Life
When you're pregnant, it's easy to fantasize about all the adorable clothes you'll dress your baby in, and all the sweet moments you'll undoubtedly write down in their baby book. But finding baby books for parents to fill out that aren't a total drag (and super easy to put off until later) can require a bit of research.
While baby books always seem like something you'll absolutely fill out and can't wait to crack open, when you're a new parent just trying to keep your tiny human alive, documenting their first year can fall by the wayside (just like those cute outfits you had planned can easily turn into a plain white onesie and diaper). This is especially true when phones and Instagram make it so easy to log our daily wins, losses, and laughs online.
But when my grandma passed away a few years ago, while sorting through her belongings, my mom found a baby book she had filled out for me many years prior. It was borderline magical to read, in my grandmother's own handwriting, about her first childhood memories, what my mother was like as a baby, and her joy about being my grandmother. Yes, the tears were a-flowin'.
So, while it's great to share milestones and funny moments with loved ones on social media, there's always going to be something special about your parent (or grandparent) filling out a book just for you to look at one day. It's a special gift only you can give your baby. There are so many options for baby books today. Just a little digging can help you find one you'll actually look forward to filling up with memories, rather than putting it off indefinitely.
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1
For Modern Mamas
As You Grow: A Modern Memory Book For Baby is a beautiful, modern-day take on baby books that leaves out ye olde illustrations of storks, baby carriages, and bonnets. It's got a sleek, linen cover and gender-neutral design in a lay-flat book so it's easy to write in and add photos. It's got all the prompts and places to store memories from pregnancy through age 5.
2
For People Who Hoard Ticket Stubs
Are you one of those people who stashes away ticket stubs, concert wristbands, and playbooks as keepsakes? Then this is the perfect baby book for you. Baby's First Year: Little Artist Memory Book is less about writing long entries, and more about pasting in your birth announcement, a photo of the house you brought your baby home to, a place to tape your baby's hospital bracelet, and much more. It comes in a variety of themes and designs, too.
3
For Literature Lovers
OK, but if you like old-school storks and babies in bonnets, you're not alone. This Mother Stork's Baby Book 100th Anniversary Edition is a reprint of the original 1904 book made with collector's-quality materials. It features illustrations and poems by well-known authors in between pages about baby's first outing, first shoes, and more.
4
For Mamas With A Message
Sentimental mamas who have thoughts and hopes to share with their baby will love this streamlined option: Letters To My Baby. It includes 12 envelopes with letter prompts like, "On the day you were born...," "My wishes for you are...," and "Your first home was like this..." It's a wonderful gift to hand off to your little one one day when they're all grown up.
5
For The Bohemian Queen
Wanderlust from Mushybooks is a boho-chic, black-and-white baby book with cute cactus graphics and bold patterns galore. It's perfect for millennial parents who want something modern, with all the traditional prompts: monthly milestones, first haircut, and a family tree. It includes 50 pages to fully capture your first year as parents.
6
For Moms Who Love Looking At Scrapbooks
When you open an old scrapbook, it's just as much fun looking at all the carefully placed accent stickers and hand-cut patterned papers as it is reliving the memories in the photos. Le Petit Baby Book will give you similar vibes thanks to its interactive features, like an envelope to tuck away ultrasounds, a spin-wheel to display baby's astrological sign, mini envelopes to hide written notes, a pull-out growth chart, and more.
7
For Families Who Don't Fit The Mold
Whether your family came together through adoption, is LGBTQ+, or celebrates Jewish or Muslim holidays, it can be hard to find a baby book that feels like it was made for you. All About Me: A Little Book Of Love And Adventure is inclusive of all types of families, and is designed with gender-neutral colors and adorable wildlife illustrations. It covers pre-birth through five years of age, so it'll last you awhile, too. This one from Etsy seller PrintSmitten is a win for adoptive families, too.
8
For Moms Who Want To Document The *Real* Firsts
First haircut. First steps. First solid foods. Babies go through many firsts in a year, but not all of them are included in traditional baby books. The Inappropriate Baby Book is written to help you remember all the really rough firsts that made you a parent, just as much as those cute ones did. Think the first person your baby threw up on, first item they got stuck in their nose, and so on. Ah, the bliss of parenthood.
9
For Parents Who Like Chic Design & Materials
Artifact Uprising is known for making beautiful keepsake books for all of life's milestones. This interactive photo journal includes fill-in-the-blank prompts and spaces for milestone and candid photos. The design is timeless, so it won't look dated or cheesy when you hand it down to your baby years from now.
10
For Women Who Never Journal
Some women fill out their baby books in big chunks, while others prefer to do it daily or weekly. If you're not big into writing much at all, that's where this little book comes in. It prompts you for one line each day, so you can come back years from now and remember the funny, frustrating, heartwarming, first five years of your baby's life day by day.
11
For Women Who Journal Daily
Gather 'round, writing lovers. Promptly Journals' childhood history journal contains 254 pages of space and prompts to log everything from your baby's birth through their 18th year. For those parents who genuinely enjoy journaling and want one place to jot it all down, this is the baby book for you.
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