​Take it from me and the other moms who learned the hard way, you want to think about pregnancy and babies before you even start trying. If you are planning on starting a family soon, consider everything you haven't considered yet. You don't want to decide at 34 weeks into your pregnancy, that you think a homebirth midwife is a better option than an OB (which comes with a hefty price tag without the right insurance!). Or that you want to hire the best birth photographer in town to come take pictures of you while you welcome your baby into this world. Birth and baby related expenses can add up fast, and before you know it, you might find yourself choosing which items matter most to you because you waited until last minute to plan. Making big decisions late in your pregnancy can be stressful, financially impossible, or even heartbreaking if you fall in love with something you can't have. 

Isn't it funny that (in most cases) the bathroom is where you get the biggest news of your life?  You wait anxiously perched on the edge of the tub, your eyes switching back and forth from the clock and that stick sitting on the counter.  Seconds tick by... they may as well be years.  You start daydreaming about how your life will change, a fog of what ifs... and all of a sudden you see it.  A line.  You're going to be a mom!  

I remember the first time I met Angelica and Josue.  Love just radiated from them.  We sat in a Bill Millers and talked about what they envisioned for their story.  I had the honor of telling their story from the moment they announced that they were expecting a boy, all the way through his first year.  I figured it was time to tell his story, since he is almost 2 and a half now!  LOL  I have LOVED watching him grow!  I hope you enjoy reading Valentin's birth story from their perspective.  I know I did. :)  

Only a few days left to take advantage of this offer!  You do not have to be due in Jan to book.  I look forward to hearing from you!  Also - I am currently looking for a maternity model for a concept shoot.  For the purposes of this project I need someone that is of Asian descent.  Preferably due in April or later so we can ensure planning goes smoothly.  Please contact me for details.

I am finally making some time to blog!  Yay!  I have been gathering some birth stories that I wanted to share and today I am sharing Kennedy's birth.  I met Destiny a couple of years ago when I was working on my "seasonal mommas" project for my studio.  Basically I wanted to photograph one woman for each season, and since the seasons are so different, I wanted to use different ethnicities to represent each season.  DJ was exactly what I was looking for to represent my spring goddess, and she accepted.  As we planned for the session she became interested in a birth story.  Before long I was on call for her! 

The morning of March 22, 2015 I was getting ready to head out for a pregnancy reveal session when DJ let me know that she was at the hospital.  We still figured it could be a while so I told her to keep me posted and notified my clients that we may need to reschedule depending on when baby decided to come.  I was en route to the session when DJ's mom called to let me know she was 6cm!  I called my clients and let them know what was going on and headed back towards SAMMC.

I walked in and DJ was happily visiting on the phone with friends and family and enjoying the company of her mother.  Things were moving right along, I think I was as excited as she was to know that we would be meeting miss Kennedy soon!

I asked DJ to share her birth story with me so I could tell it from her perspective.    :)   

Spring has arrived in San Antonio, and the bluebonnets are blooming, but they are only here for a season.  Often, bluebonnets can be found on a busy thorough fare, and the dangers of stopping on a busy road is probably not the best thing to do with young children.  But there are other spots that offer a safe and beautiful spot to enjoy these little Texas gems while they are here.  Some great places to consider are Blanco State Park, Guadalupe River State Park, and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin.  These locations are beautiful and have a small admission fee, but they offer some fun hiking and are definitely safer options than the roadside. 

Did you know that bluebonnets only bloom for roughly 4-6 weeks?  When visiting a patch, take care not to trample them.  Bluebonnets are an annual flower, they are planted in the fall (usually early October to early November is best), and begin to germinate.  They tend to bloom in the New Braunfels and San Marcos areas earlier than they do in Boerne and San Antonio.    About 3-4 weeks after their peak bloom, they begin to set seed.  If they are mowed or trampled before they get to this stage, they cannot re-seed for the next year.  It often takes 2-3 years for a nice patch of bluebonnets to develop, and each year, if they are cared for and not killed before they set seed, they come back in larger numbers.  When we do bluebonnet sessions we encourage clients to bring a seed packet with them so we can all do our part to make sure there are flowers the next year.  If you want to have beautiful professional images of your little ones enjoying this Texas tradition, don't hesitate!  Limited edition bluebonnet sessions are booking now.  We can't wait to work with you!

Happy New Year everyone!  I'm not sure who else feels this way, but I am still seriously thinking, "Wait, where did 2016 go??"  It was a fantastic year for our business, and that is because of all of our amazing clients!  When you trust us with your priceless moments, you aren't just giving us some "fun money", you are putting clothing on our children and food on our table, and we are so grateful!  We truly care about each and every one of you, and we LOVE snuggling these tiny new humans.  We hope you enjoy our newborn year in review, featuring one image from each newborn session we did in 2016.  We can't wait to meet all of the sweet little ones 2017 will bring!

Clients, feel free to comment or share on FB if you like!  :)

From time to time we like to bring in a guest blogger that we feel has some valuable insight for our clients and fans.  This month we asked Stephanie Flores, a local board certified family nurse practitioner (and one of our favorite people!), to shed some light on how she helps moms get down to the root of the problem when they just can't quite figure out how to get their groove back!  I hope you find the information useful!

It’s that time of year!  Autumn is here!
The leaves are turning from green to red (at least I'm told they do that), and there's a fresh crispness in the air.

Imagine...
You and yours sitting next to a roaring fire in the fireplace (or not, I mean it's still like 90 degrees out there some days!!), huddled close together, sipping pumpkin lattes'. 

Sounds amazing, right???  Picture perfect even (I can totally help with that!).  So what do you need to make this kind of thing happen?  I have to admit that the fire may not happen for another month or more... but I have some ideas for you to make the rest of it a reality!

Go grab someone you LURVE, I mean, someone you are beyond loving (hence the LURVE).  Significant other, your spouse, heck, even the kids if you want to make it a family affair!  Next, you will need an awesome recipe for those oh-so-addicting pumpkin spice lattes'.  I searched high and low, experimented in my kitchen, slaved over a pot... okay, maybe I just searched on Food Network. 

credit: Food Network

This year's Latch-On SA event, hosted by St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, was August 6th, and we at Mamarazzi Photography were honored to be a part of it!

The annual event, designed to raise awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding, was a success!

We met many new mothers and their beautiful babies!  All were there to take advantage of the opportunity to learn about and try a variety of infant/newborn products and services.  They were also there to simultaneously latch their nurslings on in an effort to help normalize breastfeeding.

Since Mamarazzi Photography specializes in maternity, birth, and newborn through the first year, we often photograph the beautiful bond a mother and child share when breastfeeding.  It was our pleasure to offer complimentary nursing sessions as part of the event!

However, if you missed us out there, don’t worry, your goodie bag had a voucher for a nursing mini-session!  We are currently booking for the Fall mini-sessions, so be sure to check that out while you are here!  We are also booking limited weddings, pregnancy, baby, milestone, cake smash, newborn, and birth sessions into 2017, we'd love to work with you! 
Children grow so fast, every season should be captured for a lifetime of enjoyment... because some moments are meant to be cherished!