Kim, G, and Baby L as nearly 4

Maternity photo shoot in the desert, with credits to Jo Cole Photography and Denize Xenia Dress Hire!

When I was pregnant with Baby L, I found an amazing photographer in Abu Dhabi to take my maternity photos, Baby L's birth story, and a home session once G and I got our parenting feet under us.  And then Lacey moved back to the USA :-(.  It was definitely the right thing for her and her family, but I was so sad to see her go!

So when we found out we were pregnant with Baby #2, of course I asked Lacey for a recommendation.  Lacey connected me with Jo, an amazing award-winning lifestyle photographer in Dubai. I was so nauseous and exhausted all the time with Baby L that we a fun an intimate maternity session at our apartment in Abu Dhabi.  With Baby #2, I was more exhausted and more nauseous early on, but it has mostly cleared up and I've had quite a bit more energy these last few months - as noted by all the sewing projects I've finished!  So I decided to do a maternity shoot in the desert instead, to round out my UAE pregnancy experience.

I found a woman who rents out BEAUTIFUL dresses in the area, so I made an appointment and picked out a dress. Denize Xenia Dress Hire allowed me to have a lovely dress for our desert photos without having to spend a fortune to buy a dress that I might never wear again.  It was also super easy, I just scheduled a fitting, picked it up on the day of my shoot, and dropped it off the next day - all the cleaning costs were included in the price. A winning situation all around!

We had some terrible dust storms during our scheduled photo session, and Jo was so flexible - we ended up rescheduling once, and we almost rescheduled a second time. Thankfully we didn't, because we were able to sneak into a perfect weather window in the desert! G and I had such a great time, and while we learned that Baby L is not AT ALL a fan of the sand (which is why she has no solo-shots), she warmed up to Jo right away and had lots of smiles for the camera.  We also got some really great formal photos of Baby L with Miss J, which I wanted to have since Miss J is such an important part of our family.

Below is a small sample of my favorites, the full gallery is located here: Kim's Maternity Session by Jo Cole

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And of course, some outtakes from G and Baby L. They and Miss J were such troopers, putting up with my desert photo shenanigans.