Meet Newborn Baby Luka | Westfield Newborn Photoshoot | Indiana

Meet sweet newborn baby Luka who stopped by the studio recently which his big brother and big sister for his newborn photoshoot.  Luka was an angel!  He slept right through the whole thing.  Even though his session was in the summertime, we did a few Christmas-themed newborn outfits so he would have holiday pictures to match his siblings.  I asked his mom to tell me a bit about her family, baby Luka, and being a mom of three children.

How did you come up with baby’s name?

His name is Chialuka but we call him Luka look for short.  His name means “God has done something wonderful.” 

Anything about baby number three that surprises you? 

I always wondered if your heart is big enough for all three of them. I mean, I’m not sure if that’s a surprise. Yeah, I think yes, right? Yeah, yeah, your heart is big enough to love all of them.  Plus, we’re a traveling family. And normally it would be like, “you take one and I have one.”  So now we haven’t traveled since we have had Luca. So I’m wondering, okay, how would that work? Like the dynamics of it, like, on an international flight? If we do get to travel this Christmas, like, maybe to London, how does that work? 

What’s your favorite thing about being a mom to a newborn again?

Goodness. Oddly enough, I’m one of those people who enjoys being pregnant.  I do enjoy just the miracle of carrying a child. But what I like the most about being a mom is breastfeeding. Just that connection, him just looking into my eyes and me thinking that there’s something coming out of me that is actually nourishing the baby is just a miracle to me.  Boy, he’s thriving, you know. So that’s just something that stands out to me. And I know not everyone can breastfeed. 

What’s the hardest part about being a mom with a new baby in the house?

I’m busy. I’m always busy. The hardest part for me now is I have to go back to work next week. And this is the first for me, because I’ve always been with my kids. Chete, I was home with him for eight months.  So this is really different for me to have to leave Luka at three months.  It is something that I struggle with, but at the same time, I’m grateful because many, many women here in the US don’t even get three months. Right. So I’m grateful to have had that time. I think sometimes when I want to complain, I take a step back and try to live in gratitude for the time that I’ve spent with him, you know, and going to work I keep telling myself is just going to make money to give him good things. Give him everything he needs.  I’m also not willing to quit my job right because I have a good job. 

How are Luka’s older siblings adjusting to their baby brother?

I think they’ve done really well!  I’m amazed that the joy of seeing his eyes light up when they come into the room.  He’s so happy and they’re really doing well. 

 

Most useful baby product?

Well the swing for one because Luca, Luca loves his swing, which is something I’ve never had any of the other kids. SBut I would say actually one of my best finds of all my pregnancy, actually, and we use it on that day, the Gerber burp cloths.  There’s a particular type and I swear it just absorbs everything. So that’s my must-have. I think they’re the flannel, the flannel ones.  I just ordered more from Amazon. I think I already have like 16 on my order. 

Any pregnancy and parenting books that you found helpful?

Yes, well actually, I use an app or use an app by Michelle who is some Swedish psychologist. It’s called the Wonder Weeks App. Basically, it’s almost like getting into the head of the baby. It lets you know ahead of time. So it has things like when you know, the baby’s going through a storm like this time. And once the storm is over, you’re going to see your baby’s going to be more alert. His eyes are going to follow things a bit more.  What you should do to help him out.  It was introduced to me when we were in Dubai by a group of European women, and they told me about it. So it’s almost like just ahead of time, like when your baby’s fussy and crying and you don’t know what’s going on? I also use a book by Gina Ford called the Contented Baby. 

What piece one piece of advice would you give to someone who’s about to be a first-time mom?

I think the first thing I would tell them is don’t go crazy with clothes. Buy the basic things. I mean, you want to buy everything clothing-wise, I would definitely say go easy.  Buy the clothes as needed.  I mean, people told me things, but I didn’t listen, I bought a lot of clothes for my baby and at the end of the day he wore maybe less than 50% of what I bought.