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When your new baby arrives, it’s natural to want to remember everything that happens as they meet milestones and race through their development. Of course, trying to keep so much just in your memory is difficult, especially since things change so fast, and you’re trying to remember it all through the fog of having young children. But there are ways to keep a record of some of those most cherished memories, and while similar, they nevertheless have some key differences that mean even if some don’t suit you, another one might. We’ll look at three different ways of storing those memories, and hopefully, even if they aren’t for you, they might spark some ideas about what will be!
Baby Scrapbook
What’s a baby scrapbook? It’s a scrapbook you make that tracks milestones, memories, photos, documents – in short, anything you think you’ll want to look back on in the years to come. The real advantage to a baby scrapbook is that it’s highly customisable – you can lay it out however you want, put almost anything into it, and decorate it how you please. They give you the option of including smaller physical objects but also allow you to keep the more intangible side of things organised before they fade from memory. For people who love bullet journalling, building a baby scrapbook might be the perfect way to keep track of each precious moment. There are a huge number of templates floating around online that can help you get started – or just design things exactly how you want, as you feel like it! You can even put whatever you like into the scrapbook – there is no right or wrong as it’s personal to you and your family. That said, there are some ideas that can get you started. The date of their first social smile is a popular choice – this usually happens sometime around six weeks of age, though this varies from baby to baby and is different from a smile in their sleep or one caused by gas. Keeping track of all their firsts is common, in fact – first tooth, first step, first word, or any other firsts that are important to you. Some parents like to keep things like a lock of hair from their first haircut – these can be attached with relative ease to a page. You might like to do weekly journal entries that document those little things that add up to create a fuller picture of what happened that your little one can read back on when they’re older – some stories are worth recording! When it comes to baby scrapbooks, you’re only limited by your imagination, so go wild! And there's no reason you need to wait to begin – plenty of parents start building their scrapbook during pregnancy, putting in printouts of their baby scans in and recording things like if their baby had hiccups.
Memory Box
While scrapbooks are, as mentioned, great for your more intangible memories (such as journal entries and the like), a memory box has the advantage of being able to store physical objects much more easily. One thing to keep in mind when choosing a memory box is making sure it has some protection against the environment – for things you’re wanting to keep long term, keeping them relatively free from humidity can be quite important. Size will also depend on whether you only want to store a few small things or if you plan to keep more or bigger items. They also provide a great arts & crafts activity as you can decorate the box before you use it – or even decorate it later to match your baby’s developing personality! As for what you put in it, again, that’s dependent on what is important to you. Common choices can include your baby’s hospital band, the first outfit they wore, or, later on, a favourite toy they’ve since outgrown. You might also like to take footprint impressions on paper. If you have a hunt around, there are kits designed for newborns that use inkless methods to capture prints quickly and without having to worry about the mess or hassle of having to track down a non-toxic baby-safe paint. Other than that, you can put whatever physical memory items you want and have room to store!
Keepsakes
Keepsakes can span everything from printed photos to the bits and pieces you’ve saved in your memory box – so let’s have a look at a couple of other ideas! Footprints are popular, but you can also have more long-lasting options in the form of non-toxic clay imprints. Generally, there are two types – air-dried and kiln-fired. Air-dried clay is much quicker and easier, while kiln-fired is much more durable - it all comes down to what is accessible for you. Finally, another fun idea is to create a time capsule—remember those?—with a range of items from bubs’ first year. These could be important, cute, funny – anything that captures your attention at the time. Try their first dummy or the aforementioned footprints or hospital tag. Seal it up, then store it until there’s a special occasion, such as a milestone birthday or similar, for you all to open back up again. The memory box you’ve carefully crafted could be incorporated into this idea!
Digital
All of these can be replicated in digital formats if the idea of keeping hold of physical objects doesn’t appeal to you. Scans and photos will still capture those memories, and depending on how you choose to have these hosted, they can be made accessible to friends and family across the world. Being digital, it’s a great idea to make sure you have backups ready – just in case your storage is corrupted or your hosting platform isn’t around in the future. You might even choose to create all of these in different fashions, picking and choosing between physical and digital depending on the specific memory in question! At the end of the day, it’s entirely up to you. Pick whichever blend of methods you prefer – or create something completely different! Whatever you decide to do, you’ll have memories to last a lifetime right at your fingertips.
