Newborn Photoshoot with two-week-old Janaina

Agni and Leonardo didn’t know if they were having a boy or girl but were very much hoping for a girl this time around. That’s partly to even up the household and partly because Agni didn’t like any of the names they’d shortlisted for a boy!

Luckily, little Janaina arrived, albeit in a bit of a hurry! Agni and Leonardo made it to the hospital just in time, with baby arriving 30 minutes after they did! That was at 8:30am in the morning – and they even made it home by lunchtime, too.

Of course, parents never know how their firstborn will react to having a sibling. Happily, three-year-old Ektoras is very interested in his baby sister, and loves to sing and read to her. He’s most impressed by her hair and her tiny little hands.

Indeed, when the midwife visited the day after Janaina was born, Ektoras was very insistent in telling her ‘it’s my baby!”

Janaina’s is a Brazilian Capoeira name which Leonardo told me means ‘African Goddess of the Sea’. The family have close connections with the African community in Oxford, and brought some special fabric in for their newborn photoshoot with me to celebrate this part of their lives.

Although both their families are abroad, they’ve managed to get great support by inviting Leonardo’s brother over from Brazil to stay with them for a few months. 

He is Ektoras’ Godfather as well as his uncle, and so the two of them have been enjoying spending quality time together, including many, many hours of splashing around at the local swimming pool!

That’s especially appropriate because Ektoras’ first word was water. Or, to be more specific, he said ‘Agua’ which is the Portuguese for water.

That’s because Ektoras is trilingual. His mum only speaks to him in Greek, his dad in Portuguese and everyone else speaks to him in English. Somehow he’s able to keep all these languages separate in his mind and knows which one to use at any given moment.

This lingual ability is something Janaina will also benefit from as she grows up. The family are deciding where to move to next: possibly Brazil then Greece so their children get to experience each of their cultures and further develop their language skills.

One thing’s for sure: wherever they end up, they will not be short of love or laughter. ?

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

Sarah Plater AMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional newborn and family portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

She is the Master Photographers Association Young Families Portrait Photographer of the Year 2022 and Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire).