Newborn photos with four-day-old Ocean

Of the many things that Amy and Dan have in common, perhaps the biggest is their mutual love of the sea. There’s nothing they enjoy more than swimming and surfing at the beach.

Amy is also particularly passionate about spending time with children. She’s been a professional nanny for eight years and has wanted a baby of her own for a long, long time. Therefore, when the couple found out they were expecting, they already knew what the perfect name would be, honouring their baby with an ode to the sea by calling her Ocean.

Amy is hoping Ocean will be as chilled out as her daddy is, and that certainly seemed to be the case during our Newborn Photoshoot. Amy’s extensive professional experience with little ones – from newborns to teens – means she’s taken to motherhood especially smoothly, with Dan already settling very well into his new role as a dad, too.

Amy’s owes her love of childcare to her mum, Michelle (pictured with Amy below), who was a professional nanny herself (and is now a fab foster mum to two sisters). One winter when she was 18 years’ old, Amy applied for several au pair roles. On Boxing Day, she got the unexpected news that she’d been offered two placements: one in Basingstoke and one in Australia.

Michelle encouraged her to go for the Basingstoke role, so she’d be closer to home and able to pop back at weekends. Michelle told me Amy’s face and reaction said it all: “Why would I go to Basingstoke?” she responded, “I’m accepting the job in Australia.”

Just three weeks later she was off to the other side of the world, and responsible for three children under five years’ old. After that placement she worked for families in the USA, Dubai and Europe, before things got serious with Dan and they decided to create a life together. Amy’s collected up her insights and experiences to help other nannies and au pairs, and you can read those on her website here.

The couple already have a Labrador called Honey, who is nine months old. They brought her home just after Amy found out she was pregnant. However, Amy’s new sensitivity to smells at the time meant she had to pull over when they were bringing the dog home due to feeling nauseous – luckily they have all gotten used to each other now!

I first met this gorgeous couple at their maternity photoshoot with me (see the photos here). At this point, both Amy and Dan were confident that their little one would arrive early, but baby decided to stay inside for another nine days past her due date. That meant that mum, dad and the grandparents were getting impatient to meet her!

Amy and Dan both love travelling and have missed it sorely this past year, but do have memories of a very special trip to Bermuda in 2019. Amy and Dan were on a clifftop near the sea one morning when Dan suggested putting his camera phone on timer on a tripod to take a picture of them enjoying their trip. Unbeknown to Amy, he’d actually put the phone on video mode. Once the phone was in place, he walked over to Amy, sank to one knee and brought out an engagement ring he’d been hiding in a pocket.

Luckily, Dan is a regular pocket-checker, so Amy hadn’t noticed he was especially anxious about keeping the ring safe, and the moment was a delightful and emotional surprise to her.

Although their wedding plans for 2020 were disrupted, waiting a little longer to get married now means they’ll have the perfect little flower girl to witness their special day. And there’s little doubt that this lovely family of three will be opting for a wedding venue with a seaside view! 🙂

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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).