Making your own homemade memory book as a keepsake for your baby is so much fun and you can let your creativity run wild.
Most first time moms like to make some kind of memory book for their children.
I know my parents still have mine and I love looking through it to see that little piece of hair from my very first haircut or a picture of me only being 1 day old.
You could even create a second album to give to your kids later.
We all know the classic baby memory books you can just buy and add pictures too from places like amazon, target or walmart but making your own just adds so much more personal touch.
But…
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How do I make a memory book for my child
You can buy a simple plain photo album and add everything with glue and your own personal touch.
Since it is completely empty you can let your creativity flow.
Or just buy a themed baby memory book where all you have to do is add the memories and writing.
You can also be all fancy and get a monogrammed baby book from etsy.
There are also sets available that include the baby memory book, a box for special memories to keep and the whole kit to make hand prints plus fun stickers for those monthly baby photos.
Like this baby keepsake kit.
And if you want to do a DIY baby memory book but keep it simple for yourself there are also tons of cute printable pages that you can fill in with your memories.
What do you put in a baby memory book?
There’s tons of great ideas of what you can add to your memory book that will make it personalized.
1. Photo of the pregnancy test
The first moment you are aware of your new baby growing is probably that positive pregnancy test so make sure you take a picture of it to add to the album.
Alternatively you can also keep the whole pregnancy test.
This only works if you have a very thin test or create a box with keepsakes for your baby.
I still have the positive test from my pregnancy and plan on putting that in a special frame with some other keepsakes.
2. Ultrasound Pictures
I remember like it was yesterday when I saw that very first ultrasound of my baby (now toddler) and heard that magical sound of the heartbeat.
Ultrasound pictures are a very popular and cute memory of the different stages of pregnancy.
Since you will have a few ultrasounds in all trimesters you can see the development of your baby from a tiny barely human looking little peanut to a full grown baby that takes up all the space you have in your belly.
3. Congratulations
Once you announce your pregnancy to friends and family the congratulations will start coming in either by comments on a social media post, via text or email and other ways.
Make a screenshot, save the letter and print it all out to add to your baby memory book.
You can create a collage of all the congratulations or keep them seperate.
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4. Birth story
Write down the whole story of how your baby came into this world.
Of course you do not have to include all the details of the birth but the top moments during labor and delivery.
During labor and delivery we go trough so many changes and it’s nice to remember.
You can note things like:
- how long you were in labor for
- the first food you had after your baby was born
- your first thoughts seeing your baby after birth
- Names of the nurses that were by your side during labor
And anything else you can think of.
5. Letters to baby
Write your own letters to your new precious baby and save them within the scrapbook for your baby.
Pour your whole heart into those letters and collect them within the book.
6. Family tree
Include the family tree so your baby never forgets his or her roots.
You can get very creative and also add pictures to all the names on the family tree and even some small little facts about each person.
7. Add fun facts
You can include interesting and funny facts including:
- The weather on the day they were born
- What the #1 song was in the charts that day
- Crazy headlines that happened on that day
- Any records that were broken that day
- What celebrity shares their birthday
You know, those are the fun to participate pictures going around on social media a lot where you are promted to look up those facts for your birthday.
8. Newspaper
Save the front page of your newspaper from the day your baby was born to revisit what was going on in the world on your happiest day.
It could be a local newspaper to see what happened just in your town or one of the really big newspapers.
Or just add both of them so your baby will know what was going on local and in the world.
If you are bilingual or from another country like me you could even go as far as getting a newspaper from that day from your native country too.
9. Cards
During pregnancy you will get congratulation cards, cards for the baby shower, gender reveal and any other festivity – make sure to collect them.
Same with first birthday cards – save them all and add them to your diy baby album.
I got tons of cards for the baby shower and first birthday and never knew what to do with it.
10. Major milestones
Document your baby’s first smile, the first time crawling, when they started eating solid food and their first walk.
Plus any other major milestones they are hitting and the simple everyday things your baby does that make you happy and proud.
You can create a whole page for each month of their first year dedicated to those small and big accomplishments.
11. Photos
Tons of photos.
You can include photos from your pregnancy, the first photo ever taken of your baby after birth, photos from baby shower and gender reveal, first birthday party and those cute everyday shots in between.
12. Take it virtual
If you don’t want to print all those pictures but still want them neatly organized in a safe spot you should check out the app collect.
13. Quotes
Add your favorite quotes about motherhood.
You can find great inspirational quotes pretty much everywhere on the internet.
These quotes could be added in between pictures and other keepsakes written in a fancy cursive font.
14. Monthly photos
You know all those cute photos you take of your baby every month.
Under those photos you can add things like:
- New things your baby learned that month
- What your baby loves to eat (after they start with solid food)
- What makes your baby laugh
- What your baby doesn’t like (food, things, animals…)
- How much your baby weighs
- How tall your baby is
It is amazing to see how much they change within just one month especially during their first year.
15. The announcement
Did you have a very creative way to tell everyone about your pregnancy?
You can include a photo or screenshot of it.
16. Memories from Baby shower / Gender reveal
Add whatever you have from your baby shower like filled out gender prediction cards, wishes from guests, baby shower games and more to the album.
17. Hand and Footprint
Remember how they take your baby’s first hand and footprint right there at the hospital?
Absolutely include that or make your own once you get home from the hospital.
You won’t believe how much they grow within a short period of time and seeing their growth by hand and foot size is a great way to grasp it.
If you don’t get one or want to do your own this hand & footprint kit is amazingly easy to create hand and footprints of newborn babies.
18. Your and your Baby’s hospital bracelet
When you get discharged and come home cut them off but don’t throw them out.
They can be a great addition to your homemade baby memory book.
19. Hair and other stuff
My parents have a baby album including a bundle of hair from my first hair cut.
It is pretty cool to see how light my hair was back then.
Here is a list of other things you can include:
- the clip from the cord
- the dry fallen off cord itself (yeah I know, that’s not for everyone)
- something made out of your breastmilk
I hope this post gave you a bunch of fun ideas you can include in your personal memory book for your baby.
Which one did you like the most? Let us know in the comments.
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