Journey To Motherhood, my first year being a mama...
The responses to our Journey To Motherhood post series have been a-ma-zing, we are happy to hear that people love them. Big thank you’s to Aria Newton of arianewtonthephotoproject for sharing her journey with us and offering a 20% discount to our readers on her photo shoot packages, here is her website of her beautiful photography. Happy Friday!
Name: Aria Newton
Hometown: Boston
How long have you been living in Brooklyn? I moved here 7 years ago. My husband and I live in Fort Greene with our son. I love it here.
Occupation: Photographer and Photo Retoucher
When did you first become a mother? My son Nico was born during a heat wave in the summer of 2010 in New York City.
Before becoming a mother, what did you know about motherhood? Was the reality close to your personal image/ idea? I thought that I knew a lot about being a mother before I had Nico, then I actually became a mom and realized that I didn’t know that much. It is such a major transition, that it is hard to actually anticipate how new and exciting everything will feel once it happens. I come from a big family and have 3 nephews, so I had a fair understanding of the struggles you have to go through the first year when the baby is so young. For me the biggest shock was not sleeping. There is no way to do a test run of what it will feel like to be woken up all night and then need to function in the world the next day. Coffee became my very, very close friend. Te quiero mucho café.
How would you describe the first year? We slept so little that first year, but it was pretty amazing. I completely fell in love in a way that I couldn’t have planned. I felt like I joined a secret society of people that hang out at 7 am and always have food on their clothes. I took more pictures than I can ever remember taking that year and still felt like I wasn’t capturing this incredible time with enough tenacity. Each month was so different and special. I had always been close to others with young babies and was used to photographing their lives. It changed everything when it happened to us though. The first time that I photographed a newborn after Nico was born, I felt like I finally got it. I knew which pictures those women would want. I knew which ones they wouldn’t care about. It all went by so quickly. All of a sudden we were drinking champagne at Nico’s first birthday, high fiving that we made it through the first year. I think that everyone should drink champagne at their kid’s 1st birthday. It’s a big deal. Take a picture of yourself doing it too. And wear a pretty dress. You won’t regret it.