthood lifestyle that I loved capturing.

As mothers, we always want everything to be perfect. But, falling in love with the perfectly imperfect is one part of motherhood that I’ve learned over the years. During this photo session, Avery wanted nothing to do with outfit changes, headbands, or the camera. So, as parents do, we rolled with it. The mom said, “She’ll probably stop crying and fall asleep as soon as you leave.” But, guess what … during the last few minutes of the session, Avery fell soundly asleep and I was able to capture peaceful moments between mom and baby, in addition to the other special moments throughout the photo session.

To me, the lifestyle newborn photo session was perfectly imperfect … just the way life, and more specifically, parenthood is. I loved getting to know this family and I’m so happy they welcomed me into their home to photograph their cutie pie at only 11 days old. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the photos from the lifestyle newborn photo session with the sweet Reap family.