To start off my newborn sessions, posing baby on his or her back is a simple and easy pose with which any baby, whether awake or sleep, will comply. Variety of angles and fabrics make this pose so versatile.

During this first pose of the session, I get to know the baby a little bit. I observe how sleepy baby is, whether baby is started from sleep by noise in the room, or my chilly hands. Taking the time at the start of the session to assess how sensitive the baby is to changes around him helps me maneuver into other poses during the rest of the session. I can determine during this first pose if I need to put knit gloves on my cold hands, or turn on the white noise or have a pacifier handy. I can see during this 'baby on back' pose if baby needs the room totally quiet in order to stay asleep or if he is oblivious to the noise. Placing the baby on his back, either wrapped or unwrapped will demonstrate to me how strong baby's Moro Reflex is; this is the reflex newborns possess that appears like a big startle! I can also learn how strong the baby's root or grasp reflex is, which is all helpful information as I go about placing the baby in other poses.  

Thanks for taking a look at a few of my baby on back images and I hope you enjoyed learning some of the reasoning behind my posing order!