Looking for a new mom gift? Trying to find a way to document your baby’s milestones in the whirlwind of new motherhood? These five methods easily and efficiently keep baby memories safe without requiring buckets of time or concentration.
Every new mom has visions of lovingly pasting her baby’s hospital wrist bands into a scrapbook, saving the first lock of snipped hair and gathering special photos into albums. Then the baby actually arrives and the realization hits that a shower is precious, let alone seizing five minutes of time with a glue stick.
Whether you’re looking to streamline the way you keep your baby memories or hunting for a gift for a new mom, these ideas hit the mark.
Box those memories
Purchase a set of small storage boxes and label one for each month of baby’s first year. Gather whatever you saved that month, from congratulatory cards to the first magazine your baby tore to pieces. As your free time grows, you can assemble the keepsakes in a more personalized way, like a scrapbook or shadow box.
Gather hope
Less concerned about dates and more concerned about keeping baby memories in one place? Create a hope chest out of a formal cedar chest, playful toy box or even a plastic tote. Throw everything in there — even favorite outfits. Date what you can, but don’t stress. As your child grows, continue to use this spot for school papers, drawings, awards and other keepsakes. One day you and your child can go through it together and reminisce.
Streamline your photos
Digital cameras are fantastic — you can take as many pictures as you want. The disadvantage? You can take as many pictures as you want! When you can’t bring yourself to delete even one snapshot of your beloved babe and order all the prints, invest in photo storage boxes for organized storage. Better yet, skip the prints altogether and take advantage of space saving photo books from Kodak, Shutterfly and the like to create online albums in one click.
How to make a photo book >>
Make a note
Mom’s One Line a Day memory book from Chronicle Books is a smart, efficient way to keep those precious baby memories as the days fly by. With 365 pages and five entries for each page, all you need to do is mark the year and jot down your favorite happenings from the past 24 hours. Five years of amazing highlights of your child’s life and the world of motherhood. No pressure — it takes one minute at the end of each day. This is an ideal gift for a new mom.
Journal it
If you’re not a pack rat who wants to save each little memento but cherishes them nonetheless, invest in a fine leather journal and a Polaroid camera. Take a snapshot of every keepsake — from gifts to kids’ artwork — and tuck it in that journal with a quickly jotted note of why these baby memories are, well, memorable.
Read more about preserving baby memories
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Scrapbooking 101 for moms
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