Older newborn photos with Jade, Craig and Bellamy

“Am I really going to be a nanny?” Craig’s mum, Sue, asked incredulously.

The family had met up between lockdowns in summer last year, hosting a small garden party for Sue’s birthday. Craig and Jade had bought a hamper as a birthday present, filling it with gifts and – at the bottom – a very special card.

Sue unwrapped each present in turn, admiring each item as it was revealed. Then she got to the card.

“Happy birthday, from your grandson,” it said. She read it several times before she asked her question: “Am I really going to be a nanny?”. It was the best birthday gift she could’ve gotten.

Craig and Jade never assumed they would have children: it wouldn’t be the default option for them, but something they’d do only if it felt like the right next step. Sue was aware of how they felt, and gracefully accepted that she was therefore unlikely to have grandchildren.

Jade had ticked off the biggest item on her to-do list – trekking across Machu Pichu – and the couple had good, stable jobs. 2021 would be their tenth year together as a couple. Suddenly, the time felt right.

Craig booked tickets for Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe Theatre for Jade’s birthday. Before the show started, the children in the audience were invited onstage to help smash a piñata. Craig looked on, imagining leading his own little one up those steps.

Then, on a snowboarding holiday, the couple watched as parents helped their children to get to grips with balancing on their boards, gradually building up to moving across the snow faster and faster as the children gained confidence.

Soon enough, the couple found out they were expecting, and got straight to the job of shortlisting names. They quickly had a lot of ideas for a little girl, but just lots of names they didn’t like for a boy. When they found out they definitely were having a boy, they upped the ante. They wanted something special and uncommon, but not hard to spell or pronounce.

Jade had loved watching the 2014 TV show The 100, which featured a character called Bellamy, and suggested that name as an option. The couple shortlisted it along with ‘Quinn’ and decided in the end to go for ‘Bellamy Quinn’.

Bellamy was born in January after a dramatic labour and birth. Jade had originally booked a newborn photoshoot with me for later that month, but of course due to lockdown we had to wait until April instead.

Although he’s a lot bigger and more alert than he was as a newborn baby, having a photoshoot with him at three months’ old meant that he’s now mastered a superb smile, which he was keen to show off:

And with a smile this gorgeous, I can see why his nanny (and the rest of the family!) are so utterly besotted with him 🙂

After our photoshoot, Jade said:

“We had an amazing experience with Sarah from start to finish for our newborn photoshoot. The photos have captured amazing moments and are of an exceptional quality. I would highly recommend Sarah!”

Jade, newborn photography client from Fewcott, 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).