So, you have a new baby. If this is the first, you will have a TON of photos. Yet, in this day and age, most of those photos will be on your phone or the card in your camera. It is so easy to snap photos documenting each monthly birthday, their first step and much too quickly, they are driving.

Please note, if you are like most parents, that second and third child don’t have as many photos. My daughter, who is the second child, used to give me a hard time about that. She is now grown with children of her own. The first had a LOT of photos, however, there was a decline with the second and I hardly see any of the third. We get busy as mothers and sometimes barely keep our head above water. To compound the problem, many mothers are also working outside the home.

Babies grow so fast and one day you turn around and they are living on their own. Don’t let the memories fade. Print at least some of those photos and put them in a book for each child along with your thoughts or interesting information surrounding the photo. Add important papers or art work that they have done.

I was one of those mothers that worked outside the home. However, I managed to keep a baby book for each child.

I also purchased a small book from Current with pockets for each school year starting with preschool. I am not saying that I did a perfect job but I do have pieces of hair from their first hair cut, their report cards and other papers.

Even if you don’t have time to put a book together, allocate a box for each child and gather moments of their childhood.

For each one of them on their “big 4-0”, I made a big book starting from the time I was 9 months pregnant. I picked something from each year of their life then added journaling and commentary. They loved it!! Everything was in one place. They didn’t have to search my computer or phone for photos.

I was able to tell them stories about what was happening or how I was feeling when the photo was taken. They show your perspective as a mom (or dad). It’s something that they can share with their own children. It’s fun to see the look on a little ones face when they realize their mom or dad were once little.

Even little children like to look back at their own baby photos. They realize how much they have grown. Of course there are many things that they do not remember doing so it is fun to watch them look at the photos in disbelief that it’s really them. They even like to look at their sibling’s photos and compare.

Make sure your handwriting is in the book as well. As your child ages and has children of their own, just seeing your handwriting can bring comfort. Some days, as a parent, are really trying and looking back at younger years can bring back good memories and be uplifting.

So, now I hear you………….I do not have time for all that. Then let me ask you this…how much time do you spend on social media? How much time do you spend in front of the TV? We are BORN multitaskers. While you are watching your favorite shows, create a page or two. It is much easier to do it little by little than to try to catch up when they are 40. Even though I tried to capture everything and had the photos, I know some of the stories were lost.

Do not let this happen to you. To make it easier, there is now such a thing as pocket scrapbooking. This is where you have a 3 ring binder and pages with pockets in which you can put photos, cards, journaling or small memorabilia. Here is a sample of what I mean.

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of these although many like them. It is too structured for me BUT if it is these or lose all the baby memories, well, 3 ring it is! Let me clarify here, when I say “baby”, my youngest is in his 40s and almost 6 feet tall but he is my “baby”. Shhh, don’t tell him.

I hope I’ve helped give you some thoughts and perhaps convicted you a little to start a book or two.

If I can help, please let me know.  Please comment with your thoughts.  I would love to hear from you.

~Debbi

Founder Scrapbooking for Anyone