Documenting the Life We Created!

A few days after we got home, I wrote down my birth experience. It was so hard to remember, just a four days after it happened, from all the hub bub of having a baby. But it's the most important thing I have written down since Noah was born. I go back each year on his birthday and re-read what I wrote and remember the day my life changed. The day I was no longer 'just me,' I became a mother and took second place in my heart and mind.

Once you've done that (super easy, right?) get cracking at that large, daunting, baby book that seems like it will take FOREVER to complete and will eventually become a 'bad mom' thing that will most likely cost thousands of dollars in therapy for your children (I kid, there will be way worse things that will cost $$ in therapy).

Wow, sounds heavy? It is, I know so many moms who take the "I never did a baby book bc they're stupid" road or the "Agh I'll never make my baby book look cute" road or the "I hand-sewed this during contractions in the hospital, nbd" road when talking about baby books. I have a baby book, it's pretty close to filled out, but doesn't have pictures in it. They're shoved in a pocket in the back. BUT the info is there! Kind of...

My baby book route was a little different, actually it's a few routes. We'll just say I had ambitious hormones pumping through my body after doing something so cool and amazing. I was like "I'm a Goddess, I can make life! That life is still alive! I'm going to OWN documenting this child's life!"

These are my She-Ra paths to the Crystal Castle...

Route 1: Monthly Pictures
Since we are a photography family, we collect old cameras. It makes buying my husband gifts super easy, and makes for beautiful decoration! So, we decided to incorporate our cameras in documenting Noah. This also made the cutest (bias included) 1st birthday party, ever! Each month, on (or around) Noah's birthday, we took a picture of him and a different camera. It's so cute, I want to die! These are a few pictures and a link to Matt's Facebook Album with all the pictures!

It was honestly, sometimes stressful but mostly just really fun. I loved staging all the pictures and we have the cutest collage of Noah's first year!

Route 2: More Monthly Pictures
We also did what we call monthly wall photos. I found this picture on Pinterest and tried to chase down the blog to which it belongs with no avail. So we set out to do our own, and this is what it looks like, so stinking cute! Matt took the pictures and I put them in a powerpoint then added the words. Now there are so many websites and apps you can use that makes it a lot easier! Lots of people use a chair, stuffed animal, or prop to show their growth.

Route 3: Personal Journal
The most amazing thing I did was journal. I originally got the Day One app, which I don't recommend. It's an apple only product so I have my entries split across two apps that I am now trying to merge together. I switched to Diaro, which is Fantastic! You can log in on every device and your computer and add multiple pictures. I would open the app and journal just a few minutes every night to "brain dump" before bed and add a picture. Some entries are filled with emotion, some are "Noah ate. slept, and pooped today." But I am making it into a book for myself really, I feel like it's too intimate to share with anyone. I will probably make a 'highlights' book for Noah for his HS graduation or wedding or first child, who knows I might give him the unedited version so he can read what drove me nuts about his dad, lol! But all in all it's been amazing. I have gone back and entered when big things happen, walking, school, etc. but I don't journal every night anymore and I am okay with that :)

Route 4: Baby Calendar
I thought this was so incredibly cool when Matt's mom showed me his. These 1st Year Baby Calendars are blank so you start when you bring home baby and the premise is that you hang it up and write little things as they happen. My m.i.l. has a calendar hanging on her wall to this day for appointments and things of the sort and so it's completely practical for her. It was so daunting for me, I was overwhelmed at the thought of blank squares and went into full on panic. So, the lesson to take away from these is there are many options because every person is different and to ditch things that send you into panic mode. But, I still think they are the cutest darned things ever.

Route 5: Let the Professionals Do It (the recommended option for anyone who isn't nuts)
The last option is BabyPage. This is super cool, you upload pictures and the system will prompt you based on timed milestones to enter in the text. You guys, it's fool proof, it takes little to no time at all and really takes the guessing out of keeping track of your little one. Here are a few pictures of Noah's book that I made for him (yes, more books, I have a problem). This isn't sponsored, I just think it's a super cool product and think it's an AMAZING baby shower gift!

Let me know what you did to track your little bundle of joy and if you try out BabyPage!