When Babies Get Messy: Which Do You Grab First, a Towel or Your Camera?

By Charlotte Hilton Andersen, REDBOOK

messy baby
messy baby


Sloppy baby pictures of your little one like this shot can put a smile on your face for years to come.

Quick: Your baby dumps a cup of applesauce over head-what's your first instinct? If you're like many moms these days, you reach for your camera before a towel. The sheer delight! The chubby cheeks! The surprise! It's enough to make anyone go "awww!" Messy baby pictures are one of the best joys of motherhood, even if cleaning up after them isn't.

Related: 4 Sneaky Reasons Your Back Hurts

Babies are unpredictable creatures and this is never more true than when it comes to food (both going in and coming out!). I remember my first son's first birthday when we busted out the tarp, stripped him to his diaper, set his cake on the ground in front of him, and waited with our cameras to capture the cake fest. Wouldn't you know it, he crawled over to the picnic supplies and pulled out a spoon which he then used to take a dainty three bites before signing "all done." Stinker. Thankfully son #2 gave us the cake pictures of our dreams when he dove right in and ended up with a cupcake as a hat.

Related: Eat to Shrink Your Belly

I know I'm not the only mom with some awesome messy pictures lying around and Redbook wants to collect candid shots of your little ones to potentially feature in the magazine. This month we're collecting pictures of messy babies and awkward school photos. E-mail your favorite shots to redbookemail@gmail.com.


More from REDBOOK:


redbookstamp
redbookstamp



Permissions: Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.