When Mahlee told me she wanted to do a milk bath session for her adorable 6-month-old son, Ryker, I was over the moon!

I did these for my own daughter when she was a baby, and they turned out absolutely. Precious. Now I had the opportunity to bless a friend with these adorable photos, too!

Of course, I was thinking along the traditional lines of milk bath add-ins... fruits and flowers are very common, so I was thinking perhaps orange and lemon slices for summer. Mahlee had two unique ideas that I LOVED - milk and cookies, and rubber ducks!!! (See below for a list of milk bath ideas!)

Recipe for the perfect Milk Bath Session:

2-3 packs of powdered milk

water (leave out in the sun for a while if you're able!)

1 galvanized tub or other nice waterproof container

1 non-skid mat to prevent slippage

themed floating things (quantity varies)

1 beautiful day!

1 adorable baby! (or more if you have multiples!) - in most cases you'll want to be sure your baby is a strong sitter when you do a milk bath session, or use a very small, very shallow receptacle and have a parent ALWAYS very close by baby, no. matter. what.

For outdoor milk bath sessions, the warmer months are obviously preferable. Some photographers have their own studio space or access to studio spaces you can rent out for the cooler months!

We were able to do Ryker's session on my property near Colorado Springs, and thankfully it was a beautiful, green, lush year! He wasn't too sure about this whole milk bath thing, and that's okay. He got into the toys and had a blast, even if he wasn't his usual smiley self. We still got a few adorable smiles and mom loves these sweet memories of her baby boy (who is now a toddler, what?! They grow too fast!).

BONUS - here are some ideas for your milk bath session!

• Strawberries/mixed berries
• orange/lemon/lime slices
• watermelon slices (thin)
• pine cones/pine sprigs
• flowers/flower petals
• mini pumpkins (I did these with my daughter in the fall!)
• fall leaves
• plastic Christmas ornaments (be sure they are safe for baby)
• rubber duckies/bath toys
• cookies (don't use Chips Ahoy, we learned... Cookie Crisp Cereal would be a great idea!)
• marshmallows (add cocoa powder to make chocolate milk/"hot cocoa"!)