I am a total movie buff and feel few movies are as funny as Baby’s Day Out. The first time I saw Baby Bink, I fell in love with his cuteness and enjoyed the way he gave a hard time to his kidnappers. He was an instant heart-stealer and I found his antics hilarious and intelligent, at the same time. You may laugh at my naivety but I almost believed that babies were that self-sufficient and smart. Of course, my bubble burst when I had one of my own. I realised babies are real hard work!
Nonetheless, it is a pure joy to watch them grow. Every little milestone is like a feather in your own cap and an assurance that you are doing the right things. However, they grow real fast and before you know, they are running around and talking in full sentences. You will be left wondering where all that time went. That’s why I decided to document my baby’s first year and all her important milestones. You can do it too, with these easy and creative ideas.
Creative ways to document your baby’s first year
Comparison photos
This is a simple yet creative way to capture the progress of your baby. You can do this by taking the pictures of your baby with a stuffed animal or any other item you fancy at the beginning of every month. You can keep the background and your baby’s outfit consistent for better effect. Another way is to take the picture of your pregnant belly and then of your baby in all the following 12 months in the same position. This photo series will have a personal touch of the mother and is super easy to execute. Just hold your baby when she is in a good mood and shoot her beautiful pictures.
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Image Credit Dani Leigh, @danileighphotography
Baby’s first-year calendar
With a calendar, you can capture your baby’s progress at a whole new level. You can write or stick pictures against each date. You can even capture your baby’s firsts and funny incidents. You are going to have messy poopy episodes or days when you get to shower at 10 pm. Note all these little things down and you will create a treasured memory book for years.
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Baby books
These books are easily available in the market. You can even download some fancy designs online. You can paste pictures and pen down your thoughts in these books. You can even write little notes for the baby to read when she grows up. If you are creative and talented, you can even make a scrapbook of your own. Trust me, your baby will keep this book close to her heart forever.
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Image Credit Shutterfly
Baby clothes quilt
Babies grow rapidly and grow out of their clothes even faster. I had a hard time giving away my daughter’s cute clothes. After all, I had picked them with utmost love and had fond memories associated with them. I wish I had known of this idea earlier. You can preserve all the baby clothes and sew them together to make a quilt. You can find an easy tutorial by QuiltKeepsake here.
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Image Credit QuiltKeepsake
Baby milestone cards
With our cute and creative baby milestone cards, you won’t have to think of another idea to capture your baby’s first year. We have them in a variety of colours and concepts to give you a good range to choose from. These sets can give you a consistent theme and you can even use it to make a collage later. Take a look at some colourful milestones cards here
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Image credit Rang Art Shop
Use Props
Every home is filled with props and things that you can add to each monthly photo! You can try to add some of the important toys or things baby is exploring or loving that month.
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Image credit Purva Nakhasi, @Whatforstyle
First Year Posters
Sleepless nights and work can give even the best mothers a mom-brain. You may get so busy answering to peepies and poopies calls that nothing else may strike your mind. I can understand if you don’t want to do anything elaborate to document your baby’s first year. This poster is a blessing for all of you who are looking for an easy way to capture those beautiful moments. Just fill in the blanks and you will be done. The poster also makes for a good artwork and you can frame it in the later years. Have a look at super cute Birthday Milestones Poster here
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Image credit Rang Art Shop
Use Instagram
Taking a cue from Laura Iz’s popular Instagram handle, you can create your own handle to capture your baby’s first year. Laura has won thousands of fans from across the world with the way she would dress up a sleeping Joey in different avatars. You can document your baby’s first year in your own way and make some online mommy-friends too.
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Image credit Laura Izumikawa @lauraiz
Create an infographic
With easily available online tools like Canva and Venngage, you can make your own infographic. This works well if you are a busy parent and may not be available to capture all the firsts. Instead of capturing the first year in pictures, you can scribble down important dates and baby’s favourites. You can use this infographic as the invitation for your baby’s first birthday or share it on social media.
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Create Storys
Capture some glimpse of your baby’s wonderland with artistic storyboards. Why not dress them and recreate the scenes from their favourite rhymes or storybooks.
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Image credit @Suparna.ray