Dear Niece: Keeping Memories, Pt. 1

Dear Niece,

Your baby has been here for over a month now.  He has lived through holidays and family and you've already got plenty of stories to tell.  He's reached milestones and you've got many pictures.  You are living in the now and enjoying your baby.  It is a wonderful time!


But as you've already noticed, he is growing.  He will continue to do so for the next two decades!  And as he grows he will have many experiences and you will share many experiences with him.  There will be many more pictures, too.  You will need to make sure these memories are preserved.

Trust me when I say this: just because you remember all the details of last week's adventure today does not mean you will remember much at all in about a year.  The truth is that between the sleep depravation and the speed at which your baby will grow, details will soon escape you.  And you'll be sad they did.

There are many ways to save the memories and you can chose whichever method you like or even a combination of methods:

• Baby books
• Journal
• Scrapbooking
• Photo Album
• Any of the above in an digital/online format

Whichever you chose, don't cheap out.  Meaning, if you see a baby book that you absolutely love, get it.  Don't settle for a less expensive one simply because it is less expensive.  This is meant to be your keepsake forever, it should make you smile every time you see it.  

If you chose an online medium, explore all the features different services offer.  Many times you'll find a service that offers everything you need for free.  And it doesn't need to be public! Blogs and online journals usually all have a way of keeping it private and viewable only by select individuals.  However, there is something absolutely wonderful about a physical book.

I recently saw somewhere that a family had chosen to make picture book every year and called it a year book.  That is a wonderful alternative!  Instead of making it for the calendar year you can make it for his birthday.  I know that Snapfish and Shutterly often have sales that make these books fairly inexpensive.  I may do this myself!  Just another option for keeping memories.

Whatever you decide to do, do it.  It doesn't need to look like a Martha Stewart project.  It just needs to be done from the heart.  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with only following the prompts of a baby book.  I've seen some real neat ones that have many questions and prompts.  You can always add in your own pages if you want to add more things or different things.  You can be creative!