Keepsakes and Memories

Gators&BoSox

I love hearing new ideas on how to keep memories alive. What are some ways you plan to document special moments for LO or any traditions that you have already started?

I'll start: We did a baby book for DS and will for this baby too. I don't have a great memory for these kinds of details so I like that I have a place to write down little stories and add pictures. We also pick up postcards from all the places we visit or any brochures available and write about the day's activities on those and slip them into the book.

JustAnotherUsername16

I started an email address for this LO. I plan on sending her emails (with photos) on a regular basis throughout her life and give her the password on her 18th birthday. I already starting sending her a few emails

Phil413

We did a baby book for DD and I plan to for this little guy too. I keep thinking about picking one up and it never happens when I'm at Walmart or wherever.

One thing that we started when we were on our honeymoon that is apt for this time of year's thoughts: we married in September so there were Christmas things out already. In the gift shop at our hotel there were ornaments for sale. We stayed at The Flamingo in Las Vegas so I bought a flamingo ornament for our tree. Every year I buy an ornament of something we did that year, whether at a gift shop of something touristy that literally says were we were. Or, for example, one year we went apple picking in New England so I bought an apple ornament for the tree. We went to the Baltimore Aquarium one year and attended the dolphin show there so we have a dolphin on the tree. I'll do this until forever, so our tree "tells a story" of a sort.

dizzymom-2

I started a journal as soon as I found out I was pregnant and it's written entirely in letter form addressed to baby. I don't know when I'll give it to him yet, but someday! I plan to keep writing fun stories and stuff in it until I do. I bought a plain photo album and have been adding photos to that which correlate with dates and stories in the book so I've included a small note on each photo page with the page number of the journal it matches up to. 

Me and DH also do the same ornament thing @Phil413 mentioned. 

datalover13

I have a blog that I updated every 4 weeks during pregnancy, and then every month to every 3 months for DS's first two years. I ended up printing all of those pages into a book that I have now. I also did a 365 project where I took a picture every day for a year and then printed those in a book. I love having them to look back on and have already started the entries for this LO. 

pandalily

I bought a baby book to document and keep pictures for baby boy. I got a pregnancy journal too but haven't really kept up with it as much but it was mostly to track water, weight, and prenatal and then there are spaces for questions and other to dos. We love collecting ornaments too but probably won't have anything for this year, definitely for baby's first Christmas next year though!

kjd291

Repeating ideas: I also do the Christmas ornaments! Great way to annually remember past memories together, and a good souvenir to grab instead of the other nicknaks that just take up random space. 

I also have a journal I have written in for DD throughout pregnancy and her 16mo with us, with letters addressed to her that I'll give to her when she's older--and will be starting one for this LO in the next days, just need to grab one!

MrsBinPA

@JustAnotherUsername16 I love that email idea!!

@Phil413 we do the same with ornaments. My Mom has given me an ornament for every year of my life which celebrates or commemorates something significant that happened that year.  I plan to do this for my LO too.  I just love it & have a tree full of a lifetimes of memories.

disneybaby84

I plan on doing a baby book, also we are getting a camcorder for Christmas to document old school, starting obviously at Christmas before he's born.

catrb89

I have a little journal "Expecting You" off Amazon and a pregnancy planner. I'm planning to make some Christmas ornaments with ultrasound pictures for us and family as well. I love the idea of taking a photo per day for the first year, too! It'll be really cool to see how she grows!

littleSkittle14

@Phil413 and @kjd291 and any other ornament ladies out there... for my last baby, I put his hospital bracelets along with some mini Pom-poms (for decoration/color) into a clear ball shaped ornament. I know our babies are March but I still think I'll do it again so I have an excuse to marvel and remember my babies when decorating the tree every year!

mtmama2

catrb89 said:

I have a little journal "Expecting You" off Amazon and a pregnancy planner. I'm planning to make some Christmas ornaments with ultrasound pictures for us and family as well. I love the idea of taking a photo per day for the first year, too! It'll be really cool to see how she grows!

How are you going to make ornaments with your ultrasound pictures?! That sounds like a lovely idea!

ngcsugirl1112

We also do the ornament thing  This year DH took me to Disneyland for our anniversary trip so we bought an ornament there, and we also bought one when we went to Colorado (it's got 2 adult moose and a baby moose in a canoe).  Next year we'll get one when we go to Disney World in January and Yellowstone in September (baby's first plane ride out of the womb!)  I'll likely also do the hospital bracelets in a glass ornament...I have sand from different beaches done like this, too  

aerie_star

I have a pregnancy planner/baby book combo that I've been working on slowly. I'm a scrapbooker so I've already collected a lot of supplies for her infant scrapbook. 

mecoats

I currently have a pregnancy journal, which I'm working on currently.  But I will do the baby book as well.  I do like the ornament idea too.  We always got ornaments growing up so i have them to put on my tree now.  I hope to be able to find time to scrapbook/photo book to give to my LO for each year.  

catrb89

@SienaC I got these hollow, clear glass ornaments from Michaels that I'm putting a little "snow" glitter into, and then I'm going to shrink a good ultrasound pic down a little, make copies and put it inside

Shazzie116

I blogged all through my pregnancy and my daughter's first year - one of these days I'll make those posts into a book. I did make my birth story into a book. I also did a baby book for the first year and a Christmas ornament. I very easily want to do ALL THE THINGS so I try to think of what she might actually want to see, read and keep years from now. Photos are my main priority. 

MrsFlemingo

I recently heard about ChatBooks from a friend and have already used it but for another purpose. It is an app that you can link up to your Facebook or Instagram, maybe a few other apps that aren't coming to mind as well, and whenever you have 60 pictures, it puts them into a book which you can customize and edit. The books are cheap, like $5 a piece? More if hardcover, and start at 6X6inches. I ordered 3 for my husband who loves my Instagram pictures but doesn't want an account himself, but I'd love to make one to showcase my pregnancy and maybe the first little bit of the babe's life, but this just works best for me. I don't think I have the patience and drive to keep up with a photo album or baby book unfortunately. Also, there may be coupon codes floating around out there for 15% off your purchase or something similar, they just had 20% off for Black Friday.

jmacd22

Kinda unrelated but I know there are teachers in the group. One of my elementary school teachers had us write a letter/questionarre about where we would see ourselves in 20 years and then she actually mailed them out to us last year when 20 years came up (she does this with every class). It was a cute surprise seeing what we envisioned ourselves doing/being and what our handwriting looked like.