When your newborn session comes around, you will have just had a baby. Whether it’s your first or your sixth, adding another family member is a big transition. And when you’re a week postpartum, the last thing you need to think about is what to wear to your newborn session. So, I’m here to help you out so you can quickly plan what to wear before baby even arrives and be confident your choice will look amazing in photographs!

First, let’s talk about what NOT to wear.

When choosing an outfit for your newborn session, take a look around your house at your decor and try your best to choose an outfit that doesn’t blend in! If most of your walls are cream-coloured, maybe opt for colour in your palette for your newborn session. If you have quite a few splashes of colour, choose a more neutral colour palette for your wardrobe.

But, no matter what colour your home is, please don’t wear super bright colours. Fortunately, this isn’t the nineties and wearing neons is not usually something new moms want to do. But, just in case, it has to be said. NO NEONS.

If you need some inspiration for colour palettes, check out my Pinterest board!

Now, let’s get to what to wear to your newborn session.

Maybe you’re one of the few mamas who gives birth and then puts her skinny jeans on to leave the hospital. If you’re anything like me, those hide in the drawer for the next 4 to 6 months minimum, but I’m so over my maternity clothes there’s no way they’re going back on. Leggings become my new best friend for the first few months. Either way, the key to a newborn session is to wear what’s comfortable. You want to feel beautiful, yes, but you also don’t want to feel like you’re trying to hide the fact that you just gave birth to a human.

If the season is right, a maxi or midi dress with some flow to it is always a safe choice. In the winter, a sweater and a pair of relaxed jeans are always a good alternative. My biggest piece of advice is to wear whatever makes you feel beautiful. Whatever outfit you put on and think “I look pretty good in this!” that’s the one you want.

But of course, you’re not the only one in these newborn photos. And being Mom, you’ll likely be planning outfits for everyone involved. My biggest recommendation here is, plan your outfits as a whole. While you don’t want to be matchy-matchy (please don’t put everyone in jeans and white t-shirts), you do want everyone’s outfits to coordinate. This is where the colour palette inspiration comes in handy. Pick a palette and incorporate one or two of the colours into each outfit, preferably with some overlap. Don’t be afraid of patterns, but make sure that a few of your dominant colours from your colour palette are prominent in the patterns you pick.

That being said, don’t go overboard on prints. Put your little girl in a floral dress or your baby boy in a plaid, but make sure the prints aren’t too busy, and there are more solids than prints.

But what should Baby wear?

Baby is the real star of this show, and while you’ve been hoarding tiny sweet outfits for many month now, it’s not quite time to pull them out yet! For your newborn session, it’s best to have babe in a solid, neutral coloured diaper shirt, and wrapped in your favourite swaddle blanket. This makes for easy access to those adorable little toes and other features without fully unwrapping the little monkey, so baby stays warm and we capture those itty bitty details in all their glory.

Want to see a newborn session for yourself? Check out this one here.