Newborn photos with 7-week-old Eleanor

Little Eleanor arrived eight days early, in Oxford’s JR hospital, taking her parents by surprise just half an hour after they walked through the doors of the maternity ward. Eleanor’s beautiful mum, Jess, was also born in a hospital in Oxford, but her arrival took place in the Oxford in Ohio, not England.

Jess grew up in Ohio, then moved to California for five years. It was there that she met her husband, Nick. He was on a business trip, and his colleagues had gone out for the night. Normally, Nick is the life and soul of the party, but on this particular evening he decided to opt for a quiet drink at the bar instead.

Jess had been enjoying some drinks at the same bar with one of her friends, when her friend had to leave. Jess decided to stay on for one more drink, and get through a few more pages of her Game of Thrones novel. She heard Nick and his friend talk about Boulder, in Colarado (where her sister lives), and her ears pricked up. In turn, Nick noticed her reading, made a friendly comment and they started a conversation.

Something clicked, and one drink became two. They met up again the next day, and although Nick was due to fly home after that, his flight was cancelled, giving them another precious day together. This was followed by three months of long-distance Skype calls before they made a bold move: Jess would come over to England for three months. She told a few close friends, but wasn’t sure how her family would react, so kept it a secret.

Three months became six, and then there was a more permanent decision to make. They didn’t need to think too hard, because by this point they knew: they wanted to be together forever, and start a family of their own.

Three years later, and they are here with Eleanor at their newborn photoshoot with me. She quickly escapes my swaddles (just as she does at home) and spends a lot of our time together awake, looking around at each of us. I can easily see why they’ve fallen so in love with her so quickly.

Despite the distance, grandma has already travelled over to meet Eleanor. There are already seven grandsons on the American side of the family, so grandma was particularly excited to meet her first granddaughter, and fitted in a LOT of cuddles during her three-week-stay.

Nick loves Eleanor’s big, beautiful eyes, while Jess adores her tiny toes. They’ve loved the newborn stage (“Seven weeks has gone by in a whirlwind blur,” Nick tells me) but are also looking forward to when she starts interacting more.

Jess is particularly looking forward to when she starts talking, as she’s pretty sure that Eleanor is going to want daddy to buy them a Newfoundland dog. Well, ok, maybe it’s Jess that has always wanted to own this incredibly big and cuddly breed. But although Nick has resisted her request so far, it’s clear that Eleanor gets everything she wants or needs. So if Eleanor asks, just maybe… daddy will agree 🙂

The couple already have two much-loved dogs: a four-year-old Cocker Spaniel called Purdey and a two-year-old Golden Retriever called Edison. Edison has enjoyed being the baby in the family (and still thinks he’s a puppy) so wasn’t too impressed by Eleanor’s arrival. Nick and Jess told me that when they first brought Eleanor home, Edison would look away from her all the time, as though pretending she wasn’t there! After a few weeks, he eventually accepted that she was here to stay, and happily has grown to love her, too. 🙂

After our shoot, Nick and Jess said:

“Sarah was wonderful for our newborn photo shoot, she had all the time, patience and experience to handle our tiny escape artist whilst being swaddled! Sarah has captured beautiful moments of our daughter, that we will cherish for the years to come.”

Nick & Jess, newborn photography clients from Oxfordshire

If you’re interested in newborn portraits or family photography in and around Bicester, Oxfordshire, please get in contact.

Sarah Plater LMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional newborn and family portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire. She is the Master Photographers Association Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire).