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Milestones of a Baby’s First Year

Post office marker on the Old London Road mistaken as a milestone

Ancient Milestones

At the gateway to our studio from the road is a small piece of stone jutting out from the ground. I had been noticing them around the county recently as the grass on the verges is at its lowest and the sun has been shining brightly. Of course many of these are ancient milestones and therefore I assumed that ours would be too. This got my mind thinking about the subject of this blog: milestones.

The reason that we focus our business on the first year of baby’s life is that it contains so many milestones. Their first smile, the first time they roll over, the first time they say mama, the first time they crawl, their first tooth, maybe even their first steps. Yes, there will be many important milestones through the rest of their life. Such as learning to drive; going to university; their 18th birthday. But their first year of life is so jam packed with milestones.

Photography Milestones

The main services that we offer are: the maternity photoshoot. I know this isn’t technically one of their milestones but you don’t want to forget how you looked at this stage. You never know, one day they might be interested to see what you looked like pregnant.

Then as soon as they are born we like to do the newborn photoshoot. They change so much in the early weeks and you will be in a sleep-deprived blur for most if. You don’t want to forget how they looked at this young age. Besides it will give you something to compare to the next photo shoot.

The next time we normally get to meet you is for the sitter or child photoshoot. This can be at any time but we recommend that you wait until they can sit up unaided. This gives us lots of different options for photos. Normally it means lots of smiles as they are beginning to see the world from a different angle.

Then the biggest milestone of the year is their first birthday and we love for them to come to the studio and really have some fun. You have survived a whole year. You have sustained them, nurtured them, grown them. Now you can sit back and watch them smash a cake, splash around in a bath full of bubbles and even get a family portrait.

Damson blossom photographed for a story about milestones in a baby's first year

Post Office Markers

Naturally it made sense for me to include a photograph for the blog. Unfortunately when I got there I discovered some letters on the post: GPO. After a quick google it transpires that this is not an ancient stone milestone (potentially viable as we live on the Old London Road). It is actually a concrete marker post. The General Post Office (GPO) was established in 1660 by King Charles II. The post marks where a cable runs with the distance measured in feet written on it. Not such a romantic notion but I will think about these milestones every time that I pass it and I hope that you look out for it when you visit the studio too. Just remember to turn when you see it so that you don’t miss us! You can see us on the map here. See you soon.

White plum and damson blossom photographed for a blog about baby milestones

Antenatal Classes in Oxfordshire

Silhouette of a pregnant women

Antenatal Classes in Oxfordshire for 2019

We are pleased to announce that hot off the press is the latest and most up-to-date version of the antenatal classes in Oxfordshire leaflet. It is called Pregnancy Classes and Services leaflet for West Oxfordshire. It covers all kinds of antenatal courses in Oxfordshire. Sarah from Birth Baby Balance kindly compiled this leaflet.

In the leaflet you will find all the information and contact details for every kind of services that you will need in your pregnancy. “This leaflet aims to help expectant parents make the best use of the various classes and services in West Oxfordshire offering information and support on pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood. These include a range of exercise and relaxation classes, antenatal classes, active birth teaching and more”.

We are very excited to be included in this leaflet as it is handed out by all the local midwives. This includes our very own Chipping Norton Midwives at the Cotswold Birth Centre, as well as the Witney Midwives. We believe that whilst the midwives run their own free antenatal classes in Oxfordshire it is worth considering what you might gain from a more thorough course offered by the likes of Birth Baby Balance.

Daddy-to-be kissing his pregnant partner's bump

Bumps, Balls and Breathing

Sarah herself runs antenatal classes; early pregnancy classes (free); Bumps, Balls and Breathing classes. She is also a doula and offers placenta encapsulation. We like that fact that in addition the leaflet covers: yoga, pilates, aquanatal, hypnobirthing, massage, reflexology, acupuncture, counselling and psychotherapy.  We are included because we offer Bump, Birth and Baby Photography. Our best-selling package is our Bump to Baby option. I have included a link so that you can see the full leaflet by clicking here: Pregnancy leaflet 2019

We believe that the leaflet covers a sufficiently wide variety of options for anyone who is pregnant in Oxfordshire. Not all will be relevant to you but all the services providers are lovely people offering a wonderful service. We recommend that you organise some antenatal classes as well as some classes that will help you to relax and make your pregnancy as comfortable as possible. I would be delighted to hear from you if you have any questions about what to do during your pregnancy. I am happy to offer advice based on my own experience of pregnancy.