Cake smash sessions are so much fun and always a favorite at Puddles & Pearls! 

Turning one is one of the biggest milestones in your baby's first year of life. We as parents always want to make it very special and unique to celebrate our child's first year of life. What better way to do this than through a cake smash? At Puddles and Pearls, we love to capture these special moments in a few ways. First, we love to capture some portraits that are more timeless and classic. These portraits are more versatile and can be hung up anywhere throughout your home. Second, we like to create a custom set up of your choice. We love the challenge and love to create a new set up and theme with each cake smash making them each unique and special to your little one. Some fun cake smash themes we have done in the past are wONEderful one, boho, pumpkins, sunflowers, astronaut, donut, wild one, winter wonderland, Cocomelon, heritage themed, or even sometimes just use a variety of props such as colors, balloon garlands, boxes and flowers. 

As cake smash sessions are a very important event for your family, we want it to go as smoothly as possible. Here are some tips to help your cake smash session go as smoothly as possible. 

 1. Try to plan your baby's daily naps around your session time so that he or she is well rested and happy during their session. To accommodate most kiddos naptimes, we offer sessions at 10am and 1pm. If these naptimes do not align with your little one's nap time, we are happy to adjust. In addition, once scheduled, try to plan your baby's daily nap for that day around your session time so that he or she is well rested and happy during their session.  Babies can get overstimulated easily and running errands or going to appointments before our photography session can quickly turn in to an overstimulated baby. I recommend clearing your schedule on the day of our session so you can have a calm relaxed morning before heading to the studio- or at least as calm and relaxed as it can get with a 1-year-old! 

2. If your child/children are breastfed, please do NOT eat any spicy or gas-inducing foods in the 24 hours before your session. This can cause your baby to have tummy upset which makes it very hard for us to have a successful session! Baby’s digestive system is still not yet fully developed and can be very sensitive to complex foods.

3.Trial Run...
It is very common for babies to have little to no interest in their cake!  Sugary foods and cake/frosting textures are typically not things they would normally have experienced before turning 1 and a lot of babies aren't sure how they feel about it at first.  It helps to do a trial run with a cupcake at home, so they are familiar with what cake is and what to do with it!  However, we know this is one of the main first moments you may be wanting to capture on camera. If you would rather save this for their special portrait session that is okay too. 

4.We recommend bringing the following items to your session:

Any wardrobe or accessories you plan to use during your session (We also have items available in the studio for client use)
-An extra change of clothes for baby and for you as you will likely be covered in cake as well!
-Water or milk for baby
-Snacks for baby (things like puffs or cheerios are very useful when baby is not interested in the cake)
-A special toy or object that might make your child smile
-Extra diapers and wipes
-A towel for after the bath!

Most babies love their cake smash sessions. However, we are fully prepared if they are not quite into it as well. We are okay if it takes them a minute to warm up. We will do everything we can to help build your little one's trust, in order for them to feel more comfortable and relaxed while we are taking their picture. Once your little one is relaxed, we are very likely to get some great shots of them smiling and happy. 

Have you been thinking of booking a cake smash session for your little one? Do you have some great ideas in mind for a custom setup? We would love to be able to capture these very special moments for your family to treasure for a lifetime! We would love to work with you and our little one! Schedule your session today!