One of my most treasured possessions is the old-school photo album that is my baby book. Full of photos, mementos, and other special remembrances, it’s one of the things I would grab if my house caught on fire, along with the ones I’ve been working on for my children. In a digital age, there’s just something about all of those memories and milestones collected by my mom in one place and in tangible form. And though it’s sometimes hard to find the time to invest in their baby books, I want each of my children to have the same kind of invaluable keepsake.
If you’re looking for a more traditional baby book, I highly recommend Emily Ley’s The Baby Book. The pages have tons of space for those adorable pictures (and work really well with prints from Instagram photos), as well as milestone sections for the first 12 months. The book comes with standard pages, but you can also buy page packs specifically for adoption, infertility, pregnancy loss, and other special stories. The Emily Ley company also has a Big Kid book for ages 2-6. Some other great traditional baby books include Spearmint Love’s Memory Books, Modern Baby Books, and the Hello, Little One book by Compendium.
I also love the Promptly Childhood History journals. These start with pregnancy and end at 18 years, making them a priceless keepsake for a graduating senior. There are pages for a photo each month/year, and the journal is full of unique prompts such as “What’s your child’s favorite song?”, “What did they dress up as for Halloween?” and a myriad of other details that I don’t want to forget. These journals are gorgeous—linen covers and nice paper—and make wonderful shower gifts.
If a traditional baby book isn’t your thing, there are some great other options for preserving photos and milestones:
Mom’s One Line a Day: A Five Year Memory Book. Simply jot down something special about the day in this journal, a funny moment, a cute thing your child said, or what you did. Over time, those lines will amount to five years’ worth of precious memories.
The Qeepsake app. This app sends you questions about your child via text messages; you reply with your answer. You can also text photos and other things you want to remember about your child. In short, it’s genius and a great option for busy moms. Qeepsake stores the photos, milestones, and memories you send in your child’s private journal within the app, making them easy to access, view, and edit. Qeepsake also offers the option to print the journal in expandable book form.
Open an email account in your child’s name. Send them photos, stories, memories, and letters from your smartphone. It’s like an electronic time capsule. And once they’re old enough, your child will have an email address.
They say the days are long, but the years are short. Make sure you get those fleeting years of childhood recorded in a special place.
