A mother from Alaska is cherishing photos she snapped of her wide-eyed six-month-old baby in the arms of former US President Barack Obama.

Jolene Jackinsky was at Anchorage International Airport on Monday looking for an airline when she ended up in a waiting area for private flights, where a man she thought looked like Obama was sitting.

"As I got closer, I thought: 'Oh my God, it is Obama'," she recalled from her holiday location Newhalen , a small Alaska village, on Friday.

Obama then walked up to her and asked "Who is this pretty girl?"

They chatted about how fast children grow while Obama carried baby Giselle. Jackinsky took a few photos of a smiling Obama carrying Giselle, who was wearing a straw hat with a white ribbon.

Obama told them he was headed home from a vacation, Jackinsky said.

Airport officials were not immediately available Friday evening after work hours to confirm that Obama had stopped there.

When Giselle's father approached, Obama joked, "I'm taking your baby," Jackinsky said.

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Giselle was calm and content during the brief encounter, Jackinsky said. "It was only five minutes but it was a moment that will last forever," she said.

She posted the photos on Facebook.

"I think it's unreal and pretty exciting that I get to have a picture with him and my baby," she said. "Not a lot of people get to meet him."