The first year of life a baby goes through big changes developmentally and physically. As Moms, we probably have our cell phones close by to take pictures and videos of our tiny humans reaching milestone after milestone. The first year is a big year for us too as our hormones and bodies adjust back to “normal”. It’s so easy to get caught up and forget how important it is to get in the photo too! Below are a few reasons why you need to hand your phone to someone else to take the photo.

Because Time Flies

Don’t let time slip away from you. Take every minute and every second to enjoy the moment that’s happening. It took me almost a year to realize I didn’t have a single photo of me and my daughter together. I had to become a photographer to see how important it was for me to hand over my camera to my husband and insist he takes a photo! Even a cell phone shot is better than nothing! The more important thing here is that my baby girl would have this photo of me and her together. When time flies by and you get older, your children will just be happy to have a photo with you. They won’t care about how you look or what you were wearing, they will just be grateful that they have proof of your love.

You Might Have Regret.

How many pictures do you have of you and your Mom when you were a child? If you are the younger sibling, how many pictures are there of you in general? Probably not many. After my Mother-in-law passed away, we struggled to find any pictures of my husband at all. I don’t think we would have a picture of him and his Mom together at all if they didn’t participate in the “first dance” at our wedding. I know that some of you reading this can fully understand what it feels like to lose someone you love… don’t wait until it’s too late. You can always delete the photos later on, but you can never go back and retake them.

Because You Need More Than Just Selfies For Pictures.

This generation will have nothing but selfies in their funeral slideshow. How terrible do I sound right now? I probably sound like the most negative person on Earth… but also the most honest. I can only admit this because I have dealt with my fair share of funeral slideshows and know what pictures can do to someone. Just one image can bring back memories, smells, sounds, and emotions. Can you say the same for a selfie? Sometimes the cold hard truth is what we need. Selfies don’t count as photos.

You’re Beautiful. You’re Important. You’re Worth It.

Read that again. You are beautiful! You are important! You are worth it!

Trust me, I get it. I gained 77 pounds during my pregnancy with my daughter and I have a whole bunch of skin flab and stretch marks to prove it. Before I was pregnant, I was working out 5x a week and watching what I ate so I could get that 6 pack of abs I had always wanted. I always swore I would be that Mom that worked out her entire pregnancy and looked great. Sometimes life happens and you just gotta roll with it.  My daughter is 2 years old and I weigh 20 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight, and I still feel like that same old person who let herself go. So… I get it. But no matter how bad I feel about myself, I want my daughter to have photos of me and her together when she grows up. I want her to see how much I was there for her and how much I loved her. Being a Mom is the most beautiful accessory you can wear. Mom is the most important title you can have. Being a Mom means you are totally worth it! Get in the photo!

<3 Lawren