M Milk Bath Maternity

Hey 2021, long time no blog!
That was lame, sorry, I rely on the fact that nobody ever reads these! So this blog was drafted in June, I haven’t blogged since Mayish of last year but I have about 30 blogs drafted so the next few weeks will be me attempting to write blogs. Fun stuff.
But at least there’s tons to say about this fun milk bath photoshoot I did with a then very pregnant Mama M!
Mama M special requested a milk bath for her rainbow baby and I’ll admit I didn’t realize just how challenging it would be.

All the maternity milk baths you see on Pinterest take place in an actual bathtub, but, I have to big as dramatic as possible and had to shoot it in an actual full length blow up pool! Now, it’s been so long ago but I’m pretty sure when we did this shoot it was about two months after that 15 day flatten the curve so all pools were either sold out or they were $80 on amazon, because everyone was stuck home with their kids and was just trying to find a way to keep them busy.
Thankfully one of my long time clients/buddies had a blow up pool available for us to use, but the only hold up was I had to drive 45m out to the country to get it, ducks had been using it so it was extra dirty, andddd there was a small hole in the side. I can’t complain at all though, I was super fortunate she was even allowing me to use it! (and she had cleaned it up quiet a bit before I picked it up so I’m really not complaining, just getting those 1000 words lol)
The pool was so big we also had to set it up outside, instead of in my home studio, and we had to keep filling it with water, because of the small leak, AND it was threatening to rain the whole time we were shooting, BUT it was well worth it though to bring our vision to life.

Mama M was and always is the most complying model and was absolutely amazing when the water started getting cold and her neck started hurting. I can’t thank her enough for going out of her comfort zone to bring both of our visions to life, and I’d say I can’t wait to meet her sweet baby girl but I’m planning her first birthday cake smash next month!

J At home newborn session

Things that happened just a month ago or so really seem like they happened a year ago at this point. Going through so many of my recent sessions I realize that even though everything still seems to be at a standstill, time has gone by insanely fast! Take this little handsome booger… after seeing some of his most recent photos his mama has shared, he doesn’t even look like the same baby anymore! This precious newborn boy now looks like a handsome full grown man and I’m so glad I was able to go over to his parents house for his newborn photos before he made the jump!

Sweet Baby J has some minor (what seems like minor now of course) hiccups when he was first born so we really hesitated on when we were going to do his newborn photos. We originally decided to wait a month to do his newborn photos but after seeing how much he changed in the first week Mama made the call to have his photos done early! I was fortunate enough that this amazing family allowed me into their home during such an insane time and despite what I can only imagine was sleep deprivation, both Mama and Papa both looked like super models and made everything so insanely easy! Baby J was such a great sleeper too, he was so well behaved through all his newborn photos and transitioned through sets with ease. We did a combination of jungle themed newborn photos and incorporated the fact that his father is a professional football player into his photoshoot but my favorite photos are definitely the family photos!

J Family Lifestyle Newborn Session

So, I talk all the time about how do my newborn sessions at my home studio or on location outdoors but did you know I’ll come to your house? Especially if your home is as cute as Mama A’s and Papa B’s! (or if you have animals as cute as theirs). If you read my last blog you'd know this, stay focused. I offer at home Newborn Family/Lifestyle Sessions and you have your choice of adding on a miniature ‘studio’ portion to that shoot and we went all out for sweet Baby M’s session!

If you didn’t know any better you would think this family was assembled by some modeling agencies for some magazine shoot to promote a product, but no. They’re just that perfect. Mama A is so exceptionally bubbly, energetic, kind, fit, and of course a knock out, which is hard to believe considering she had just given birth about 10 days before. Papa B is a funny, well rounded, very charming, handsome and talented musician from Memphis Tennessee and together, with their dogs skittles and the dogs name I can’t remember but it has something to do with Hawaii and starts with K, and their newborn daughter M, they make the most picture perfect family!

Now I’ll say this… generally Baby boys are much more relaxed throughout newborn sessions. Baby girls just have a lot more to say! However, Baby M literally didn’t make a peep our whole session and did every little pose I put her into! She spoiled me rotten. I really had to narrow down how many I was going to share because literally every image was just amazing! She also spent most of her time naked farting and stressing us all out, thinking that she was going to use the potty on Mama’s view or Papa’s guitar. Little lady held out for us though right until Papa B was trying to put her diaper back on her in the other room. Thanks Baby M, you’re a real trooper and I hope all my future little ladies are as wonderful as you were!

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Baby S Sunflower Milk Bath

Today is Mama J’s, otherwise known as Baby S, first Birthday and we’re all over here crying! I remember Mama M and I discussing her first birthday before she was born and sharing all the ideas we had for her first birthday photoshoot and Cake smash! One year later we definitely didn’t do any of them, however we’ve basically done everything else under the sun. I think she’s been on my blog, published and unpublished posts, more than anyone this year and next year we’ll be adding her baby sister B into the fix so you can expect to be heavily spammed by this family for many years to come!!!

After weeks of being torn between doing a fruit bath or a milk bath we compromised and are going to do both. Seeing as it’s August and basically Fall we decided to try and keep the florals away from the pastel realm and does it really matter what I type? Is anyone still reading? I care though, gotta hit those google keywords! Sunflowers! We decided on sunflowers and thankfully I have an abundance of fake ones and Mama M had some dollar store sunflowers she’s had for over 4 years to add to the mix! We went out to the same park we did her sisters gender reveal/pregnancy announcement and set up near the creek! J hates headbands so we were really worried about her keeping it on throughout her session but thankfully all the sunflowers and splashing around in the milk was enough to keep her distracted for about 5 minutes! Still haven’t gotten the smiling down, even after a year of modeling, but we have the smoldering down to a T! We’ll work on it next year, and hopefully next week we’ll be sharing her Cake Smash!

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E Newborn Session

I have had a few people who I started my newborn photography journey with contact me this year expecting their second child and that’s seriously the best compliment! Being a family photographer and newborn photographer has been so rewarding and the fact that there are those who started with me, when I wasn’t so good, and have continued to put their trust in me has been amazing. It’s been wonderful having them grown with me… but this one took me by COMPLETE surprise! Though Mama L and I are friends on FB I have not seen one post from here for at least a year so I completely missed this pregnancy and birth! (Even though she’s posted about it, thanks FB algorithm)  
I was lucky enough that she contacted me pretty soon after though and just a few days later she brought the Handsome Baby E to me along with his Big Sister C! I was completely taken back by how big C had gotten, how well spoken and polite she was, and the fact that she'll be 4 this year (which is actually much better than I thought because I could have sworn she was 5 and I was wondering how so much time had passed)! I think I was just in denial at how much time had passed because it makes me think of how old I actually am! I can’t tell you how wonderful it was that she was VERY big on saying thank you/yes ma’am, which is such a huge relief because it seems like we’re all sadly falling away form that! All of you who move to the south need to adapt to our manners…
Sadly Papa R couldn't make it to this session but Mama L came looking like a super model with a full nights sleep. I remember she was the same after giving birth to C, she came in full makeup, hair done, and in her Sunday best, which I can't even manage with zero kids...
Enough of my rambling, these might be some of my favorite sibling photos ever, I can't tell you how many times I said 'Oh my God' or 'Awwwwwww' during this session. Mama L told me when they got to my home studio that he had a safari themed nursery and had brought him an adorable elephant outfit to be photographed in by sadly it was slightly too big… but that gave me the chance to bring out a newborn prop I haven’t used in years!!! Last time I used the Elephant hat/doll was probably almost 4 years ago now but it has been lying in wait for this exact moment and it was so worth it!!!!

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R Maternity Session

It looks like 2019 is going to be the year of the Babe (our favorite year) at the CMP studio!!!! Though we’ve started the year out by not blogging anything, we’re very excited to share our first (blogged) Baby bump and our first, but hopefully not last, snow day photo shoot!

You would never believe it by looking at it but these sessions were literally done only one day apart from one another! It started snowing about 5am and I was texting R repeatedly at about 6am, telling her to wake up and get ready! Our original session wasn’t until the following day but we had both talked about wanting some snow photos and in Nashville you have to take it when you can get it! I’m sure she hated me in that moment and for sure hated me even more when we went out into single digit weather but it was sooooo worth it! Despite being frozen the whole time Mama R somehow managed to look like a professional model our whole session and if it was slightly warmer or the wind wasn’t blowing so hard I probably would have tried to keep her out there much longer then I did!

Annnnnnnnnnd this is the day after, about 20 degrees warmer, same location! It was still pretty fridgid out, especially when the wind blew but we couldn’t complain because it no way did it compare to the day before! Thankfully Papa E managed a little free time off of work and was able to attend our ‘real’ session.

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Baby L Newborn

This little lady came a good few weeks early but I don’t think any of us were prepared for how advance and amazing she was going to be!!! Baby L was born just days after her Mama, Brother and I did her maternity session, they keep telling me it was the day after but that just doesn’t sound right, my concept of time isn’t that bad (says the girl who takes two months to publish a blog). Mama A got her out in what seemed like minutes, sideways at that, and when she came out she cried once, and went back to sleep on her Moms chest. NICU, who was only there because she wasn’t full term, told us they needed to hear her cry more to make sure she was okay but she was already rooting in her sleep. Not much seemed to change as we did our newborn session as Baby L slept literally the whole time! I don’t remember her waking or crying once, and had a full head of hair, but if you look at her Mama and Brother (or Daddy who wasn’t present) she hit the genetic lottery!

Mama A and Papa J were high school sweet hearts and are the couple that you always hoped you’d end up being. These two have been together almost 10 years now (if not more!!!), are happily married, have a dog (most important thing), their own home, and two beautiful children… kind of makes you hate your life a little bit but they’re also a HUGE inspiration for what is possible! Big Brother L is also the most handsome guy and it’s dangerous because he knows it! He was so well behaved despite having such a big change happening so recently in his life and was such a pro at holding Baby L!

Mama A is also a friend from High School, one of the few I still associate with, and no matter how much time has passed we haven’t spoken or haven’t seen one another we’re always able to pick back up like no time has passed at all! I can’t wait to watch this perfect family grow together and I will forever envy their sweetness and beautiful children from afar!

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S Newborn Session

I think at home newborn sessions are becoming my favorite, one and most importantly... because I don't have to clean my house, you get to capture families in their true element with their newest addition, and, and, and sometimes other peoples homes have much better light than mine and it makes life sooooo much easier! Mama M & Papa D’s home had the biggest window ever and I think every newborn session I have from here on is going to be in their bedroom infant of their bay window…

I was fortunate enough to be one of the few people that got to see Ms. S after her birth as Mama had a pretty rough post labor and needed lots of recovery time! While Papa D was at work and Mama M took a cat nap on the couch Ms. S and I spent a few hours together and took some of what are I can only call, deceivingly sweet photos… I say deceivingly because this little lady would wake up every so often, look directly in my direction, and bust her arm or leg out of her swaddle, like she knew she wasn’t suppose to do that, never once looking away from me! Or when she was doing unswaddled photos I’d get her perfectly placed, pick my camera up, and all of a sudden shed stick that leg straight up in the air and just hold it there. Other than that she was the best and didn’t cry once!

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S Family Session

One of the most highly anticipated babies of this year was born a month ago and I feel it’s about time to share a sneak peek into their newborn session! After months of seeing Mama M & Papa D count down the days, showing off that big beautiful belly, and hearing all the sweet stories she’d tell me about Papa D anticipating his first born and his plans for their future, Baby S made her big debut! I was fortunate enough to be able to be a part of such an important event in their life and will never be able to put into words how much I appreciate being in the delivery room with them and being able to impose on their bonding time for newborn photos!

The birth of Baby S was so emotional and her Mama and Papa immediately became pros and acted as if this was their 5th child, parenthood just came so naturally to the both of them.

Watching Papa D in the delivery room would make any woman hate her man and see Mama M after (during and before) giving birth would make you wonder why you bothered trying to put on makeup today. These two are so dedicated to one another, I can’t wait to watch the 4 of them (including Weenie) grow over the next few years and see Baby S’s personality develop and I’m really bad at wrapping things up so if you’re still reading this… enjoy!

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Baby T 2nd Birthday Session

I can officially start marking some stuff of my bucket list and I don’t think I would or could have done this Snow White themed session with any other little lady!

E Newborn Photos

Baby E is finally here!

V Cake Smash

Today this little booger turns 18!!! Wait, no he's one, don't be deceived by his very adult face, Baby V is just one!!!! 

Following in the footsteps of his cousin L Baby V wouldn't break past the icing of his cake so we had to give him a little extra 'nudge' into 'smashing' his cake. Lets just say he was not so please at the fact that he got so messy!

A Maternity Session

M, D, & W Maternity Session

There have been an awful lot of babies born the last two months but I have to say I'm most excited for this little family to welcome their baby girl! Unlike most girls these guys know exactly when their little lady is coming so they've been counting down the days for months and it's the cutest thing!

C 6 Month Session

So now that I'm not complaining about the cold, or the rain, I can complain about the heat... I can't actually complain about the heat cause Baby C's Papa works in the blazing heat all day, but I'm still going to gripe. I always love seeing my babies grow and Ms. C and her big sisters were AWESOME, as expected. I can't imagine the grief Papa E & Mama S are going to go through when these girls get older because they've got 3 very different and lively girls all of are exceptionally gorgeous in their own ways! 

E Newborn Session

I know some pretty Kool cats but these guys are ranked up near the tiptop!!! Baby E is now about a month and a half old (see how behind I am in blogs) and is sleeping 5 hours at a time for her Mama, and just like Big Brother G, is full of smiles!!! I could shoot this family ten thousand times and never get enough photos, nor do I think I could truly capture Big Brother G's obsession with his baby sister E! Here's to many many more shoots together and lots of adorable photos of Baby E & Big Brother G! Its going to be crazy looking back in a year and seeing these photos

White Headband - IvyandNellBaby

Fox Headband - Pixie Blossoms

White Feather Headband - Pixie Blossoms

Pink Headband - IvyandNellBaby

Gender Reveal - http://www.chelseameadowsphotography.com/blog/2017/10/26/g-family-ge

Maternity Session - http://www.chelseameadowsphotography.com/blog/2018/3/9/c-family-maternity-session

G Maternity Session

Now that Mr. S is a month old I GUESS I can finally share photos from his Mamas Maternity Session...

I can no longer just call the G family children 'some of my favorite girls' because they now have a little brother! Sadly, Papa R is still greatly outnumbered... This awesome family has basically become family over the last few years and my portfolio can't contain enough photos of them! Mama J handles pregnancy along with raising three other children so gracefully, I'm in their house and just get tired watching her & Papa R wrangle everything and everyone! We picked one of the unfortunate days of being out in the cold, where the wind was blowing like crazy, but these ladies & Papa toughed it out, as always!

I Cake Smash

This new generation of kids is a handful already, they're all already 10 times prettier than any of us have ever been too, I feel bad for all you Mamas and Papas out there! Little Ms. I turned one a few weeks back but you wouldn't believe it if she was standing right next to you! This little lady is so tall and so far beyond her years already, if she had a little more hair on her pretty little head you'd think she was pushing (1)3! This girl was wonderful for her six month session so I was extra excited for her follow up, and of course so honored that Mama L came back to me to document such an important part in her life! 

After a beautiful drive out to a private lot we were able to shoot in a beautiful field of wild flowers in 70 degree weather! We had to be extra careful tiptoeing around though because we weren't allow to pick or step on the flowers and little Miss I was so well behaved and resisted the temptation! Mama L gave me creative freedom for her Cake Smash which always creates some pressure but I'm pretty pleased with our woodland themed session! 

E Family Session

I feel super bad for Papa M, not only because he wasn't able to come to our super fun girls only photo shoot BUT he has three beautiful girls he's always going to have to be on the lookout for. Not only are his girls going to be knockouts but Mama B is... well, we'll just say Papa M is super lucky to have her! S & H are also going to have to worry about bringing their future boyfriends over because it could easily end up like a Stacey's Mom situation... and also their girlfriends because Papa M is also going to be 'The Hot Dad' and their friends will be looking for excuses to come over! 

These ladies are always so amazingly fun to work with. Mama B & I talk like we've been best friends for our whole lives, never an awkward moment, H is too terribly smart for her own good, like seriously... she's scary smart, and S is soooo tender and sweet she actually makes me consider wanting a girl! I've been dying to share their images and what better day to do it than S's First Birthday!!!

C Family Maternity Session

The best thing about starting your day early is you get to call dibs, which includes waterfalls! We didn't start our day too early, we got to our location at 9, but we still had dibs!!!!After trying to plan a snow maternity session out of state for weeks we had a random heat wave, in-between the days were it was 20 degrees out, and the location we were looking at was a no go. Fearing we were running out of time we found the best alternative! 

B picked out one of our 'Glamour Packages' at CMP which gave us aaaaaaaall day to play! After deciding last second we were going to shoot we picked out a new location literally 10 hours before our shoot and headed out early the next morning! Neither of us had obviously ever been to this location and the last time I visited a location without exploring it first did not go well... so I didn't have high hopes with my very pregnant lady friend and her very small child (Dad came along later at another location!) however this might have been the easiest fall that I have ever accessed! Literally had a paved trail to it and a nice little bench for G to sit on while I photographed his Mama, that is when he wasn't throwing rocks in the water (he's got a good arm on him too, he made lots of rocks skip!)

Mama B knew exactly what she wanted from her session and did everything she could to help make it everything she had envisioned!  She also went way out of her way to do everything I asked and somehow made it ten times better! She knelt in mud and pricklies, changed 80 times, laughed at all my bad jokes, but most importantly, she did not slip and fall... Working with her & Papa K was like working with very old friends, the hour car ride was spent telling stories and discussing the best horror movies, poking fun at each other in ways I wouldn't dare do to friends that I've known for years, there was never a silent or awkward moment between us! We text each other basically every day now, she's even on my meme list! I could sit here and gush over how great they are and how badly I want to steal their son but I'll save that for their newborn blog!