5 Reasons to Have a Baby Book & How To Create One
01 Apr 2022
Why & How to Create a Baby Book for Your Baby Photography
In today’s digital age, when everyone has a smartphone, it might not feel necessary to have a physical baby book that takes time to compile. After all, you can fit hundreds of shots in a Facebook album or your Instagram stories where they can be enjoyed by all of your family and friends.
However, there’s still something very precious about a baby book that’s hard to replicate with anything else. In today’s blog post, I thought I’d share five reasons why I think baby books are still worth the hassle. I’ll also give some tips on how to make yours into a unique keepsake you’ll love to flip through. Let’s jump right in…
1. It makes memories feel more special
Imagine your child reaching adulthood and scrolling through your Instagram timeline for baby photos versus sitting down and going through their baby book.
With social media, it’s easy to scroll through photos and memories quickly – after all, these apps were designed for consuming lots of media, fast. But with a physical baby book, you take time to leaf through the pages. There are fewer photos, but each is carefully selected. And seeing your parents’ handwriting makes the experience all the more precious.
2. They’ll always know where to find their baby pictures
With social media accounts, you might lose login details or simply stop using the platform. And who knows, the social media platforms we use today may not even exist in 10+ years! On mobile phones, pictures can be lost if they’re not backed up or if your phone gets broken or stolen.
Physical baby books are forever. They’re the kinds of things people say they’d grab if there would be a fire in their home – they’re truly priceless. By having a baby book, your child (and you) will always have access to precious baby pictures, whatever happens to your phone or social media accounts.
3. It’s for more than just pictures
A baby book doesn’t have to include just pictures and some text – it’s a place you can store all kinds of mementoes, such as your baby’s hospital bracelet, ultrasound pictures and perhaps a lock of their hair from their first haircut…
As long as it’s relatively flat, you can include it inside the book. An idea I really love is including letters for your child to discover when they’re older and envelopes within the book work well for this. With a baby book, you can keep all your treasured memories in one place.
Following from the above, having a dedicated baby book also means that you document things you might otherwise forget about, such as their first food, first tooth, favourite toys and so on. If you don’t have a dedicated place to store these things, you may well forget to do so.
4. Helping your child make sense of their world
Going through the baby book together when your child is a few years older can be a precious thing. It can help them feel connected to family members pictured in the book who live further away or who have even passed away since.
You can use the book when they’re learning to read or even earlier, reading it aloud to them to help develop their vocabulary. Going through the book together can be a very special experience for both you and your child.
5. A baby book becomes part of your family’s history
Baby books, alongside wedding albums, are things that can be enjoyed by your family for generations to come. Once your kids are old enough to start a family of their own, they’ll love going through their own baby book in preparation, and sharing it with their own children one day.
Tips for compiling your baby book
1. Deciding on the format of your baby book
Your baby book can take whatever form you’d like – whether that’s a sleek photo album full of gorgeous professional newborn photography or something more like a cute scrapbook. You can add words, or simply some stats and dates, such as weight at birth and the day they cracked their first smile.
In fact, your baby “book” doesn’t need to be a book at all – just take a look at some of these creative ways to document your baby’s first year, from memory boxes to personalised wall art.
2. What to add to your baby book
Make sure to include a variety of pictures, whether you’re going the professional or DIY route: pictures of mum and baby, the whole family, plus shots of those adorable details like their teeny fingers and toes, soft plump cheeks and long eyelashes. Adding some pregnancy photos too helps to tell the whole story of how your little person came into this world.
Your little one grows up faster than you might realise – that’s why adding something like foot and handprints throughout their first year is so precious.
3. Keeping on top of your baby book project
Many people start a baby book with the best intentions but, after a couple of months of sleepless nights, it can be easy to forget all about your baby book, until you find it months later under a pile of dirty laundry.
Setting yourself a reminder on your phone to add to it and always leaving your baby book somewhere you can see it can help you remember to keep on top of it. You could also compile memories and pictures on your phone’s notes section and photo albums until you have time and energy to put them down in the book.
It might also be worth it to come back to this article every now and again too to remember why you’re doing this.
Of course, if you choose a professional photography service and album, you don’t need to put in all that much work, and can trust you’ll get a beautiful baby book you’ll cherish forever.
Professional baby photography
We might be a wee bit biased, of course, but getting a professional photographer to document your new baby is well worth the investment. It means you get gorgeous, high-quality, timeless pictures you can use as part of your baby book as well as proudly displaying them around your home – all with minimal effort from you.
One of our top tips for baby books is opting for our Blue Sky Babies Club to help you document your baby’s first year. The package consists of three photoshoots with your little one, at four, eight and twelve months old. These photos will be compiled into a gorgeous folio presented to you after your baby’s first birthday. Together with a newborn photoshoot, you get a gorgeous overview of how your little one grows up.
Want to find out more? Check out our dedicated Blue Sky Babies page and get in touch with us with any questions!
#BigBlueSkyLove
Alie xx