I was phoned by Tom, Jill’s lovely husband to arrange their newborn photo session as most of their family are living overseas in China and are unable to come visit, celebrate and welcome their newest family member.
When Tom first rang, he was unsure what would be the best option for them, as Jill was following the Chinese tradition of staying home for the first 30 days after birth. Later I found out it is known as Confinement, which is an ancient tradition dating back 2000 years. Jill’s mother was also visiting from China and was supportive of helping to keep the tradition alive in their family as it is believed to bring bad health to the mother if they don’t follow the rules of confinement after the birth. After some discussion, we decided to schedule their session for after the month, when the Confinement period was finished as I didn’t want to add any extra stress to their family. Normally we would do newborn sessions within the first 12 days, however we waited until she was a little older and we had a beautiful mixture of awake and sleeping images from the session. I also wanted to share some of the traditions as I have been learning about it since having the pleasure of being asked to photograph this lovely family, and it might also be helpful to many other newborn mums or expecting mums as they prepare to welcome their own little bundle.
Confinement, the rules can be quite complex and some may read it thinking it isn’t for them but the more I learn about this tradition, is that it really takes away the pressure from new mothers. The first month at home is to help restore balance back to the new mother’s body and to allow it to recover from childbirth. There are many rules which go alongside the tradition with some of them being that the mother is to eat bland meals, drinking only tepid or hot water – touching cold water is forbidden as well as no coffee, cold drinks or soft drinks, with most foods being warm or hot to help warm the body up. Wearing socks on the feet so that the body doesn’t get cold. Not washing hair for the first 30 days, or taking a shower and only enjoying a sponge bath with herb infused warm water. Visitors are made to wait until after the confinement period is finished when the mother and baby are celebrated. This time at home would be wonderful to help the mother bond with her newborn and without the stress of having visitors and having to try to juggle leaving the house and timing it around feed and nap times, as we all know that even after the first month your still trying to get into the swing of things and leaving the house.
Tom & Jill were so welcoming when I arrived for their session at their home, and it looked like I was about to move in with the amount of items which I had brought along as they wanted to have the studio look and not a lifestyle session. After I took over their lounge room we got down to business and little miss decided to save some special love for poor dad who got wee’d and pooped on a few times during the family part of the session, but really that is a sign of love, right dad? It was lovely that we were able to include her grandma in the session and capture some beautiful grandma and grand baby images, which I am sure they will love looking back on as she grows into a beautiful young lady.
What are some traditions you adopted after the birth of your child?
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