Those times in your life when you are close to having a baby, or you just had one, are precious moments indeed. Even when you think, toward the end of the pregnancy, "Won't this baby ever arrive?", just a short time later, you marvel at how fast the time has gone. Kids grow up so fast, and the perinatal time (the time just before and after the birth of the baby) so quickly recedes into the dim past, it fairly cries out to be recorded photographically.

Dave Arns of Arns Photography started taking pregnancy- and birth-related photos in the early 1980s, and those are some of the fondest memories he has: there's just something about a baby that is soon to be born, or that was just born, that creates close friendships like nothing else.

Click on any of the links below to see some of the maternity photos Arns Photography has taken:

• Amanda R
• Elaine
• Jen V
• Kat R
• Laura M
• Megan G Family
• Michaela

If you are pregnant, consider having Arns Photography take these kinds of photos for you:

• Pregnancy: Ladies, if you've had children previously, you've probably thought to yourself how amazing it is that a little person can fit inside you like that. Photos of your pregnant belly, pictures of you and Dad, pictures of you and the older siblings of the baby that is soon arriving, and so forth.

• Newborns: It doesn't take long after your baby is born, that he or she is no longer a "newborn." As you already know if you've had one or more babies, they grow and develop so quickly, it's soon hard to remember just how tiny and fragile they used to be.

• Nursing: Not only is breastfeeding healthy for your baby, it also helps your body return to your pre-pregnant condition. And, it is an incredibly strong bonding time between the mother and the baby. These priceless times too so soon slip away, even if you breastfeed for nine to twelve months.

  And by the way, ladies, whether you are breastfeeding or not, and whether you've ever been pregnant or not, please get into the habit of doing a monthly breast self-exam. If you already do this, thank you; if not, please start—breast cancer can be a horrific trial to go through.

So when is the best time to get maternity photos taken? Typically, you want your pregnant-ness to be the most obvious, so sometime in your final month of pregancy is often the best. (As long as labor is not imminent!) Or, a home-school mom might want to schedule a small photo shoot every month during the pregnancy, to show how her body grows and changes during the pregnancy and shortly after the birth, so it can be used for the older children's studies, or even for the studies of the child being born, when he/she gets old enough.

If you would like Arns Photography to take pictures of your perinatal time, please contact us. You can come to our studio, or Dave can come to your home if you prefer. But don't miss out on getting this time recorded photographically—it'll be gone before you know it!