It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down and written out a post for this old, neglected blog. I feel totally out of practice, but I felt like it was a special occasion to share these photos somewhere and maybe write some words about this season in my life. I was initially reluctant to have the photos taken. Although I think other people having maternity photos taken is a lovely and special thing to do, it was something I’d put in a category for myself of being self indulgent or tinged with vanity.
I saw Georgia post glimpses of her own maternity shoot on Instagram - amazing, natural, authentic, raw scenes of Georgia, heavily pregnant with her baby Bo, in the water and sand at the beach. It was real and it captured the spirit of she and her baby’s time together. She and I had a conversation via Instagram about maternity photography and how staged and pretentious the images often appear and she offered to do a shoot with me that would fit me better and feel a bit more natural, relaxed and intimate. And that’s exactly how the experience felt.
Despite Georgia’s sister being one of my best friends (hi Sian!), we’d never met in person. She was kind enough to invite me to her house, where I hung out with she and baby Bo, stayed way too long having a lovely chat and we made a plan of attack for taking these photos.
An important thing to note about Georgia’s photography is that she works exclusively with film. I was weirdly nervous about this at first - to walk away from the shoot with not one digital photo to know how it went, waiting for the film to be sent off and developed. I've loved shooting on film myself in the past with fun plastic cameras, though haven’t done so in around ten years. What I liked about it was the playfulness, spontaneity and the luck-of-the-draw nature of what you get back. But Georgia is a consummate professional and the images she captured on that day are a testament to her skill, especially given how awkward I usually feel and look being in front of a camera. They’re lush and rich and focused, beautifully and thoughtfully composed.
We met at Hollybank Forest, about 15 minutes outside of Launceston. There was a wedding going on somewhere else in the forest and we could hear their antics. Later we also saw a couple having professional photos taken with their two black Labrador puppies. Georgia brought along her partner Xave as her assistant and baby Bo for comic relief and ultra fearless bush exploring antics (Dominic was so much the same at that age!). Georgia talked to me about how recently she has generally stuck to shoots within her studio mainly because the conditions are easy to anticipate and she’s super familiar with how to great great shots in that space. So getting outside into a place where the lighting is totally different everywhere you move and you’re beholden to the elements was probably a step outside what was totally comfortable for her, but as is evident from these photos, this lady knows what she’s doing in any setting and I am so glad we took each other out of our comfort zones together.
It was as comfortable an experience as I could have hoped for - she gave me gentle encouragement when I needed help with my stance or posture and when I asked for advice about where or how to compose myself. It never felt forced or super staged, just wandering about in nature, chatting and taking pictures.
I was 36 weeks when these photos were taken and I’m now 38 + 2, playing the waiting game. This baby, much like Dominic, is of a good size but with a very large tum. The last obstetrician I saw at the hospital didn’t make me feel like I have much autonomy or choice in what happens next, pushing for an induction, pushing for a cesarean - “Are you sure you really want another VBAC?”. I am. I’ve written myself a really thorough ‘birth map’ (not a ‘plan’ as such because roads on maps diverge and other plans might be needed).
My ideal scenario is that I go into labour around my due date (I don’t mind sharing my birthday if she arrives the day after her due date but she’d better not arrive beyond Pisces season! Haha), get to labour comfortably at home for the majority of the time before heading to the hospital for the main event - and hopefully myself, the birth and the baby will all be so unremarkable we’ll get to go home without too much delay. But of course, I’m open to and understanding of the way these things play out - ultimately a healthy baby and a positive birth experience for myself are my main goals.
Three of the things on my birth wish list were to not have to labour flat on my back again (hello gravity!), maybe try hopping in the pool (jury is still out on this given that I’ll likely be told I need continuous monitoring and have a cannula inserted as soon as I get to the hospital) and to not have a ‘star gazing’ baby (occipito-posterior) like the two boys were, as it’s supposedly much more painful than the alternative, though I wouldn’t know any different. The last time we checked she was indeed star gazing. Oh well!
Dominic told me this morning when I got him out of bed, “I’m going to take care of H______ and mum and dad and Goody (grandma) and Jeff (my step dad) and get mushrooms and tomatoes and cordial and broccoli for dad”. He’s been very interested in talking about the impending arrival of his sister, making plans of how he’ll take care of her and play with her, delighting in that she’ll get to drink “booby milk” (“Can I have it too?!”) and hypothesising about how she might come out, “A little ladder?”, “You’ll need a knife or a spoon?”, yelling at my belly for her to come out, looking on at her movements in my belly with wide, shocked eyes.
He also told me recently, ”THERE’S A BABY COMING OUT OF MY PENIS!”. I’d let him know at some stage along the way that babies are usually born out of their mum’s vaginas, so I suppose making the connection that babies could be born through penises is a logical conclusion. After I shared this anecdote on Instagram, my friend Tom messaged me a passage from a book he’d been reading about animal reproduction which said that female hyenas give birth through what is essentially a penis. Theo was quite enthralled by this bit of information and we couldn’t help ourselves but to Google image search. It did not disappoint.
Theo is largely apathetic, though he’s enjoyed following along with her development reading my Flo app updates and has put his hands on my belly several times to feel the movements (and then involuntarily started retching at how gross it feels, haha). Dominic regularly pushes his boundaries and patience - the boy had specifically requested he be an only child and I have let him down yet again, but I think he’ll come around to this gal.
The dress I’m wearing is the Adeline pink and red maxi dress by Little Party Dress. I’d not bought from them before and wasn’t sure what the quality would be like but I was so impressed. I’m obsessed with this dress and so glad it buttons down at the front so that it might double up as breast feeding friendly attire. My earrings are by Pop Jewels which has sadly recently shut up shop. The flowers were from Nectar and Pollen and my hat is by Kooringal.
When I was getting myself ready (Dom called me a “princess”), I put on some old jewellery I haven’t worn in a while and thought about the significance of each little thing - I wore the headband that I wore in my wedding in 2012 made by Rebecca Caridad, a turquoise stone silver ring I got from my friend Megan’s garage sale years ago, a costumey ring with a bee on it that my ex-sister-in-law gave to me which belonged to her sister who passed away, a silver ring formed from a little dessert fork which Dylan bought for me in Richmond, TAS at a market stall on our babymoon in 2019 and the ring I bought myself after I lost my wedding ring pearl working at the supermarket and decided that even though I’m no longer married, it was still a ring which I bought myself and I would wear it if I wanted to (on the opposite hand’s ring finger).
I also wore my amazing Dr Martens Bentley II Heart boots which were a gift, arranged by my friend Jaine, given to me by 8 of my friends just after Dominic was born. I remember when Jaine gave them to me I was just flabbergasted that I had eight friends? Especially ones willing to donate money to give me special boots! Haha.
Anyway, in closing, if you’re local or thinking of stopping by this part of Tasmania, I implore you to seek Georgia out for whatever your photographic needs are. I’m hoping I might be able to gently twist her arm to come for a visit in the early baby days to capture some sweet pictures.
You can find Georgia and her work via her website, Instagram and Facebook. She’s a delight. Thanks for reading.
