A Page-by-Page Workshop for Creating Your Sweet Baby Photo Book

By Becky Higgins

Around the time that this baby photo book is becoming available to you on Shutterfly, I am also anticipating the arrival of the third baby in our little family. As a long-time scrapbooker, I have created beautiful, handmade scrapbooks for our first two children. And of course I have plans to continue that tradition.

And yet, I'm faced with a reality that it’s all very hard to “keep up with.” I really do understand how so many people (including, possibly, yourself) face the idea of scrapbooking for your children with fear and a deep feeling of being intimidated and overwhelmed.

That’s precisely why I was so excited to develop this concept of a digital baby book that is already designed. All it needs is your pictures and a few words. The end result? A treasure for you, and ultimately—for the child that it celebrates.

Here are some page-by-page tips to guide you as you create your baby photo book.

Title page: To introduce the story of baby’s first year, choose a favorite photo. It doesn’t have to be the first photo of him or her. Personally, I’d choose a favorite (read: flattering) shot taken sometime in the first couple months, when they’re still fresh and brand-new. Add the stats of baby’s birth in the text box.

Our Family Tree/The Story of Us: Share a little background on baby’s family history with pictures of the parents and grandparents, each labeled with their respective names. The right page is a place for you to include a few photos of baby’s parents. These pictures could all be from around the time of baby’s arrival, or you could go back in time with older pictures (example: when Mom & Dad were dating and even a picture from their wedding day). Be sure to write a brief explanation of how Mom & Dad met and fell in love in the text area.

Your Family: Tell baby a little about his or her family (immediate or extended or both) on this layout. Add a few photos and write about their personalities or whatever you want to say about the family.

Expecting You: This is the place to include any pictures from the months leading up to baby’s arrival. Pregnancy photos, doctor visits, baby shower pictures, even ultrasound pictures could work on this layout. Write about Mom’s health during pregnancy, what kind of preparations were made in anticipation of baby’s arrival, and other pre-baby memories.

Your Arrival: Choose your favorite first pictures of baby’s arrival and tell the story of how he or she entered the world on that unforgettable day.

Coming Home: Bringing baby home for the first time and adjusting to “real life” with an infant is a special (and tiring) time. Include a picture of baby’s first home (include the street address under the picture if you want), his or her room, and other photos from those first days or weeks of life at home. Write about the adjustment or focus on what you want baby to know about their first place of residence.

Little Details: This layout is generic enough that you could really include whatever you wanted. Have pictures that didn't fit in another layout? Put those here. If you have close-up shots of baby’s tiny fingers and toes, those could be the little details you focus on. Or you could include pictures of baby’s wardrobe or favorite play things. Think about the little details of his or her life.

Welcome to Your World: Include photos and journaling about baby’s life. What does his or her routine include? Pictures could include going for walks in the stroller, drinking a bottle, playing with siblings, taking a bath, napping with a family member, outings, or anything you feel represents their little world.

First Loves: Baby’s first loves could include anything from people, outfits (okay—that would be your love!), toys, outings, or activities.

Growing Up: There is a lot of growth and development that occurs in that first year of life. Choose some favorite photos of baby as they left the stage of infancy and entered the time of being an “older” baby. Write about some of the more memorable milestones or just some general thoughts about watching them grow up.

Look at You: This is the concluding page of your baby photo book. Choose a final picture of baby, probably one of them closer to a year old, and reflect on their first year in the text area. Express your love for baby, and add your sentiments about how special they are to you.

Bonus month pages: Should you decide to add more pages to your photo book, we’ve included designs that are ready for your pictures from each specific month of baby’s first year. Each month also has space for text so you can add notes worth mentioning, such as highlights and happenings from that month.

Bonus generic pages: There are also a few extra pages that you can add for topics not already covered, or for pictures that didn’t fit anywhere else. Add whatever title you want to those pages.

Finally, a few additional thoughts:

Determine ahead of time if you’d like your photos in this book to be color or black & white. You’ll need to plan ahead and change your pictures to black & white before adding them to the book, if that’s your plan. Of course, there is no rule against mixing black & white photos. Just decide what you want the end result to look like.

This photo book makes a wonderful gift for the well-intended-but-overwhelmed new parents who want to document their baby’s first year.

Have photos from your own babyhood? Scan them in and preserve your first year of life! Your posterity will love it.

Print extra copies of the photo book for grandparents or other family members.

You may want to also check out the following articles for ideas: