We’ve had the pleasure of doing quite a few professional pregnancy photos for Brambleton, VA clients. We love chatting with these expectant moms. It’s always interesting to compare notes on how quickly parenting changes including the effect of technology (we certainly didn’t have video monitors!), furniture styles, and even maternity styles!

We recently came across an interesting article on healthychildren.org we’d love to share with our expectant clients out there! Below we include their tips on how to choose a safe crib. Thanks to HealthyChildren for publishing this informative article!

As a newborn photographer in Northern VA, it’s interesting for us to see updated codes and smarter, safer options for our most precious infants. We always recommend you speak to your pediatrician about what is best for your child.

How to Choose a Safe Crib

• Bars should be spaced no more than 2 3/8 inches apart.

• The mattress should be very firm and should not sag under your baby’s weight. It should fit in the crib snugly, with no space between it and the crib walls.

• The top of the crib rail should be at least 26 inches from the top of the mattress. Periodically lower the mattress as your child gets taller.

• The headboards and footboards should be solid, with no decorative cutouts. Corner posts that could cause injury or snag clothing should be removed.

• Do not use cribs with drop rails. These are not safe.

• Crib bumpers (or bumper pads) may seem as though they can help protect babies from drafts and bumps, but they should not be used in cribs. There is no evidence that bumper pads can prevent serious injuries, and they pose a risk of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment. In addition, older babies can use them for climbing out of the crib.

• Keep large toys and stuffed animals out of the crib, as your baby may use them to get a leg up and over the rail. Pillows, bulky comforters, and heavy blankets do not belong in a crib; a baby can smother under them.

• Place the crib away from windows, where direct sunlight and drafts can make your baby uncomfortable. A crib can become uncomfortably hot if placed too near a radiator. Also, make sure that there are no strings from blinds or curtains close by that can wrap around the baby’s neck.

• Once your child is about 3 feet tall, he should start sleeping in a bed. If you are worried about him falling out of bed, you may want to start with the mattress on the floor.

• Your baby should never sleep on a water bed, sheepskin, pillow, sofa, armchair, or other soft surface.

• Babies do not need extra support, such as from rolled blankets or commercial devices, to keep them on their backs. Cumbersome materials like these clutter up the crib and may be hazardous for a baby.

As a leading Brambleton, VA area photographer specializing in family and professional pregnancy photos, we hope that you enjoy our blog as much as we enjoy sharing it with you. It keeps us connected to our clients and others. If you have any ideas for topics you’d like us to cover, please contact us! Send us an email with your idea. We will try to cover it in one of our future posts.
 

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located in Sterling, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits

We love working with expectant moms! Moms-to-be are beautiful! It’s one of the most fun aspects of our business. Professional pregnancy photos in the Brambleton, VA area bring us into regular contact with excited moms-to-be. These women are perfectly glowing, but most of all, they’re excited about their baby’s arrival! Throughout our portrait sessions, we usually talk about a variety of exciting and often diverse topics. One of these conversations led to the idea of a creating a memento display box of very special items from a baby’s first year. We love this idea and want to share it with you as well.

There are so many variations you can do with this idea, so just let your creativity take over! We’ve put together some tips below. Before you read them, however, try clicking on this nifty Google search to view a plethora of creative memento or shadow boxes others have created for their babies! We love so many of them it is hard to pick favorites.

Before you get all Martha Stewart and start creating a memento box for your baby, here are few things to consider first:

* What would you like put into your box?
* Do you want any pre-birth items included in the box such as an ultrasound picture, a picture of you and your partner or a picture from your maternity photography session?
* Would you prefer to include tokens representing your baby’s first days in this world such as the birth announcement, newborn booties and outfit they wore upon leaving the hospital, their baby bracelet from the hospital or hospital swaddling blanket? The possibilities are many.
* You could wait and collect special mementos throughout your baby’s first year. You can use those items to build a box in honor of their first year of life. If you choose a first-year memento box, it’s important to be especially selective due to limited space — unless you opt to purchase an extra-large shadow box. One recommendation is to create a list of items as you think of them or as they present themselves. You can then use that list to help you cull down to a final selection of mementos.
* Lastly, but very importantly, you should select items of significant emotional value. Consider that an object with significance today might not be as important in the future. Choose items with emotional value you’ll remember and be able to share in the future.

Once you have made your decision as to what type of memento box you would like to create, then you can begin putting together your collection of items! Now you can be as creative as you want!

If you haven’t scheduled a professional pregnancy photo session (also know as maternity portrait session), and you live near the Sterling, VA or Brambleton, VA areas, call us to schedule your session. We’re sure you’ll enjoy working with us and we know we’ll love to meet you!

Baby Photography, Baby Photographer, Professional Pregnancy Photos

Ever After Baby Portraits is comprised of Mindy Belcher and Joriana Belcher Anderson, a mother-daughter baby photography team located near Brambleton, VA in Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits, including newborn and baby portraits. Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.

Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Ever After Baby Portraits