Blink and you’ll miss it – that’s sometimes how it feels in our children’s early days. They’ll go from sitting to crawling to walking and running so quickly that it can become hard to hold on to memories of how they were and how you felt at the very beginning – and that’s where a baby photo book from bonusprint can help.
We have a huge range of pre-designed themes to make creating your baby photo book easy – because the design work’s already done, you just need to add your snaps and captions. However, some new parents can be stumped when it comes to writing something to accompany their pictures. In this blog, we’ll give you suggestions of how to create a baby book where pictures and words combine to make your memories come to life on the page.
Introduce your little one
To start with, you’ll want to introduce your little one including all the key information such as full name, date and time of birth, weight, length, eye and hair colour, how much hair they had and even whether they announced their entry to the world at volume or in a more low-key fashion. After all, if they’re going to be the main character in this book then the reader will want to get to know them.
Tell the story of your baby’s journey
Taking a trip down memory lane is a great way to help your child understand who their parents are. You could include short stories on how you both met, any interesting facts about the relationship, images and details of your wedding day, where you lived before you had them, and special occasions you may have celebrated together.
If any specific treatment was required, as IVF or egg donation, it may be an idea to put these details together in a baby photo book. Then, in later years, it would be a very special way of explaining to your child where they came from.
You may want to include information about your baby’s development as they were growing inside the womb. Dates of scans alongside the photographs not only offer a wonderful memory for you to look back on, but they’re also a special way to show your child in later years how they developed as a baby.
Why not document how big they were over each week showing their growth? Fun facts such as ‘a 20-week-old baby is the same length as a banana’ are guaranteed to raise a smile.
Look back on your labour
What time was it and where were you when your water broke? How did you feel during your labour, and was it a sprint or a marathon? What went through your mind when it was all over, and how did you feel when your child was finally placed in your arms?
There’s so much you could note down about the day your baby arrived in the world. From what your partner did while you were pushing to who cut the umbilical cord and recollections of the room in which it all happened – those first moments tell a story of their own.
You could also explain what pain relief you had and the methods you chose, for example maybe you had a water birth. Information like this works well alongside pregnancy photos and you don’t need to overthink it – bullet points and memory joggers are enough to enhance the pictures.
An illustrated letter to your child
Most parents experience a wide variety of emotions when they have a new baby. Naturally, you can’t communicate these to your newborn at that point, but you might enjoy sharing them years later.
A photo book offers an opportunity to create an illustrated letter to your future older child, a chronicle of their earliest days and everything going on around them. From how their siblings reacted on their first meeting to how baby responded to being brought home from hospital, recording the details of the times spent together and moments that might slip your memory in time will be invaluable to both you and your child as you both get older.
Did they sleep through the night from the word go? If not, how did you feel the first time they did? It’s information like this and mentions of little quirks or mannerisms that add depth to your bonusprint photo book. There are so many things that you could note down that a camera may not have been able to capture.
Let your baby tell their story
A different and fun idea to consider is to tell the stories from the baby’s perspective. Putting yourself in your child’s tiny shoes, you can imagine how they must see all the new and exciting elements of their young life, from relatives to the family pet, their favourite toys, days out exploring, and the first house they called home.
You could combine these “first person” stories with reflections from others about similar subjects, creating themed sections within the book to make it a more engaging experience that flows seamlessly throughout.
Add your favourite quotes and sounds
The wording you choose doesn’t have to be an original creation – quotes or song lyrics that you find meaningful or reflect your early relationship with baby can be added to enhance your photographs and tell a story of their own.
You could even create a mini playlist of songs that were favourites throughout pregnancy or helped things along during labour and outline what those specific songs mean to you. The same goes for films or TV shows that brought comfort during any early sleepless nights, and those sounds and pictures that first intrigued or comforted baby.
Note down their little milestones
There are so many milestones in those early years. The time and date of their first smile. What their first solid meal consisted of and how they reacted. How and when they first rolled over. What their very first word was and where they were when they took their first step. Big or small, you’ll want to remember them all.
Rather than sticking purely to facts and figures, you might enjoy explaining your thoughts and feelings about each milestone. In years to come, this will show your child how much their development meant to you.
Involve family members
You may like to offer your family or friends the chance to share their own images and words in the photo book. This will add variety and show your little one how much they were loved by so many.
Whether offering short sentiments or writing lengthy letters to the baby, siblings, grandparents, and all relatives in between will enjoy being included. Sharing recollections of special moments such as the child falling asleep on their shoulder or running into their arms when they haven’t seen them for a period of time make for heart-warming stories, and fun times with family at parks or soft play areas will always be fond memories. Even snaps of someone changing a nappy or dealing with a little ‘accident’ shows how the family bond was formed and strengthened from the earliest days.
Over to you!
We hope you’ve found some inspiration from this blog and are now even more excited about the prospect of creating a baby book with bonusprint – it’s a great way of reliving some truly special moments and putting something together that will bring you and your family joy for years to come. For more top baby photo book tips, do check out the rest of our helpful guides and have fun.