3 Easy ways to document baby’s first year

We are all part of the visual era and with so many #instagood and Pinterest perfect ideas on how to document baby’s first year in the prettiest and most unique way it’s super easy to get carried away. This 3rd time around I certainly did…

With Eliana I just took a photo every month. With Lia I used a blackboard and monthly stickers. I still love her photo series (see it here), but storing the massive blackboard for a year wasn’t very practical.

Then with Ava, I didn’t just opt for one or two, but three ways to document every month of her 1st year.

Less is more:

Is there anything more beautiful than a baby in a crisp white vest? I don’t think so and this 1st collection proves that keeping things simple can be beautiful.

I love how her expressions and reactions changed over time as she felt saver when being held by her dad. You can also see her becoming stronger as Mr. Perfect’s hand moves down towards her lower back.

These photos are fun and cute, was easy to take and simply just Ava but I really struggle keeping track of each month when not looking at the image dates, especially after around 8 months old. So that’s where our 1st photo prop proves very handy…

Monthly wooden milestone disks:

These are so trendy at the moment and I prefer them to milestone cards purely because baby can handle and chew on them without compromising the design. The set designed and made by Nectar & Ink are easy to read, gender neutral and our favourite. The set is also very durable and can be used over-and-over again for other siblings.

Of course I couldn’t just take a pic with the milestone disks. I wanted a theme. Being a girl that shares a birthday with Frida Kahlo, flowers instantly sprung to mind. Florals are always a winner and would compliment the wooden disks.

The outfits needed to be special too so I decided to do touches of knitwear (another big baby trend at the moment). It could be a knitted romper, bloomer, bonnet, jersey… As long as Ava wore something knitted.

I used a combination of store bought and home picked flowers for every month.

The mayor challenges of this series:

• Finding 12 items of knitwear, especially during summer months wasn’t easy
• This was expensive with me needing to buy flowers and also Ava’s outfits
• Ava really liked ALL the photo props so set-up and “getting the shot” took a lot of time and patience

Still, I think the trouble was worth it.

“GROW”-ing with your 1st teddy bear:

Neither of the 2 above mentioned collections illustrated Ava’s growth in relation to an object. So, why is this important? Because it’s the best way to really see how MUCH your little one grows in the 1st year.

Being a mom herself, Chantelle from La Fede created the perfect companion for all little ones; Grow bear. He’s soft and cuddly and sure to compliment any baby nursery. He’s even available as a she in blush.

At first I propped Ava into a sitting position next to Grow. He looked huge in comparison to her but as the months flew by Ava grew “into” Grow. She also started sitting unsupported and noticed her bear.

The idea is to keep taking photos with Grow. One on each off Ava’s birthdays and who-knows, maybe someday in the future, Grow will be playing model with our grandchildren too.

Next time…

Looking at all these photos, I treasure them all but if we were blessed with a fourth little person to love, I’d definitely do a combo. Keeping baby’s outfit simple (like the 1st collection), using the disks to easily keep track of every month (like series 2) and having a special friend, like Grow, to show how baby grew each passing month.

So what can you win?

Learn from my mistakes and go with the perfect combo. An adorable Grow bear (in white or blush) and a set of wooden milestone disks. Keeping track of baby’s first year will be cute, easy and fun.

How to enter?

Find this adorable photo of our cutie-pie on our Instagram (@justamamma) and make sure to follow the instructions below it.

SOMETHING EXTRA!!!! For an extra entry leave us a comment below telling us which one of Ava’s 1st year series you like the most. Visit our previous post, “Turning 1: Celebrating with a cake smash and giveaway” for full terms and conditions regarding this competition.

Give La Fede and Nectar & Ink some love too.

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