Most of us have heard the phrase “they grow so quick”, but it’s not until you become a parent yourself that you really begin to understand how quickly a baby can turn in to a fully-fledged teenager. One minute they’re being handed to you and their first breath takes yours away; the next they’re having a meltdown because you’ve given them the wrong coloured spoon for their yogurt.
The sage advice many new parents are offered is simply to “enjoy them whilst they’re young”. Whilst this is of course sensible, the follow-through can be somewhat difficult. No matter how precious your little one is it’s hard to embrace your toddler’s adorableness when you’re sleep deprived, covered in half chewed rusk and trying to retrieve your iPhone from the depths of the toilet.
The best way then to hold on to the precious moments, milestones and memories is to create keepsakes you can keep with you, no matter how big your offspring become. Here’s a run through of our top four favourite ideas.
#1 – Newborn Photography Session
When that tiny Newborn is first placed in your hands you are suddenly aware of just how tiny they are. For the first few weeks you will be wandering round in a blurry haze from sleep deprivation and endless feeding and changing nappies. All of a sudden you will look at them and realise that they have become so big. There head is now bigger than your hand and they no longer fit in to the tiny newborn clothes.
You just want to go back and remember just how small they were.
A Newborn photo shoot will freeze time so you can alway go back and relive that time. As your child grows they will then have a tangible memento of when they were a baby even sharing these with their own children.
#2 – First Year Photo Frame
At no other point in their life will a child change as much as they do in the first 12 months. From scrunched up newborn to a chubby toddler with a mop of hair and a tiny toothy grin, it all passes in a blur.
A First Year photo frame allows you to display one picture for each month of their first year, so you can map out their growth, and record it for posterity. This is an amazing thing to look back on at a baby’s first baby, and for years to come afterwards.
#3 – Bump to Birthday Journal
If you want something completely unique and impossible to replicate, get your hands on a Bump to Birthday Journal (or make your own).
The idea here is to record your thoughts, feelings, dreams, aspirations, hopes and events throughout your pregnancy. The first time you heard baby’s heartbeat, your sickness, aches and pains, your worries – all the way through to little one’s first birthday.
It’s a great way to capture all the excitement and anticipation of pregnancy, as well as your baby’s milestones throughout their first 12 months.
This one does take a little more input and time from you, but really is a wonderful way to keep everything precious. And could make a great gift to your child on their 18th Birthday (or when they become a parent for the first time).
#4 – Memory blanket or bear
The problem with growing children is the Herculean task of keeping up with their wardrobe. No sooner have you bought them something than they’ve outgrown it. It’s an issue that continues for many, many years, and with it comes the question of what do you do with all their old clothes?
Whilst there are many options from storing them “just in case”, or donating them to charity, another idea is to turn them in to a blanket, quilt or teddy. Why not choose some of your favourite outfits, perhaps baby’s coming home outfit and a few other special ones, and turn them in to a special keepsake that can be used and loved as they get older?
