Whether you want to post photos to your social media, make a photo book, or are old school and enᴊᴏʏ sending out ʙɪʀᴛʜ announcements, capturing those newborn photos of your baby in the first 24 hours of their life is crucial. I promise you’ll forget how tiny those hands and toes were after a while — especially when they’re demanding their fifteenth snack in an hour when they’re preschool-aged. It’s guaranteed you’ll want to look back at these photos and remember how you felt, how your partner and the grandparents felt, and how your baby looked, to warm your heart — and probably shed a few tears.

ʙɪʀᴛʜ photography is gaining popularity, with some ʜᴏsᴘɪᴛᴀʟs offering in-house photographers to be by your side on the big day (for a fee, of course). Other folks are hiring their own newborn photographers and even ʙɪʀᴛʜ photographers to capture every moment and sometimes ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ɢᴏʀʏ ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟ, depending on your comfort levels and what you want to share and see. Whether you have a hospital ʙɪʀᴛʜ, a ʙɪʀᴛʜing center ʙɪʀᴛʜ, or home ʙɪʀᴛʜ, having a ʙɪʀᴛʜ photographer or a newborn photographer is incredibly special to have on the day you ɢɪᴠᴇ ʙɪʀᴛʜ to your baby.

We may forget ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀɪɴ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʙɪʀᴛʜ, but we will never forget how we felt holding our babies the first time, seeing our partner holding the baby for the first time, and the grandparents holding the baby, especially if they’re captured in photos.

Mom and Partner’s Reaction to Seeing the Baby for the First Time: This is the look of complete ᴊᴏʏ, elation, love, and sometimes sʜᴏᴄᴋ and a bit of ꜰᴇᴀʀ. This photo is priceless. Obviously, this photo is absolutely crucial. You’ve grown this entire baby for nine months. You did the work to get them out safely. Now, you’re officially a mom. You’ll want to remember every detail of this moment.

Wrinkly Baby Toes: Man, I miss my son’s wrinkly tiny baby feet and his tiny toes. He now has a preschooler-sized foot, and I am so glad I have photos of his sweet, ɴᴏɴ-sᴛɪɴᴋʏ baby feet to look back on when I’m in my feels.

Baby’s First Time Being Swaddled: This photo is so sweet. It could also be used as a learning tool when you’re trying to figure out how the heck to wrap them like a burrito in that little blanket with pink and blue footprints. But really, nothing is sweeter and cuter than a baby burrito.

The Clock in the Room at the Time of ʙɪʀᴛʜ: This is a neat photo that not many people think to take, and it’s surreal to see that this was the exact moment your child took their ꜰɪʀsᴛ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀs ᴇᴀʀᴛʜsɪᴅᴇ. And if you’re into astrology, the time could be very important to read their ʙɪʀᴛʜ chart one day.

Shot of Belly with Cʟᴀᴍᴘᴇᴅ Uᴍʙɪʟɪᴄᴀʟ Cᴏʀᴅ: For those who don’t get sǫᴜᴇᴀᴍɪsʜ, this is a neat newborn photo to take. That cord was the ʟɪꜰᴇʟɪɴᴇ between you and your baby, where you provided nutrients for them to grow and thrive.

Baby’s Weight and Being Weighed: Not only is this a super sweet picture (and will be fun to look back on when your baby reaches 50 pounds as a kindergartener), but the information is good to have handy for that first pediatrician visit.

Baby and Mom’s Parents: It’s a special moment for grandparents to hold their grandchild for the first time. I’m sure it will bring back memories of when you were a baby. They’ll be beaming and potentially crying tears of ᴊᴏʏ in the photo. This makes for great memories to look back on.

Baby with Siblings: This has the potential to be the cutest photo ever. Kids will be so excited to meet their new sibling, and their reactions and facial expressions will be priceless. They’ll love to look back on this when they’re all older (unless you’re like my husband and his brother). When his brother was born, my husband was four years old, and he asked his dad if they could take him back and return him to the store.