Are you thinking about creating your baby's first year book? Wondering if it is worth the time and investment and whether Baby Notebook is the right tool for you? You're in the right place. Hi, I'm Ashley Hasty, a mom of a 16-month-old. I can hardly believe it's been nearly two years since I decided to create a first year book for my unborn child! At that point, I, like you, sat down and started Googling baby book options looking for one that's right for my lifestyle.
A little bit about my lifestyle—I run a book-focused website called Hasty Book List, where I conduct interviews with authors, create lists of books centered around themes, share my favorite reads and new releases, and feature products inspired by book covers. Before my son arrived, I was a fashion historian and taught retail, branding, and marketing to college students. I have an eye for design.
Today, I'm guest blogging for Baby Notebook because I actually used the app to complete my son's baby book. I'll discuss why I chose to create a baby book in the first place, why I chose the Baby Notebook app to facilitate this project, and whether I found it all worth the time and investment. I'm also thrilled to share photos of my finished book, which (spoiler alert) turned out better than I imagined.
Why Create a Baby's First Year Book?
A "Baby's First Year" book is a keepsake designed to document and commemorate the significant milestones, memories, and moments during a baby's first year of life. It typically includes photos, anecdotes, milestones, and other memorabilia that capture the essence of the baby's growth and development during this crucial period.
Documenting my baby's milestones was important to me for several reasons:
1. Preserving Memories
Babies grow and change rapidly during their first year, and it's easy to forget the small details as time passes. Creating a "Baby's First Year" book allows parents to preserve precious memories that can be cherished for years to come. Even before my son's first year was over, I found myself looking back at the entries I made in the Baby Notebook app reminiscing on (and being astonished by) how much he'd changed.
2. Creating a Personalized Keepsake
A dedicated book allows parents to create a personalized keepsake that reflects their unique journey with their baby. It provides an opportunity to showcase special moments, milestones, and experiences that hold significance to the family. What I particularly loved about Baby Notebook is that I could delete or change pages that didn't apply to our unique family. For example, my son came six weeks early so I didn't have a bump photo for the last six weeks of a typical pregnancy, but I was easily able to change the bump photo dates that made sense for my pregnancy journey.
3. Tracking Development
By documenting milestones such as first smile, first word, and first steps, parents can track their baby's development and celebrate their achievements. This can also be helpful for monitoring developmental progress and identifying any potential concerns. I literally pulled up the Baby Notebook app at a pediatrician appointment to double check milestones that the doctor was asking about.
4. Sharing with Family and Friends
A "Baby's First Year" book can be a wonderful way to share the joy of parenthood with family and friends. It allows loved ones to feel connected to the baby's journey and provides a tangible way to reminisce about special moments together. I recently shared my son's Baby Notebook with a dear friend and former neighbor that was here for his birth but moved to another state when he was just 8 months old. It was really special to share the photos I included of her and her family.
5. Building Bonds
Engaging in the process of creating a "Baby's First Year" book can strengthen the bond between parents and their baby. It provides opportunities for reflection, storytelling, and shared experiences that contribute to the development of a strong parent-child relationship. I remember reading my baby book with my parents as I was growing up. I loved to hear their stories about me as a baby and look at pictures of myself when I was really small. I look forward to sharing moments like that with my son.
Overall, documenting your baby's milestones through a "Baby's First Year" book is a meaningful way to celebrate and commemorate the journey of parenthood while creating lasting memories that can be cherished for a lifetime.
What I Loved About the Baby Notebook app
These are the top six reasons I loved using the Baby Notebook app for creating my baby's first year book.
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1. Convenience
Baby Notebook provides a convenient way to create and organize the content for your baby's first year book directly from your smartphone or tablet. You can work on it anytime, anywhere, without the need for specialized software or equipment.
2. Ease of Use
It is designed with a user-friendly interface and intuitive tools, making it easy for parents to navigate and customize their baby's book. You don't need to have advanced design skills to create a beautiful and personalized keepsake. I was able to add pages, change page design, and rearrange the page order without any difficulty. Not once did I get frustrated with the technology.
3. Variety of Templates and Designs
Baby Notebook offers a wide range of templates, layouts, and design elements to choose from, allowing you to customize the look and feel of your book to suit your preferences. Whether you prefer more saturated colors or softer tones, there are options available to match your style.
4. Integration with Cloud Storage
It allows you to easily import photos directly from your device or Google photos, streamlining the process of adding content to your baby's book. This makes it convenient to access and incorporate memories you've already shared online.
5. Collaboration and Sharing
Baby Notebook has two-factor authentication to keep your baby's information private. However, I wanted my husband and my parents to look over the book every once in a while to see if I'd missed anything. I was easily able to give them access during those times to allow for collaboration and sharing of my son's book. Additionally, you can easily share the digital version of the book (they offer a pdf version now!) with friends and family members, keeping them updated on your baby's milestones and achievements.
6. Accessibility and Portability
Once the Baby Notebook app is downloaded, it can be accessed and viewed on multiple devices, making it easy to edit no matter where you are. Although designed for phones and tablets, I occasionally used my computer to open the app so that I could view it on a larger screen.
Using Baby Notebook to create a "Baby's First Year" book offers convenience, flexibility, and customization options that make it an attractive option for busy parents who want to preserve and cherish their baby's memories in a modern and accessible format.
Documenting our Incredible Journey Together
As I sit down to reflect on the journey of creating my baby's first year book, I am flooded with emotions. (I read somewhere it takes two full years after giving birth for your hormones to finally even out.) I'm a historian by trade and an amateur photographer, so even before my son entered this world, I knew I wanted to capture every moment, every milestone, and every fleeting expression. Little did I know that this journey would not only be a labor of love (and I use labor loosely, the Baby Notebook app is not at all labor-intensive) but also a profound journey of self-(re)discovery and growth.
The process of creating baby's first year book was truly enjoyable. From carefully selecting the perfect photos to arranging and rearranging them on each page, every moment was infused with a deep sense of purpose and joy. Each milestone, whether it was the first smile, the first giggle, or the first tentative step, served as a reminder of this incredible/exhausting/wild journey of parenthood that my husband and I were on.
Placing the Order and Reflecting on My Experience
But amidst the joy and excitement of creating this baby book, there was a single moment of doubt and uncertainty, right before placing the order. Did I do justice to my son's first year? Did I capture the essence of my baby in a way that truly reflected the depth of my love and the truth of our experience? Did I make typos? Did I leave out important aspects I want to remember? I read and re-read each page. I added the notebook to my cart multiple times and then removed it again to make changes. I sent it to my parents to edit. I went over and over it with my husband. And then I worried that the printed book wouldn't live up to my expectations. Was it worth the cost?
Eventually, I convinced myself that an imperfect book of my son's first year was better than no book at all. In fact, mistakes added to its charm. I blame all my worries on those darn hormones because once the book arrived those worries disappeared. This baby's first year book is stunning. I laugh now that I ever worried it wouldn't be worth the cost - it was worth every penny and worth every minute I devoted to it.
Now, as I flip through the pages of his baby first year book yet again to help me write this post, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the privilege of parenthood, for the forethought to start Baby Notebook while I was pregnant, and for the opportunity Baby Notebook provided to create something truly beautiful and meaningful.