The first year with a new baby is difficult for so many reasons — not in the least because they change so fast and you're almost too tired to notice. But with a camera and some creativity, you can create month-by-month keepsakes that document your baby's first year (or two or three).
Chalkboards and onesies marking the passing months are always adorable, but your options don't stop there: If you're looking for a fresh way to tell the story of your baby's first year, here are 16 of our favorite ideas!
Do you have the dedication to do #7? We love the result!
Image via Famille Summerbelle
Onesie Twosie
We've seen the onesie photos with each month (and we love 'em all), but posing your baby in front of a hanging onesie for each month adds an adorable twist to the classic photo. Plus, you can buy all these onesies at once for $50 from Etsy.
Baby Clothes, Baby Grows
There's a certain challenge associated with keeping up with baby clothes as kiddos grow up, but who says that challenge can't be translated into a photo opp? Posing your baby in the same onesie for as long as he'll fit is the perfect way to show just how much he's growing each month!
I Am ...
Any smiley baby is the perfect model for a photo like this! And if you don't have the patience to stitch those tiny felt letters, this works just as well with refrigerator magnets or paper cut outs or really anything — the baby is the important part, after all!
Growth Graphic
Custom baby infographics can only be improved by one thing: An actual photo of your baby. We love the range of information this infographic includes, and OF COURSE those little baby cheeks are the best part. Poppy Designs Boutique sells custom one-year infographics at her Etsy for $65.
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Baby Bear
Yep, that teddy bear looks massive next to your newborn, but after a year? Not so much. What better way is there to pay tribute to your growing baby and his fave toy than to take monthly photos of the two together?
Chalk It Up
We've seen the chalkboard and we've seen the cake smash, but putting them together in the same photo makes it all more memorable, don't you think?
Day by Day
It might require some patience and some creativity, but if you've got that, then snapping a photo of your baby every day for the first year is an amazing way to see your kid grow. Changing up the way you write the numbers makes it a fun game AND will remind you later on of your day-by-day activities for that first year.
Double Trouble
Putting kids against a stationary object in photos is the perfect way to track their growth, and we love this combined with the chalkboard drawings to put numbers to each photo. Even better is how these two kiddos interact with each other in each photo … their relationship is growing, too!
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Year One Stats
So many milestones happen in the first year, and while you're probably going to remember to write them down somewhere, the real question is if you'll remember where that somewhere might be. But this customizable graphic from StrangeBirdy on Etsy puts all the important stats from baby's first year in one place, AND makes it looks pretty nice on the way.
Calendar Queen
You mark everything else on your calendar, so why not your baby's monthly milestones, too? And while she's not very big, it should be a piece of cake to find a calendar that will hold her, too.
Book It
Putting all those photos into an adorable baby book is a perfect way to save them forever — and it gives you space to write down just how you were feeling about your baby as each month passed. You can buy the month-by-month template of this book from HannaMac.com. Love it!
Balloon Baby
Betcha never considered using balloons to tally up every month of your baby's life instead of a sign or a chalkboard! But now you definitely should consider it, because these photos are just too stinkin' cute.
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Tied Up
Month by month stickers for onesies the perfect prop for milestone photos, and they just got a huge upgrade with this perfect tie stickers. You get to witness the cuteness of a baby wearing a tie without actually having to wrangle your baby into a tie. How can you not love it?!
Up and Up
This might be the happiest little baby we've ever seen, so there's obviously no reason not to get a photo at every opportunity. We also love showing his growth against not only his favorite toy, but the stripes in the background. Three stripes tall to five is a pretty big difference!
Baby Bumps
Holding your (all grown up) baby like this reminds you of the days when he was just a bump in your tum, but then the text reminds you of just how much he's becoming his own little person. Love it all around!
Candid Collage
Posed photos are lovely, but there's something to say for candids, too. One shot of your baby doing what he loves for each month will give you a glimps back into what life was really like in that first year later on.
