Remembering the Early Years
New parents find out quickly just how fast time can pass with a baby. Once at home with a new arrival, it seems like the day and night blends into one, punctuated by dirty and wet diapers and (if you’re lucky) a nap or two.
While there’s no way to stop or turn back the clock, there are a few things you can do to savor the moment, no matter how sore, tired or sleep deprived you might feel.
- Take photos and/or video. It goes without saying that your cameras have been busy – probably even before baby arrived. Remember to take a picture and/or video as often as you can to document everything. You – as well as any family or friends you share it with – will be glad you did.
- Write it down. Keep a baby book to jot down your baby’s results from pediatrician appointments, keep track of vaccinations, and other details.
- Journal. When my daughter was born, I started a journal, chronicling every day with her. While it began as an everyday task, it soon became once or twice a week, and sometimes just a sentence or two noting something new she might have done that day. You can also keep an online journal right here at Babies Online. It’s fun to look back on it now and read about what she was doing in her infancy and babyhood – and to compare her notes with her little brother. Plus, someday when they are older, our kids will be given the books as their own keepsakes.
- Start a memory box. For each of our two children, I have a plastic bin where I stash any little keepsake items I want to hold onto, be it an outgrown outfit, invitations to their first parties, birthday cards, or other items. Each year I will start a new box for them, with the intention of putting together a scrapbook of their childhoods.
- Relax and try to savor the moment. Stop thinking about everything you need to do, haven’t done, or wish you had done and just enjoy the time you are having with your little one. It sounds trite, but he or she will never be this little again; enjoy it.
Finally, remember that those first few weeks will soon be past and things will get a little better. Baby (and you!) will sleep for longer stretches of time, your soreness will heal and you will begin to really appreciate your time with your new baby. And when you look back, you’ll be glad you took the time to document those crazy first few weeks – and beyond – with your little one.
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mommymichelle6 (Michelle Schaefer) says...
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RT @babiesonline Baby Memory Keeping Ideas | Baby | Babies Online The Blog [link to post]
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