My Top 4 Advice to Pregnant Moms and those with Newborns

There are two things that people tell us whenever they see our family taking photos:
1) "Tine-train niyo ba 'yung anak ninyo maging model o artista?"
(Are you training your daughter to become a model or an actress?)

2) "Magiging model 'yan paglaki."
(She'll become a model when she grows up.)

And although these are really nice and flattering compliments, my reason behind having constant photo shoots is neither of the two. Instead, here's what I tell them: "Gusto ko may binabalik-balikan ako kasi ang bilis niya lumaki." (I want to have photos to look at to reminisce because she grows up so fast)

This is nothing new to us. Marvin and I have always been addicted to taking photos even before we had our daughter. Hence, having so many photos uploaded in this blog. So when Summer was born, our interest automatically shifted to baby photography.

Summer loves looking at this photo and telling us that her mommy and daddy were hugging her while she was inside mommy's tummy

Taken when she was just a few minutes old yet already camera-ready

Had a photo shoot in a studio when she was just 14 days old

And then we would DIY her monthly birth photos on our own!

Baby flatlay on top of our bed

Yup, DIY

Pre-birthday shoot for her 1st birthday

And the rest is history! Now, we're gravitating towards twinning photos and it's still the best decision ever.

So here's my top 4 advice to preggo mommas and those with newborns:


1) Invest in that camera or camera phone that you've been eyeing for.


Take tons of photos and videos of your child and family. Purchase memory cards and hard drives as well because trust me, once you have kids, you'll always have insufficient memory space.

This is the camera that Marvin uses. However, since a DSLR is heavy, bulky, and hard to bring especially if you're already carrying an overweight baby bag and a toddler, he decided to give me a new baby...
Photo from: www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

This is the new baby I was talking about. I was surprised when Marvin came home one night and gifted me with this mirrorless camera. It's lighter and smaller than our DSLR and I love it so much even if he constantly tells me that this is only an entry-level mirrorless camera.
Photo from: www.currys.co.uk

Now, there is a reason why we our DSLR and mirrorless are of the same brand (even if I initially wanted a Sony). Camera lenses are way expensive so Marvin decided to buy a lens adapter so we could utilize his existing DSLR lenses with my mirrorless.


2) Never let your weight, eye bags, or messy hair stop you from joining in the fun.


Kids like it when they see their parents in photos and they don't care if you don't look your best.

Here's sleepless me with untidy eyebrows but still wanted to document since Summer looked so cute in her onesie. Good thing I did, it reminds me of everything that happened in this photo.

No sleep but documented her first vaccine day at the Health Center

This tip is my favorite one since I had to learn this the hard way. I didn't have much photos with Summer during her first year because I gained so much weight and didn't like the way I looked (I'll save that story for another blog entry).

Used to hate this photo (because you know why) but happy that we have it because it was Summer's first time playing at the beach.

Good thing, everything changed now. You'll see me sharing just-woke-up, no-comb-hair, in pambahay clothes photos in my Instagram stories just because I want to document milestones and no longer had time to fix myself up.


3) Don't feel bad if you don't have an Instagram Daddy/Husband.


This is what I usually hear from other mommies who are already at their wit's end trying to convince their spouses to take photos. But tripods/Gorilla pods are invented for a reason.

#DespiSquad behind-the-scenes. Our Instagram Daddy in action

But while our IG Daddy is fond of taking photos, he's incredibly shy and usually hides whenever we start to vlog. So I always bring around this Gorilla pod so we can still have content minus the LQ.

And who says we only need IG Daddies/Husbands? You can me a mama-tographer too! My favorite mama-tographers are: @momwithacam and @mhyian.

Taking a photo of my 'mag-ama' because I wanted more photos of Summer and Marvin this year

4) Never feel pressured when other tell you that you've been flooding their feeds with too much baby photos.


It's okay to politely tell them that there is an unfollow button. You can even offer to teach them how to do it.

Photo from: www.cosmo.ph

While you're stuck in traffic or having your morning coffee, nothing beats the happiness you'll get when you see Facebook or Instagram showing your Memories/Archives and being reminded of the things you posted a year up to 10 years ago.

Trust me. I've already heard tons of friends mocking or making fun of me just because we wear matching outfits and then post all of them on my social media accounts. One of these days, you'll eventually learn the Art of Deadma and fully imbibing the My Feed, My Rules attitude.

At the end of the day, there will always be Serial Likers (like me!) in your friend list who get excited when you share nice (and colorful) photos of your child and family. We're in this together!

Ending this entry by posting a photo of me and Summer when we decided to "go to Europe for a day". She's been asking about countries and continents EVERY MORNING  so I went one step ahead before she decides to wake me up again really early in the morning. Bonjour!