Why It’s OK If You Don’t Feel Ready Yet
I remember bring my son home from the hospital. 18 hours from when labor started to when this little guy graced the world. He could have been born on any day, any day he wanted, he was born on our anniversary! Little stinker.
I remember staring at him laying on the blanket still swaddled in the tightest burrito swaddle from the hospital. I was excited beyond belief. I have this beautiful little human to love and care for. At the same time, I was terrified I’d mess it up. I called my dad and in true dad style he said, “John, as long as you keep him alive, you’re doing just fine”.
I felt excited. Exhausted.
I didn’t feel ready.
I think every parent feels this way at first.
You Can Be Ready and Not Ready at the Same Time
You did everything to prepare
You read all the books.
You bought all the latest and greatest gear. Your diaper bad is bulging at the seams
And still — this is different.
Because now it’s real.
Now it’s not theory or practice anymore. It’s real responsibility.
That doesn’t mean you’re unprepared.
It means you understand how much this matters.
The Beginning Is Bigger Than You Expected
There’s a feeling you get in those fist days that is impossible to describe. Like an endorphin or something gets released when you become a parent. I’d never felt it before in my life.
The way their little heads fit in your hands. Or the way they curl up on your chest and sleep.
The way the house is super quiet but hectic all at the same time.
You watch them sleep and think, I’m responsible for this person.
Its beautiful and humbling and overwhelming.
It’s scary and exciting at the same time. It’s okay to be scared, or nervous, it doesn’t mean you’re prepared or ready to do it.
It means you care about it more than anything.
This Is the Version of You You’ll Want to Remember
When people think about newborn photography, they usually focus on the baby — the tiny fingers, the eyelashes, the way they fit in your arms.
Those details matter.
But what matters just as much is who you were in that moment.
You were:
Alert
Protective
Learning
Deeply in love
Determined to do this well
That version of you deserves to be remembered, too.
Years from now, when you look back at your newborn photos, you won’t be thinking about whether you felt fully confident.
You’ll remember how new it all felt.
How careful you were.
How proud you were.
How much you wanted to get it right.
You Don’t Have to Feel Perfect to Preserve This
You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You don’t need to feel completely rested.
You don’t need to feel like you’ve mastered being a parent.
No one does in those early weeks.
Newborn photography isn’t about proving you’re ready.
It’s about honoring the fact that you stepped into something important — even if it felt a little bigger than you expected.
If you’re in the middle of those first days and feeling both excited and unsure, that’s normal.
If you’re considering newborn photography in Clarksburg or surrounding areas, my role isn’t to create something staged or overproduced.
It’s to preserve this time honestly — the small details, the quiet strength, and the beginning of who you’re becoming as a parent.
You don’t have to feel completely ready.
You just have to be here.
And you are.