Fresh 48 Pictures | Mommy, Daddy, and Jillian at 24 Hours Old

Our stay in the mother/baby unit following Jillian’s birth was quiet, and was by far my favorite hospital stay out of the three deliveries.

These images capture really well the calm we experienced during our first full day in the hospital with our girl. It was mostly just Jamie and me in the room, enjoying the peace, knowing our big kids were happy at home with Grandma, while we rested and got to know our new baby.

If you’ve had a baby and stayed in a traditional mother/baby unit to recover, you know the door is constantly opening and closing. So many people have to check on the mom and how she’s healing, and a whole other crew is in charge of all things “baby”: screenings, vaccines, paperwork, lactation, etc. etc. etc.

For this reason, I was vocal with my closest friends that I didn’t want them to feel the slightest bit of pressure to sprint to the hospital as soon as the baby was born. I told them if they wanted to come they were of course welcome, but they were also MORE than welcome to wait until we got settled at home to swing by. Most of them have kids too, so there was this mutual understanding that I wasn’t going to rank my friends based on who came to see us first. 😉

So throughout our stay we only had a small handful of visitors (who were all so wonderful and lovely) and we mainly enjoyed the quiet “hospital vacation” (as some people call it!) away from the dishes, laundry, and other routine things at home. We felt like we were able to be fully present with our new babe and ride the high we felt. Even social media wasn’t much of an option because the service was so bad in the hospital, which ended up being a total blessing.

Since our birth photographer Christine wasn’t present when Jillian was born (again, NOT her fault at all since Jillian was born so quickly), she generously offered to come back the following day to get a few more pictures. I was so grateful. Christine is an amazing person and friend.

I wasn’t planning on having traditional newborn photos done with Jillian like I did with my other girls for various reasons, so these unintended “Fresh 48” photos filled in the gap of capturing brand new Jillian. I absolutely love them and would recommend a casual session like this to anyone who would rather knock newborn photos out in the hospital than do them days later at home. All up to each individual couple and their preferences. 🙂 This was much more our speed.

If you’re into the “matching” thing, I purchased my robe and her swaddle/headband from an online company called Milkmaid Goods. The robe is sooooooo soft. I’m absolutely obsessed with it! Worth every penny (they run around $60). We also still use Jillian’s swaddle all the time. It’s a lightweight, soft blanket that folds up great into my purse to lay her on, use as a burp cloth, etc. Very handy and so pretty too! We are going to get matching robes for Hadley and Sadie for Christmas and think they’ll love them.

She’s had the kissy face down from day #1. 🙂

More: Jillian’s birth story and pictures immediately following her birth