I’m sure many of you have read the recent Huffington Post article about moms staying in the picture. If you haven’t read it yet, click on over and check it out. But grab a tissue; it might make you teary eyed as you think about how quickly your baby will grow up!
Until I read this article, it didn’t fully register with me how much I have shied away from the camera since having Baby H. And it’s always with the same excuse: my hair looks bad, I have dark circles under my eyes, I just flat out don’t like how I look.
For me, this isn’t necessarily a symptom of being a busy working mom who feels like she never looks her best. I’ve never felt particularly photogenic and am never the first one to pose in front of the camera. Which is ironic, of course, as Mr. H makes his living taking pictures. I have the perfect opportunity to be Mr. H’s test model for a million pictures whenever I want, and yet I always hide from the camera.
I thought after having Baby H this would all change. I wouldn’t care how I looked in photos because I’d be so happy to be with my sweet baby girl in the picture! As it turns out, I just make sure we get plenty of pictures of Baby H. But just of Baby H by herself.
This definitely needs to change. Now. I want to be more in the moment with her and have the photographic evidence that I was with her and snuggling with her every step of the way. Taking pictures of her is great, but taking pictures with her is a million times better.
So, I’ve decided to challenge myself and maybe it’s a challenge you can take on as well! I’m committing to taking a photo a day for 30 days of Baby H and me together. And there will be no primping for the camera, no taking a million shots until I get one I like. It will just be her and me together. Simple pictures taken with my cell phone.
Not only am I excited to see the end result – 30 daily photos of her and me together – but my hope is that this will get me into the habit of taking pictures of us together, anytime and anywhere. And maybe I’ll do more than 30 straight days. Maybe 60 or 90 or a full year! But we’ll just start with 30 and see where it goes.
Here’s my photo from Day #1. I can’t wait to share 29 more photos with you!
Are you good at getting in the picture with your LO? If not, have you thought about making changes capture more moments of you together?
Hellobee Series: Mrs. Hopscotch part 10 of 12
1. Going Au Naturale by Mrs. Hopscotch2. The Journey to Baby H by Mrs. Hopscotch
3. A Nursery… Pouf! by Mrs. Hopscotch
4. A Work At Home Dad by Mrs. Hopscotch
5. Big Reveal: Baby H’s Nursery! by Mrs. Hopscotch
6. A Day with a Newborn by Mrs. Hopscotch
7. Placenta Encapsulation by Mrs. Hopscotch
8. The Nanny Share by Mrs. Hopscotch
9. Reflections on Maternity Leave by Mrs. Hopscotch
10. In the picture by Mrs. Hopscotch
11. I’m in the picture! by Mrs. Hopscotch
12. Sleep at 8 months & How Baby H Started Sleeping Through the Night at 12 Weeks by Mrs. Hopscotch
nectarine / 2323 posts
I love this! I’ve seen daily photos of babies, but daily photos of mama + baby is even better.
clementine / 803 posts
wow. I have been snooping all day because I have been too lazy to log in and comment – however I HAD TO LOG in for this.
SOOOO touching. Thank you for posting this! I will join your challenge!
hostess / pineapple / 12501 posts
I might take one photo with DD every few months because I don’t like the way I look. It is very sad, but I don’t think I am brave enough to take one every day. Bravo that you are doing it!
hostess / hostess with the mostess / 21137 posts
I hate the way I look right now.. But try to take pics of me and dd almost daily on my phone. :)
admin / honeydew / 8469 posts
i’m sooo guilty of this. but i took a picture of myself with the kids today! (ok we had a family photoshoot)
hostess / wonderful pumpkin / 17565 posts
Such a cute picture! I take daily pictures of lo, but not with me. I take family pictures at special occasions or if we’re at the beach or somewhere nice, probably monthly. I used to never get in pictures just me and her, but I’ve been getting better about it because I want to be a part of the memories!
blogger / pomegranate / 3175 posts
I read that article and it really struck a chord! I rarely have any photos with the LO as it is because I’m usually the one behind the camera, but even the pics I do have of her… I always want to press the delete button. After reading that article, I had the same sentiments as you – I have been intentionally trying to get in as many photos WITH her as possible regardless of how I feel about the way I look.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 5604 posts
wow i’m totally sniffling. i need to start taking pics with my babies.
cherry / 122 posts
I love this challenge! We are so busy everyday and we focus on what baby is doing, rather than the moments together.
olive / 89 posts
This post came at the perfect time! Most of my photos look like this: http://vivnmatt.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-oc.html
We’re on vacation right now and today my husband forced me to take a picture with my LO. I was reluctant and then I made him take it 3 more times until I thought I looked somewhat decent. I’m definitely going to make more of an effort to get in the picture! Thanks!
persimmon / 1462 posts
I saw this article too! I am always complaining to DH that there are so many pics of him with DD and none of me and her. He always reminds me that I never let him or I just complain about the picture or make him delete it :( I am totally up for this challenge!
apricot / 442 posts
Wow, that is truly an amazing article. I definitely teared up while reading it. I have TONS of pictures of my little girl and quite a few of her and my husband but only a few of her and I. I want to make this my new goal as well. I know first hand how is ends up if you don’t too. My mother passed away when I was 12. She absolutely HATED pictures and that is why I only have two in my house with her. TWO. I want my daughter to have more than that to look back on. Thank you so much for sharing this and your adorable photo!
hostess / grapefruit / 4444 posts
Thank you for this – totally teared up. I keep wanting more pictures of me with my baby but I think I look awful w/o makeup or my hair done. I keep telling DH to get more pictures of me and DD but I know it really falls back on me. I’m definitely going to try to get in the picture more, whether I’m done up or not.
GOLD / grapefruit / 4277 posts
I’ll head over and read the article shortly. I’ve definitely been trying to take more pics of me and DD and REALLY need to get more of me & DS.
What I’d REALLY like is having pictures of us that I’M not taking (since I can only get pretty much one angle and not really doing anything)… it seems that I’m the only one that ever even thinks of picking up the camera. =( I should tell DH to get on it! lol
blogger / cherry / 182 posts
I too was really feeling like I had no pictures of Baby T with me. If I was in a photo, I cringed at how messy and tired I looked. For a present to myself, I got my hair cut, make-up applied and had a friend take photos of us. I LOVE them!! What’s best, they completely show how much in love I am with him and how funny he thinks I am right now.
guest
Love this article! I own a family portrait studio with two locations (we photograph about 900 families a year) and we are always encouraging mom to be in the photo. I think a lot of them hesitate because they aren’t at that ‘perfect place’ they envisioned after having kids but it’s always great to remember how much you love looking at the photos of you and your mom from when you were little! Kids love seeing their parents in photos. A good photographer will also be able to make sure any little imperfections are hidden with good lighting and angles, especially for new moms.
GOLD / pear / 1668 posts
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I wonder if someday my LO will look through her baby photos and wonder why her mom wasn’t in any of them. I’m going to start this challenge tomorrow. thank you for posting this!
GOLD / nectarine / 2303 posts
I so need to do this challenge! I hardly have any pics with LO and myself, not bc I shy away from camera but bc I usually forget or there is no one around to take pics of us. I’m usually the one snapping pics.
The REALLY upsetting part is that I don’t have ONE single photo of LO and myself from birth. plenty of him by himself, not even a family snapshot :( makes me so sad!!!
hostess / honeydew / 8997 posts
Love the article and the challenge, I’m going to try and be really conscious of this once LO gets here!
GOLD / honeydew / 8204 posts
I am usually the one taking the photos and thats why I’m not always in them, I didn’t really have any decent ones of us in the first month of her life. but that has improved now
blogger / cherry / 201 posts
Thank you all for you comments! I hope you’re all enjoying taking more pictures with your LO’s like I am. Baby H and I are having fun with our daily snapshots. They’re horribly composed, at funny angles and I’m often with no makeup on…and I love them! What a great reminder for all of us to document are days with our babies!
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@mrsaudi: I am in the same boat. We only have one picture of me, Baby H and Mr. H at the hospital after she was born. And it was taken at such a weird angle I look like I have 3 chins. I know I should get over it but it’s such an awful picture that I just can’t get past it and show anyone. Other than that, the only other pictures we have from the hospital are ones of the baby by herself. It makes me *so* very sad that there are no pictures of her and I snuggling together. It’s a good reminder that for Baby #2 (one day in the distant future!) we have plenty of pictures of all of us at the hospital!
blogger / kiwi / 673 posts
Loved that article!
GOLD / honeydew / 8477 posts
Such a cute picture of you two, and yay for more pictures with your LO instead of just your LO!
guest
I love this idea! Good for you! That article brought tears to my eyes and I shared it with many of the mamas in my life. Cant wait to see all the pictures you share :-)