BOHO LIFESTYLE NEWBORN PHOTOS: CHICAGO NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER: MELISSA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY: EVERLY

One of the first lessons of parenthood come pretty quickly during newborn photos: hold plans loosely. You can have the cutest things set-up. You can follow the check-list of soothing. And sometimes, okay, a lot of times, it can still just be hard! But in a gentle touch, in a moment of sooth amidst the upset, in a blink of an eye, the moment you planned was now replaced with a memory you didn't expect. The funny thing about parenthood is the difficult doesn't end up being the long lasting memory. It's in all the moments (both big and small) that we most never want to forget. It's in the spit up rags, and late night feeds. It's in the lullaby sways and packing away a favorite onesie that no longer fits. It's in all the moments that happen and are tended to in love that weren't part of the momentary plan.

This cutie nugget slept all of 1 minute during her newborn photos. Not the plan. (: But honestly, what emerged instead is so much more beautiful. It's real.