Did you purchase a baby album and fill it in?

[LizzieMum]

Hi everyone,

I wasn't sure which section to attach this to.

I'm just wondering, how many people purchase those baby books and fill them in consistently?  My dp has one from when he was a baby and it's lovely.

If I was to purchase one, what should I look for in it? or are they all basically the same just with different covers?  And where would I get it, a bookstore, or just Target?

Thanks so much

[**mom2one**]

Hi there,

I didn't buy one myself, but I did get one as a gift when DD1 was born.  I started out really well - so the first few pages were good, but then life got busy and it kind of got put off and I never did finish it, so I didn't get one for DD2 and I don't plan on getting one for this LO.  I would love to have taken the time to fill it all out and add pictures etc I think it is a really nice idea - and I thought it would have been really nice to give it to DD when she gets older as I am sure she would enjoy it.  So for me - I LOVE the idea of it but I guess not enough to take the time to finish it!

[cameragirl]

I have to admit that we didn't fill everything in, either. It started well, but it was easy to forget to fill things in. My mom on the other hand...she wrote in a book every day what we did, where we went, etc. It is nice to have - but WOW! That is a commitment.

[amberskyfire]

I received one as a gift and it was fun to read just at first, but it quickly devolved into something I hated. I didn't care about most of it and a lot of the rest of it didn't apply. There were questions like "you were born at _____ hospital" and "the doctor's name who delivered you was ______." (We had an unassisted home birth.)

There were pages and pages devoted to things like "baby's first haircut," (never cut her hair and she's 3 now) and charting all of her teeth that came in and when. I really do not care which of her teeth came in or on what day. That seems kind of ridiculous to me, but maybe it matters to other parents. I really am not going to care ten years from now what day that molar broke through. In fact, it's probably a memory I won't want to hang on to since teething is a pretty awful thing around here.

I put that book aside and, instead, went out and bought a blank book. I filled it with the information that was really important to me and in addition to that, I use it as a special journal just for my daughter where I write down my thoughts and memories and advice for her future.

I write things like advice about guys and our family history. I write stories about my and her childhood. I don't have any money and when I die someday, I want to leave her something really special, something she can hold onto instead of me, that will become a family heirloom. I like this book a whole lot more than that baby book my friend bought. It's very special to me and I know it will be special to my daughter someday, too.

[Mommel]

I have one for my pregnancy that is a guided pregnancy journal that I have written in since the beginning. I used to have a baby book that my mother kept for me, which was lovely. It was lost somewhere along the way though. :(

I'd like to think I will keep it up with a similar baby book, but much like previous posters have mentioned, I want one that is pertinent to what I care about and doesn't have a lot of things in it about things that are not important to me. It took me a while to find the right pregnancy book. I started out by looking at them on Amazon and seeing what people said about them in reviews. The one I picked had great reviews except for one complaint that the father wasn't even mentioned in the process. Since I'm a single mama, I knew it was the one for me. LOL

I write in it at least once a week or more... and have put photos in it, kept track of appointments, etc. I figure some day if my son has a child, he can share in that experience, but until then it will be nice just to have it for memory's sake.

[purplerose]

I got books for all the babies, and filled out a few pages, then life did get too busy. The greatest thing I ever started doing was writing stuff down on a paper wall calendar! The first time baby laughs out loud, just write it down on that date and no worrying about getting out the baby book and finding the page. My 3rd daughter's firsts are on a yearly flip calendar. Sadly, the first two daughters' firsts didn't all get recorded. I plan to do a calendar with this baby also, though we did buy a baby book.

[LizzieMum]

Thanks for all the replies.  It sounds like one with the gaps in it would be good for me so I don't have to think of what to record but I will have to search well for one that isn't full of ultrasound spaces  :-)

I like the sound of one that goes up to age 5 too.  DP's one is like that, it has information about his optometrist appointments (he has terrible eyes) and what illnesses he had as a small boy.

[erigeron]

I downloaded a PDF off Etsy and just printed the pages I was interested in filling out. In addition I am keeping a freeform journal. My parents did both of these things with me and I really enjoyed reading them later. Now if only I could get my husband to write in the journal too! But he has his own project--he's writing letters to our daughter to read when she's older.

[whovian21]

That is a great idea.  I haven't started one yet because I thought it was too early, but now I'm about to get on top of a journal!

[lunabin]

I got one by Molly West (because I LOVE her books) and it was nice because it isn't too detailed.  My friend had one for her first that spanned 3 years and spots for "favorite EVERYTHING" that would have driven me crazy.  

I started before my DD was born, so included the ultrasound pics, some passages about our hopes for her, name options, the shower invite, pic of our house back then and then her basic measurements, hand/footprints, and things after she arrived.  It came in a nice box, so I kept it with a couple of pens under the couch so I could grab it during naptime (or whenever) and fill pieces out.  DD's is not complete, but I think good enough so that she will have something when she grows up.  

My mom had one for me that was mostly empty, and I think it's a nice thought to just try and capture that part of their lives since it goes so quickly...

[Dov'sMom]

I got one of those books as a gift with DC1 and I started off filling it out but quickly realized there wasn't nearly enough space for the things I wanted to record and way too much space for things I didn't.

Instead I've been keeping a running Word document for each child where I try to write at least a short note every couple of weeks. I note milestones, and measurements, and talk about what's going on in our lives. Sometimes I'll write the same note to all three children and copy it to each file, but more often I'll write personally to each.

I'm always in a rush and don't always have time to deal with finding the docs, so what I do is keep a running email chain from myself to myself in Gmail. Then when I have a couple of hours every 6 or 8 months I go back and copy-paste all the entries into the various files, so I get a chance to skim through them again, which is fun. Every time I do that I start a new Gmail chain attaching the files.

I like the electronic format because (1) my handwriting is largely illegible, (2) I would have lost a paper journal so many times over already, (3) it's much easier to write a couple of paragraphs about things going on in the family and copy for all the kids, and (4) I can text search. So when this baby didn't have teeth yet at 11 months I couldn't remember when his oldest brother had gotten his first tooth. I suppose it would be even easier to find in a traditional baby book, but once you're committed to a journal, the text file made it much easier to find.

[mamaecho]

I've filled out both my boys'... I feel like it's the one super consistent thing I have of them.. because I'm horrible at getting pictures developed..

I have one for this baby, but I like another one better, so I'm debating buying a different one then just transcribing my notes into the second one.

As far as some of the things not applying, I just put paper over them (like the teeth page) and write more notes :)