Trying to get the hang of this portrait thing

Hello all,

I'm still pretty new to the photography thing and trying to work on my skills. These are a couple of shots that I took recently. Any feedback, critique, suggestions, etc are very much appreciated.

You're on the right track and you have a beautiful subject. #2 is awesome. My only suggestions would be to shoot bursts (several shots at a time), because babies can change expressions in a millisecond. Also, you might back up a bit. You can always crop in post. Better to throw part of the shot away than to miss part of the subject because you're too close.

I found it distracting that part of her face was out of focus in shot #1 (and #3, but it didn't bother me as much since she's looking to the side). I'd close the aperture a notch or two; you should still get the blurry background.

I also agree with singlerosa, step back a bit and take multiples.