One of the biggest mom guilt woes (or badges if you’re a proud Type B Mom) is the lack of a completed baby book. We hear it from so many readers over the years, and I get it! Even the best-laid plans can go south once there’s a real, live baby with needs — and an inability to sleep for more than 3 seconds at a time, in my case. Let alone when you have a second child.
So we’re happy to welcome back our sponsor Artifact Uprising, which is just out with their new heirloom-quality Story of You baby book and photo journal.
If I had gotten one as a shower gift, I know such a beautiful keepsake would have given me a lot more motivation to get it completed.
-Don’t miss a special discount just for our readers, below –
What it wouldn’t have given me though, is more time.
That’s why I’m hoping these tips will make it easy to put together a traditional baby book, and help you in the way they’ve helped a lot of the parents we’ve spoken to through the years.
1. First know, you have no deadline.
It’s going to be a good few years until your baby can read, so take the pressure off! Know that you can slowly collect information, photos, stories over time and put them in whenever you get the chance. One day your baby will be a big kid (hard to imagine, we know) who’s excited to look back at all those pictures and try to figure out how that infant was really them. But for now, easing up on deadlines and time limits is a big psychological help.
2. Create an email address in your baby’s name.
Kristen did this for all four of her kids and I thought it was genius; she’d email “the baby” a quick note every time there was a milestone, a pediatrician appointment, a funny thing her kids said or did that she wanted to remember. That way it’s all there, gathered in one place — chronologically no less! — for easy retrieval when you need it.
3. Use an app for quickly jotting down memories and reminders.
Since we’re all pretty much attached at the hand to our phones, why not just use yours? You can use any app you already use to jot down the baby’s weight at a checkup or your first trip out of the house — try your phone’s calendar app, notes app, or even reminders. Or, find a great journaling app because trust me, you don’t want to rely on your memory! Then when you’re ready, you can jot them all those first words, funny stories, and milestones down in your actual keepsake baby book.
4. Try to keep up with all your photo organization. HAHAHA, just kidding! You only have to keep up with some of it.
You will take roughly 341,429 photos of your baby the first week alone. Estimate about 75,000 every week thereafter. So how do you manage them all?
We recently spoke with professional organizer Joshua Zerkel about digital decluttering tips on our podcast, and his suggestion is to continually keep up with some of your photo organization with this trick:
If you have 600 photos from that special day the baby first met her grandparents, sit down that night or the next morning and sort. Try to keep only 50 or 100 or so (you can do it!) from that day, and then you’ll have a smaller pool from which to choose.
Then, just favorite a few top pics that stand out to you, and now you have even a smaller pool right in your favorites folder, all without having deleted the others. “Just in case.”
(I get it.)
It really makes the process less intimidating, and way easier to start ordering prints for your keepsake baby book.
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About our sponsor
From one of parents’ favorite photo gift sites comes a brand new and meaningful way to document your children’s lives: The Story of You baby book.
This gorgeous, fabric-bound book is foil stamped with the title, Here Begins The Story of You, making it an absolutely exquisite baby shower gift. But the inside is what’s truly special.
Because new parents are busy, fill-in-the-blank pages and open-ended prompts make it easy to complete. And the typical milestone pages have been replaced with a focus on the everyday moments parents most want to remember, including space for handwritten notes to the baby.
(Clearly they really get parents!)
Plus, it’s easy to create your prints using the company’s own Artifact Uprising iPhone app; you’ll even get a complimentary set of prints to get you started when you register your book.
Because it’s so simple and streamlined, The Story of You makes it far more likely parents will end up with an heirloom-quality photo journal keepsake that they’ll be excited to pass along to their children. And one day (gulp) their grandchildren.
Special Offer Just for Cool Mom Picks Readers: Save 10% off The Story of You baby book with coupon code CMPBB10 exclusive of shipping costs. Valid through June 12th, 2017.
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5. Designate one single place for storing mementos.
I had one single empty cabinet shelf for tossing everything I needed, and as someone who pretty much misplaces everything, that made all the difference.
Believe me, in a small NYC apartment where space is a premium, that was a big deal! I am proud of myself! And if I could do it, you can do it.
Whether you’d rather use a big shoebox, an accordion folder, a magazine file or whatever works for you, just toss in your sonogram photos, key appointment slips (aw, I still have the scheduled induction date notice for my second daughter), florist cards, your baby shower invitation — whatever memorabilia you want to save. Then you don’t have to scramble to find it all when you need it.
6. Start when you’re pregnant.
I promise this isn’t a totally insane, Type A Parenting idea. It’s really about getting a head start on your to-do’s — and avoiding some of that mom guilt thing — that you’ll have once the baby is here.
During those totally agonizing final weeks that you’re impatiently waiting for the baby to arrive, instead of killing time puttering on social media, start taking on the preparation and organization tips here. Start new digital photo albums or folders on your phone, set up those email addresses, label shoeboxes or cabinet shelves for mementos.
Once that baby is here, even the best-laid plans will go awry. That much is a guarantee. So throw a little attention toward your baby book early, and in the end you’ll have a truly special family heirloom to show for your efforts. Totally worth it.
Thanks so much to our always fantastic sponsor, Artifact Uprising, for making the most incredible keepsake photo gifts for parents, including their gorgeous new baby book.
Special Offer Just for Cool Mom Picks Readers: Save 10% off The Story of You baby book with coupon code CMPBB10 exclusive of shipping costs. Valid through June 12th, 2017.
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