Sitter session with 6-month-old Maia

October is pregnancy loss awareness month. One in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage. No one knows the pain behind this statistic more than Sonya and Adrian, who have suffered seven losses.

Their consultant advised them that it was unlikely they’d become parents. With hearts full of sadness, they accepted this and decided to focus on being the best aunt and uncle they could be. They also decided to take on an adorable miniature dachshund called Peanut.

On the very day they brought Peanut home as a tiny puppy, Sonya realised she didn’t feel quite right. Adrian popped down to their local Boots to buy a pregnancy test. To their surprise, it was positive. However, the couple knew from painful experience not to get too excited just yet.

Knowing there might be a baby on the way, the couple discussed whether they should keep Peanut. They had a 14-day return period provided by the breeder, to give them a chance to check whether the puppy would fit into their home and lives. A puppy would be an extra complication with a newborn to look after, too.

Luckily for Peanut, they decided to keep her anyway. After all, they had already fallen head over heels in love with her. Every time they return to the house – even after popping to the shops – Peanut gives them a hero’s welcome on their return. That’s particularly the case for Adrian, who happily spends five minutes greeting her every time.

So Sonya and Adrian settled into puppyhood and nervously awaited an early sonograph with the consultant. The consultant told them their baby was strong and healthy. They started to become hopeful – just a little.

At 18 weeks, they paid for a private scan, to put their minds at ease once more. Again, they heard that their baby was strong and healthy. Perhaps – just perhaps – they might get to meet, keep and watch this little baby grow up?

To their absolute delight, their hope and patience was rewarded, with their baby born in March 2020. Adrian had always visualised having a daughter, and so it proved to be: the proud new parents named her Maia, and as soon as they were able to, they took her home to meet Peanut.

Peanut quickly realised she had been pushed down the pecking order. At first she growled, but after a stern word from Adrian, she capitulated and accepted her new position in the family. Since then, she’s lowered her tail, dropped her head and peered up every time Maia enters. This humble pose has done just the trick, nearly always resulting in Adrian coming over and giving Peanut some attention. 🙂

Maia’s arrival wasn’t the only change that Adrian and Sonya experienced that month. Within a few days of Maia’s birth, the country – like most of the world – went into lockdown.

So many of the newborn experiences that the couple were looking forward to – Maia meeting her grandparents, registering her name and having a newborn photoshoot with me – were suddenly no longer options, at least for the time being.

At first, they hoped that they’d be able to come in for an older newborn photoshoot. As the lockdown continued, we agreed it made more sense to postpone to a sitter session, to capture Maia’s first major milestone of learning to sit unaided.

Although it’s incredibly sad that so many new parents missed out on newborn photos, there was an unexpected benefit of photographing Maia a little older than planned. Instead of teeny toes and snoozy smiles, we captured her big grins and interactions with her two favourite people in the world: mum and dad.

So although it’s slightly later in the year than we’d all planned, I hope you’ll agree the photos are clearly worth the longer-than-expected wait – just like perfect little Maia herself 🙂

After our photoshoot, Sonya said:

“We had a lovely session with Sarah which my husband and I both agreed, was great fun! Both not being people who enjoy being in front of the camera, we couldn’t believe how comfortable and relaxed we felt during our session. Sarah is very professional but also very welcoming. Nothing was too much trouble for her, even accommodation feeding breaks for our 7 month old daughter. We really couldn’t have found a better photographer to celebrate the birth of our lovely little rainbow baby girl. Our pictures are more beautiful than we imagined and we thank Sarah from the bottom of our hearts for capturing a time in our lives that we never thought would happen.”

Sonya, sitter session client from Oxfordshire

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If you’re interested in child or family photography in 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).