I did all my kids pics at Picture People their first year (we went each month until their first birthday so I have 8x10s of them "growing" their first year!) We only did it a Picture People b/c they always printed the free 8x10 coupons, so we went in and got the free 8x10 and usually didn't buy anything else--I know I'm a cheapskate! I really think they are way too overpriced, I would have loved to buy extra prints most of the time but just couldn't afford it.
For my daughter's 1st bday pictures I took her to Portrait Innovations at the recommendation of a friend and was ABSOLUTELY totally impressed! They had a gazillion props and backgrounds, they took 57 poses of her! We did 2 different outfits that day. It was so hard deciding what poses to take, but they cost so much less than Picture People so I was able to take about 5 pose packages home for around $80.00. That was a splurge for me, but they did such a great job on her pics that I couldn't pass them up :)
Good luck though, I think you would do well to let her eat and nap before going. And just stay close by and continue to talk to her so she can hear your voice and be comforted. It also helps to stand behind the camera and make faces at her so when she laughs at you or smiles back it seems like she's doing it into the camera.