Crochet Octopuses
They say that you learn something new every day. I thought that I had been doing this job for long enough now that I had heard almost all birth stories and baby related facts. I love meeting premature babies for a photoshoot. Their stories are always remarkable and incredible.
When we do the newborn baby photoshoot parents often bring some form of cuddly toy for baby to be photographed with. Often this is something that has been bought or given for the new arrival. Sometimes it is a family heirloom or perhaps the same toy that mum or dad had when they were a baby. More rarely it is an octopus. And these octopuses generally come with the babies who were born early or premature.
Only recently did one parent explain to me the exact reason for this. There are charities such as Octopus for a Preemie. They crochet these little octopuses to help premature babies through their first days of life. On their website: https://octopusforapreemie.com/who/ they explain that:
“These little octopuses make babies, and their parents feel calmer and safer. The babies play with their tentacles as if it is their mother’s umbilical cord.
At the same time, parents can have the deserved little break, knowing their tiny precious ones feel more safe and calm with the tentacles in their little hands instead of pulling those life-saving tubes and cables out.”
Apparently it is quite a common occurrence for the alarms to go off in the intensive care unit. Baby pulls off one of the cables and this causes unnecessary concern for parents.
Isn’t my baby going to be too old?
If you are interested in booking a photoshoot for your premature baby do get in touch here. We understand that they may be older than babies normally are for a newborn photoshoot. Do not worry. We consider their suitability based on when they were actually due. If your baby was ten weeks early, then at six weeks of age they will still be very sleepy and very flexible. Still very suitable for a premature baby photoshoot and we would love to see them. We have many different props of different sizes for all sizes of baby. You can read all about a newborn baby photoshoot here.