This article originally appeared on 09.14.16
When Laura Izumikawa was pregnant with her daughter, Joey, her friends who had kids warned her life as she knew it would change once Joey was born.
In some ways, this was true. After Joey was born, Laura’s stress levels rose, and her “me time” diminished significantly.
Parents know this is just par for the course — new motherhood comes with all sorts of worries and responsibilities. Often the only time moms have a moment to decompress is during those precious few hours of nap time.
While many take that time to catch a few more winks themselves, Laura decided to do something a little different.
Outside of her new mom life, Laura is a professional photographer who specializes in taking photos of couples, weddings, families, and kids. Secondarily, she was blessed with a daughter who’s an incredibly heavy sleeper.
So she decided to put her photography skills and her daughter’s sleeping skills together to create some adorable works of art to commemorate Joey’s infancy and ultimately unwind from the stresses of new parenthood.
It started out as just a fun way to update her grandparents on how much Joey is growing. Then her friends asked her to put the photos on Instagram, and the rest as they say, is cute, hilarious history.
1. She’s been a tourist on Hawaii.
2. And won a gold medal in her sleep.
So how does Laura do all this without waking her baby? Simple, she does the arm flinch test to make sure Joey’s totally out, then, ever so carefully, starts to put props around her.
“The most important thing for me is not to disturb her sleep or make her feel uncomfortable at all,” wrote Laura in an email.
She does pop music icons like:
3. The fierce Beyoncé.
4. Sia in her famous eye-hiding wig.
5. Slash from Guns and Roses.
And she does spot-on fictional characters, too.
6. Furiosa from “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
7. The lost, but not forgotten Barb from “Stranger Things.”
8. Leia from “Star Wars” with her dad.
9. “It’s Wayne’s World! Wayne’s World! Party time! Excellent!”
10. The Princess Bride “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to … (snores).”
11. “The hills are alive…”
At the end of the day, parenting can be exhausting. If you can find a way to smile or laugh through it, you’re doing pretty great.
“I’ve found joy in slowing down and watching her grow,” wrote Laura. “With these photos, playing with Joey, watching her slowly drift to sleep and dressing her up in hilarious outfits showed me that parenting can be fun and enjoyable.”
It’s all about finding a special way to bond, whether or not that includes props and wardrobe changes.