• Alicia Gould takes portraits of babies as young as three days old
• The 32-year-old says she enjoys the ‘simplicity’ of newborn photography

For many new parents, the sight of their newborn peacefully asleep is one to behold – a moment to savour and a short respite from constant rounds of feeds and nappy changing.

Dispelling the myth that sleep is an alien concept to newborns, New Jersey photographer Alicia Gould has captured these heartwarming moments in a series of pictures of babies in the earliest stages of their lives.

Alicia, 32, captures the babies, some as young as three days old, in a variety of poses and mostly asleep.

Sleeping beauty: Photographer Alicia Gould has taken a series of adorable pictures of newborn babies when they are just a few days old

Child's play: Alicia, who says she loves the 'simplicity' of photographing newborns spends around three hours on each shoot

Cute: Most of the pictures, including this one, show the children while they are fast asleep

She said: ‘I like the simplicity of photographing newborns.

‘My goal is really just to freeze that moment in time, the physical and the emotional.

‘I want mum to look at those images ten years from now and see that overwhelming love she had for her new baby, the way they smelled, how tiny their fingers and toes were.

She added: ‘I remember five years ago doing my first free newborn session to add to my portfolio and loving it.’

'Scary': Alicia admits that photographing newborns is 'one of the scariest things'

Snug: Alicia explains that half the challenge is getting the children's parents to relax during an undoubtedly nervy first few weeks of parenthood

Alicia spends around three hours on each shoot, photographing tots as young as three days old.

She explained: ‘Photographing newborns has to be one of the scariest things though.

‘I go to my client’s home and I never know what to expect, each and every baby I’ve met is different.

‘Some are very feisty and some you can’t wake up even if you try.

Adorable: Some of Alicia's pictures feature twins. This shot pictures one newborn cuddling up to his brother

‘My newborn sessions are also done in the first two weeks of life, so it’s a nerve-racking time for parents so there is that added pressure of getting them comfortable also.’

As well as normal portraits, the photographer has done some rather bizarre shots at the request of her clients.

‘I had someone ask me once if I could pose her baby in a huge egg because her baby was born at Easter,’ she said.

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