Towards the end of last year we found out that Xuan, my fiancé, was pregnant. For all couples this is such a joyous occasion but when you find out around Christmas time it gives you that extra buzz. It meant that as expecting parents, 2015 would be filled with high anticipation and all the good things that a new baby would bring. It also gave me a fantastic opportunity to document Xuan’s pregnancy using a varied style of maternity photos.

Storytelling with Maternity Photos

The great thing about being a photographer and a dad-to-be is that you get to document all the amazing things that happen along the way – the expanding belly, preparations, raw emotions, family etc. I have included a few selected photos in this article to highlight our journey.

Should you find out the sex of your baby?

Thankfully, Xuan’s pregnancy was relatively trouble free. The only issue we faced was arguing over whether we were going to find out the sex of the baby.

13 week scan. Boy or Girl?

Xuan wanted to know. After all she said, there was so much planning to be done – the colour of the nursery, the colour of the clothes that they would wear in that first few months, what will she/he wear home from the hospital, our friends need to know so that they can buy the appropriate gifts and don’t forget the colour of the nappies!

Me: “Uhm, can’t the baby just wear neutral colours?”

Apparently not!

19 weeks pregnant

19 weeks pregnant: 87cm

One reason why I didn’t want to find out was because I thought part of the excitement would be gone. I can remember with my son Jesse, that a big part of the build up to his birth was not knowing what sex he would be. So when he was born the first thing I looked for was for any dangly bits. I was hoping for a boy so this made it extra special.

In the end I agreed to Xuan’s wishes.

So did finding out make a difference? Well I would say yes. The anticipation and uncertainty was gone but it was replaced with new feelings of excitement, hopes, wishes and dreams for our baby.

So you’re probably wondering by now whether we were having a boy or girl?

Well so was Jesse!

Sibling Rivalry?

When I first told Jesse he was going to have a sibling he was a bit sad and had a lot of doubts. After all he had been the center of attention for 11 years. I asked him whether he would like a baby brother or sister. He said brother.

“Dad, I can teach him to play football and cricket” he said.

So when the time came to tell him that his new baby brother would actually be a baby sister he was quiet for a bit and then said philosophically “That’s OK, I think. At least she won’t wreck my Lego and other toys.” I had to remind him that girls like Lego too!

It’s Important To Document Your Journey Throughout Your Pregnancy

…whether through taking maternity photos or recording your thoughts and feelings in a written journal. Along the way there was plenty of ‘nesting’ going on that added to the excitement. Painting of cots, hanging of curtains and murals in the nursery…

Nesting. Painting the cot white.

Avoiding those nasty fumes

34 weeks

39 week belly. 100cm

…and we even managed to fit in a maternity photo shoot too! Keep scrolling to see a selection of the images.

I continued to document the pregnancy all the way up until our little daughter was born. This was something I didn’t do with Jesse. Child birth photography is something I haven’t done with any clients and I probably don’t expect to in the future either as that genre of photography is mainly the domain of female photographers.

But in this instance it was a great experience and the images I captured are a wonderful reminder of the events that unfolded during labour.  I am still ‘negotiating’ with Xuan if she will allow me to show some not too graphic images in a future article.

I highly recommend parents consider hiring a professional to photograph this occasion. Trust me you will not regret it.

Document the Story of Your Pregnancy

If you like the thought of documenting your pregnancy a little more comprehensively, then our Family Life Photography Sessions might interest you. When expecting mums come to our studio for maternity photography we obviously only have a limited amount of time to capture the magic of pregnancy. A Family Life Photography Session allows a lot more freedom and time to tell your story in the comfort of your own home or out and about doing what you love doing with family. To find out more click here.

Thank you for reading…and stay tuned for more images, this time of our baby girl.

Warren