My college hobby of scrapbooking late into the night with girlfriends involved pouring over carefully thought out and crafted ‘layouts,’ aka scrapbooking pages. I spent a lot of time (and money) capturing fun memories with printed photographs, embellishments, and distressed monochromatic cardstock.
And while I didn’t scrapbook much after college, I envisioned picking it back up once I became a mom. I imagined documenting every special moment with my baby and capturing it all in a beautifully penned, photographed, and hand crafted baby book. It was going to be beautiful.
Then I became a mom.
Fast forward to my daughter’s second Christmas. The Hubs and I decided rather than new clothes or toys for our little girl, our gift would be for us to actually sit down together and create the aforementioned baby book.
Poor girl’s still waitin’ on that present to arrive under the tree. Mom fail.
In an effort to redeem myself, here are my baby book hacks……..
*A keepsake box – My daughter’s (empty) baby book came in a nice box. I fill it with small mementos, such as ultrasound pictures, her hospital bracelet, and the well-child checkup papers the doc gives us, documenting her growth. While it’s not beautifully manicured, at least it’s together in one place.
*Mom’s One Line a Day book – My sister gave me this book when I became a mom. I started to write in it – one sentence a day – when my daughter was 3-weeks-old. She’s 3 1/2 now. Those simple sentences have captured the beautiful moments, developmental milestones, and challenging days of parenting. I continue to write in my book and capture my son’s firsts, as well. I LOVE being able to quickly read back on the years before. A simple sentence of “Four blowouts today” says it all. My “Mom’s One Line A Day Book” has become my most prized possession and favorite gift for new moms.
*Chatbooks App – For $6 bucks a book (printed automatically after 60 pictures have been posted to your Instagram account) all baby’s milestones, developments and firsts can be captured with virtually no additional effort from you. Bonus: As baby gets older, they love to look through the books to see pictures of their baby and toddler selves.
*Growth stick or handprint art – It’s simple, it’s easy. It gets the job done on capturing your kiddos as they grow. Literally.
*Email your baby – I have friends who have created email addresses and occasionally send emails to their baby capturing their sentimental thoughts and noteworthy milestones that baby has achieved. Someday, the emails will be a beautiful gift to their grown child.
I hear there are also baby book apps out there, but I’ve not used them. I’m sure you can find some reviews to help you decide if they would be right for you.
