After my winter break from client photography, baby Timothy was my first portrait session of 2011!

Timothy’s session was a little different than how my newborn sessions typically work. I like to photograph newborns within 10 days of birth whenever possible, but Timothy was born eight weeks early in October and had to spend a long time in the hospital while he worked to grow bigger and stronger. Timothy came home the first week of January and joined his very excited big sisters Hannah and Abby (he looks just like them). I can only imagine how relieved his parents were to finally have him with them all the time.

Timothy, who has Down Syndrome, was born with three holes in his heart. One hole closed on its own, but he will need surgery soon to repair his little heart. Please keep Timothy, his parents, sisters, and extended family in your prayers as he nears this important date! Another reason our session was different is because we held it quite late at night. Because of Timothy’s heart issues, he is not yet as productive at eating as he will become – he tires easily. So he’s fed both by bottle and by G-tube, a process that can take up to an hour and a half. The G-tube is what you see on his belly. His mom Bonnie did say that one benefit to having it is not having to wake him for night feedings, which is helpful because Timothy needs to eat every three hours. Anyone who’s lived with a newborn knows how hard it is to wake that often.  So we had Timothy’s session at 9 pm, with off-camera lighting instead of natural light, after his sisters had gone down for the night and he had a full tummy. He did great for his first modeling gig!

I was so excited to finally meet Timothy. I adore babies, of course, and our families are friends. Timothy’s adjusted age (based on his due date) is just a few weeks old, but he was so strong! I love the first photograph where he’s got his big eyes right on the camera and he’s showing off what a big boy he is by holding his head up high.

Check out this cutie!