Doctor Mommy’s Guide to a Milk Bath Photo Shoot

Step One: Have the most incredible photographer as a friend. All photos are by Amy, of @silverpebblephotography – she’s an angel.

Step Two: Scour Pinterest for ideas and color schemes. Because all good ideas start with Pinterest right?!

Step Three: Purchase supplies. I recommend a sheer robe/lingerie for yourself, a sheer fabric to use as a drape as necessary – we went with a light green tulle, more flowers than you think you would need in your color scheme (don’t use fake flowers, they will sink unless you cover them in Scotch Guard), 1-2 gallons of milk, and one package of powdered milk. I would definitely purchase the milk and flowers the day of the shoot. You will likely also want a step-ladder so the photographer can shoot from above.

Step Four: When shooting with a baby, I recommend getting everything ready while they nap. We set the flowers around the tub, Amy tested the lighting in the room, and we had the milk ready to add to the water before Mason woke up.

Step Five: Wake up baby. He might be shocked and confused as to why there are beautiful flowers scattered around and a gigantic tub full of milk. He might think, “Am I still dreaming?” or “Is this heaven?” – this is okay and to be expected.

Step Six: Put a small amount of warm water, milk, and powdered milk in the tub. The powdered milk makes it more opaque and slightly less reflective. You can play around to get the look you want! We placed a white towel on the bottom of the tub so Mason would have something to rest on. Then we placed Mace in by himself (after testing the water temperature and with our supervision obviously – safety always!) and Amy got some shots of him alone. We added flowers to the water to get the look we wanted.

Step Seven: If baby still is astounded, it’s okay! Sensory play is paramount to babies development.

Step Eight: Drape as necessary. Keep it classy.

Step Nine: All the flowers to play with.

Step Ten: It’s mama’s turn to get in and we added more water, milk and flowers and we just snuggled, nursed, and giggled. I am lucky because Mason is absolutely obsessed with water. Steps eleven and twelve are to lose yourself in the music, the moment (per Eminem) and don’t forget a cute elephant towel to dry off with. xo