So I'm trying to work on Agatha's baby book a little at at time but I'm struggling what is important to include and what is best to leave out. I tend to be drawn to really simple book designs that are almost entirely photos but part of me wonders if I'll be sorry I didn't have more details included. What do you think: Is less more? What details did you include in your baby's books?
On that subject, here are some fabulous baby memory keeping that inspire.
Arden's First Year by Copy Cat Chic /
Fill in The Blanks by Strange Birdy
Bee's First Year by Pencil Box /
Chalkboard Design by HannaMac
Did you do a baby's first year book or other memory keeper you want to share? I want to see it!
I like some information written in the book along with pictures. I've documented eating and sleeping information along with milestones/special activities and a picture every month. I also have a family tree, birth story, growth information (height, weight and head circumference with percentages). I also have a few pages for pictures of her meeting family members for the first time.
ReplyDeleteI also do an annual family album of just pictures on My Publisher which includes all the other pictures that I take through out the year.
I think it's nice to have something written down in addition to the photos, so my child can someday read about the little things, like funny games she would play or toys she liked. Someone gave me this baby book: http://www.annabelkarmel.com/bookshop/baby-first-year
ReplyDeleteIt has a lot of silly, superfluous pages - like baby food recipes and such - but I have just covered those with extra photos so those pages are more like a scrapbook. I like that the book has open ended sentences like "My first outing was....." and I find it easy to just leave the book out and fill in with a pen as things happen.
I figured in addition to this I would make a photo album for each year, but I would wait for the end of the year to composite that.
Write! and write lots. I figured that babies come with no manual but if I document my own kids' milestones, then that would be their manual when they have kids. Pictures are important but so are their stories. When they were babies, I gathered all my notes and wrote once per month. I had a calendar and a notebook where I could jot down when things happened and I had a format that I followed when I wrote out their monthly summary. After they turned one, I did it annually and continued well into their teens. Basically, I documented the milestones, new skills etc.., favourites, new experiences and other miscellany, as well as birthday and Christmas celebrations. We also take the same pictures every year at certain touchstones - first day of school in front of the front door of our house, opening stockings at Christmas etc..
ReplyDeleteThink about what she will like to read later on...pics are GREAT, but she will love to read all the little details and memories you have of her first year.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing my baby pictures, but what I really like the best are the little comments about how I was the biggest eater in the nursery, that I tried to eat an onion when I was six months old, and that the sound of my grandfather's voice made me squeal and giggle uncontrollably.
I was also struggling with this recently, but then I pulled out my husband's book and LOVED reading anecdotes and memories. I also loved that his mom included a growth chart with his weight and height at various ages- it's fun to compare to now. I have been writing a letter each month to my son with the new things he is doing and loving and plan to include those. Do you know of any good programs to use online? I am having a hard time finding one
ReplyDeleteMy Mom included EVERYTHING with my brother who was born 10 years after me and I love that she did that for him.
ReplyDeleteI started with a baby book, but since my family is out of town I blog a couple of times a week to keep them up to date, my blog turned into my baby book. So at the end of the year, I let blog2print import my blog and I edit a few things and then send to print. So - my baby books now collect dust and they all will have a more detailed account of what REALLY happened, both big and small. It is way more up to date than everyone but the most diligent mothers' tangible baby books - so when I want to compare my twins with my oldest, teeth, steps etc, - i just check blogger and there it is to the exact date--and not some date that I guessed about a month or two down the road when I remembered to write it in the book. I understand this blog is way more public, but maybe you set one up for your personal friends and family to see that could be your baby book.
ReplyDeleteI have your standard baby book, but I'm buying that poster. Love it! I wrote a lot in the baby books and I'm really glad that I did because there are things that I had forgotten. It's fun to go back a relive some of those precious moments.
ReplyDeleteI have a baby book for Max. I want to make a Shutterfly book because the photos and text are flush. I include funny anecdotes and milestones.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you saw it already but Groupon is running a sale for Shutterfly books really cheap. You might want to check it out.
DeleteWe were bad at keeping up with T's baby book--ooops! At least we have photos. :)
ReplyDeleteBeing a graphic designer I wasn't so keen on a lot of the pre-made baby books out there so I decided to create my own. I bought a scrapbook album and created individual pages that were custom printed. You can see my post here with pics (and now that by son is one, I'll be posting a baby book update on my blog soon): http://fixingitfancy.com/?p=2544
ReplyDeleteI love your book - can't wait to see the whole thing. (I tried to comment on that post but I keep getting blocked by your spam filter)
DeleteThank you @Mrs. Limestone! I appreciate you visiting the page and trying to leave a comment. :)
DeleteThank you @Mrs. Limestone! I appreciate you checking out my page and trying to leave a comment. :)
DeleteI wrote a ton of details in my daughters first year scrapbook. Some of the highlights are ear piercing, first hairstyle, first night sleeping in her nursery, first plane ride.....lots of first. Her second book was more about funny things she said, cute outfits, big girl panties. But all throughout I had lots of journals. She is 10 now and she about twice a year flips through them. She loves them. And thinks they are custom made storybooks about her life. I even have hidden letters to her & pull out journals.
ReplyDeleteI created custom scrapbooks for the first 5 years of my daughters life the first book was very simple. Mainly pictures and all of her firsts. First plane ride, first hairstyle, ear piercing. I also wrote poems to her.
ReplyDeleteAll her later books were more detailed. Funny things she said, her fav foods, growth charts. I even had hidden journaling, letters, and pullout cards with messages to her.
She is now 10 and she loves them. She thinks they are her very own storybooks about her life.