Capture Baby's First Year with Scrapbooking
Keep these tips in mind when scrapbooking...
1. Start off with a picture of the "positive results" of the pregnancy test.
2. Keep a journal of your feelings and your excitement as you are preparing for the baby. What you were buying, take photos of the nursery and daddy putting things together.
3. Go through your baby photos from your parents. If you can not use the original photos, make color copies on acid free paper. Take a photo of your child dressed in the same type of outfit. Can you see a family resemblance? Who does baby look like?
4. Stomach photos are a must. You may feel fat and out of shape, but take them anyhow! Later when you look back, you will be glad you took them. Ultrasound photos also do well. Record your thoughts and feelings (example - what baby names were you considering).
5. You need to take a photo during labor in between contractions when you know it's the REAL THING. You can place this photo on your labor story page. Your child or his wife will want this information when they are pregnant and you cannot remember.
6. Keep important papers, such as invitations, cards, birth announcements, hospital bills, the tag off of the hospital basset, the footprint from the hospital, etc.
7. Hospital photos should include more than newborn, mom and dad! Take photos of visitors or save your flowers and balloons by taking photos of them. Don't forget photos of baby's first car ride and the front page of the newspaper the day baby is born.
8. Take baby's photo each month with the same large stuffed animal on the same chair and see how quickly your child grew that first year. Record height and weight too.
9. Bath times are special times and fun to capture now matter what the age of the child.
10. If you borrowed a cradle or other family heirloom, try to get photos of baby using it so you can record the history of the heirloom.
Some paper, glue and pens will make photos brittle and fade. Magnetic albums (the kind you peel back and stick) can also damage photos. Look for album pages, paper, die-cuts, stickers and adhesive that are labeled acid-free and lignin-free, and for pens that are acid-free, permanent and light-fast. Have Fun Scrapping!