Making a Baby Book (Retro) for an 11 Year Old

[PoetryLover]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but for many reasons my 11 year old stepdaughter did not have a baby book made for her. Basically, her parents were divorcing around the time she was born. Things were emotionally tumultuous and very hectic at the time. Recently she's seen videos of her 13 year old sister as a baby and knows that her sister has a baby book. There are no videos of the younger stepdaughter as a baby that I know of. She is feeling very sad and communicated this to her dad and me recently. I thought making a baby book for her (even at this late time) would be a healing gesture. My husband has run the idea by her mom and she seems open to it. This is something DH is collaborating with his ex on. I'm not sure how much she plans to help and she also lives a good distance from us. I'm thinking she may have her own ideas to bring to the table. This post is basically to help my husband with ideas on his end.

My question is: How does one create a baby book when the dates of all the firsts have been forgotten, medical records may or may not be immediately available to reference (for immunizations, weight, height, etc.)? What information could we include? All ideas are welcome!

[momtoS]

Are there baby pictures available?

You could make a digital scrapbook and put in pictures. You could include favourite family recipes. You could put in memories.

A scrapbook can have a many or little words as you would like or have.

If you would like me to give you specific free sites (you pay for printing...just not the backgrounds) please PM me!

[PoetryLover]

There are some pictures available, including birth pictures. My husband did mention doing something digitally, but we'd also like to give her something she can physically hold. I'll PM you for the sites. Thanks!

[ms.shell]

my sister just did this recently for her nephew who she is now raising. i helped her to make a nice fabric covered scrapbook but i am not sure what she put in it as the boy was like 9 yo before she got him. i just called her to ask but she wasn't available....i will ask her when i talk to her and let you know what she did.....

[PoetryLover]

Originally Posted by ms.shell

my sister just did this recently for her nephew who she is now raising. i helped her to make a nice fabric covered scrapbook but i am not sure what she put in it as the boy was like 9 yo before she got him. i just called her to ask but she wasn't available....i will ask her when i talk to her and let you know what she did.....

Thanks so much!

[earth-mama]

Even if you don't have exact dates and such for firsts you could include stories about firsts as dad (and mom) remember them and pair them with pictures if they are available--things like rolling over, sitting up and walking along with memories of favorite toys and trips taken (if pictures are available, maybe images could be found on the internet to represent past experiences--some could maybe be taken in the present if you or mom live near the area where you stp-daughter was as a baby)



Partner to (7 years) Mother to Lily (16 months) 2 and 1

[sunnysandiegan]

If I were doing a project like this, I would thumb through a few different baby books and take notes on the typical items included. Then, I would invite the mom and dad to separately fill in what they can remember and add a few stories. (Handwritten means a lot to kids, but even via email works.) The exact dates are less important. Knowing the parents cared and remembered any details will be comforting to the child. I would create the scrapbook from pictures already in existence AND from new ones taken in places remembered by the parents. Add in the stories and details the parents recall and some fun embellishments. If you have memories of her when you came into her life, add those in your own handwriting, too. All the adults and caretakers in her life have meaning to her in some way. Grandparents, day care providers, any other folks who knew her as a baby/toddler -- ask everyone for a story or little detail they may recall.

ETA: You could also do a "Then & Now" type scrapbook comparing her as a baby to her as a preteen. That could be a lot of fun! If she is a crafty kid, she may enjoy participating in the creation of such a book. This could be a form of therapy for her to express her feelings about whatever is going on for her now.

FWIW, I have been scrappin' my own life in sections and it is total therapy for me. A definitely creative outlet for processing my emotions then and now that were suppressed in many ways due to my upbringing.

[texmati]

what a wonderful idea! I agree-- instead of trying to fill out a traditional book, I would gather materials from age 0-3 (pictures, video's, stories, and written books, daycare/preschool paintings ect) and work with what you have.

How very kind of you to do that for your little girl!

[ms.shell]

i just talked to my sister and she said that there really were no pictures or anything of this child as a baby, so what she did was make a "got ya" book; filled with things "since we got ya." She said she did have his grandma and aunts write down stories and things they remember about him as a baby but then she made pages for "2nd grade," 3rd grade, and so on....she said that she has found that children are just as excited about looking forward as looking back and so she filled the book with future pages (9th grade, etc) and that she also did like a "favorites" page and stuff like that.
she did this because the boy saw the books of her children and so she did what she could to make sure he had one, but it is not really a baby book at all.
sorry that is not a lot of help in your situation; but i am sure you all will make up something special for her. Good luck!

[PoetryLover]

I just want to thank everyone for all the wonderful ideas! It turned out the DSD already had a baby book and had given some misinformation. However, she didn't have videos of herself as a baby, so DH is planning to do something electronic.

Again, thanks so much for all the ideas and the time it took to make your posts.

[sanahenk]

How much did you proceed in making the baby book? Please share. I want to know how you cleared the obstacles.