It is inevitable that you will want to capture your favourite memories of your little one growing up, especially their first word, first steps and even when they get their first tooth. Here are our top tips for capturing and preserving those special moments.
Capturing memories
Thanks to modern technology, there are even more ways to capture those special memories. The easiest method is to utilize the camera on your cell phone. It is almost always to hand and is the best way to take photos or videos of you little one at a moment’s notice. If your photo isn’t perfect, then there are lots of photo editing apps available to make sure you get the best picture of your little one.
You can also go old-school and use a camera to photograph those special moments, especially as your baby grows into a busy little toddler. To help prevent blurry pictures, consider buying one with a fast shutter speed and avoid using flash. Most cameras have a “sports” setting which means that you can get clear pictures even if your little one is on the move!
It may also be worth considering hiring a photographer to visit your home and take natural pictures of you and your little one. This will take the pressure off having to take your baby to a studio and hoping that they will co-operate! Being in a familiar setting, your baby will be more relaxed and you are more likely to get those perfect candid shots of your little one.
When your little one starts to talk, even if it’s just making little noises, it may be worth to take some audio records. This will leave you with a wonderful sample of your baby’s changing voice, personality and improving their language skills. Not only this, but you will have a permanent record of their first word.
Another perfect way of capturing those precious moments, is by videoing the important milestones in your baby’s development. Using a phone, camera or even a webcam is an inexpensive method of capturing your little one to share with family and friends.
Sharing your favorite memories
It is so easy to share pictures and videos of your little one with family and friends. However, before posting pictures of your baby on social media sites, it is important to consider who can actually see them. It is vital to check that you have the right privacy settings to restrict who has access to your posts.
Keeping a blog of your little one’s day is the perfect way to capture and preserve your memories. Using blogging sites such as WordPress, Tumblr or Typepad can be a good way of sharing with your loved ones the daily adventures you and your little one have. If you are worried about who will able to see your posts, look into the privacy settings to ensure that you limit access to those who you want to see the content.
There are loads of apps, such as MomentGarden, Shuttersong, Bambio and TinyBeans, out there which allow you to create digital baby books to record your baby’s growth and development. Just like the bound records book your parents may have kept, these chronicle your baby’s weight, eye color, hair color etc. as well as how they develop as they get older.
Making home movies is another good way of compiling your favorite videos, photos, audio recordings and your little one’s favorite music. Using apps such as iMovie, PicPlayPost and Windows Movie Maker. This is the perfect way to capture all those magic moments to share with your family and friends.
Turning your memories into mementos
If you want to be more creative then there are many ways you can turn your memories into cherished keepsakes.
One good idea is to save prints of your little one’s tiny feet and hands using a clay or plaster impression kits. There are some artists who can turn your baby’s prints into custom ornaments, jewelry and more. You can also try using baby-safe paint or ink to create stamps of your baby’s feet and hands to create the perfect canvas or even a special t-shirt or tote bag.
Creating a family yearbook or album is a great way to preserve magic memories of you and your little one. Snapfish, Shutterfly and MyPublisher are great user-friendly websites and apps to create a high quality digital photo book. Once it has been printed, you can add your own special touches using acid-free markers to write notes or acid-free envelopes to store little mementos.
It is a good idea to turn your favorite baby outfits into a pillow or quilt later down the line. Alternatively, you could create shadow boxes containing precious memories such as your baby’s hospital bracelet, the outfit they wore home from the hospital and even their first pair of shoes!
Another great idea of chronicling your little one’s development is to take a snapshot of your baby on the same day every month, with their favorite stuffed animal or with a sign declaring their age. Putting this in an album is the perfect way to share how they are growing with your friends and family.
Keeping your mementos safe
A great way of keeping your mementos, such as your baby’s hospital bracelet, the first tooth they lost and a lock of hair from their first haircut, is to store them in a memory box or jar.
For digital photos and videos, it is important that you ensure that you regularly back-up your files to avoid inadvertently losing any precious moments in a flash. Consider using home storage methods, such as rewritable DVDs or an external hard drive. This will give you the peace of mind that you have the backed-up files to hand and somewhere safe. Alternatively, you may consider using a third-party storage, such as an online backup service. This will give you an extra layer of security for if your computer is stolen or external hard drives and DVDs could be destroyed accidently. Sites such as DropBox, SmugMug, Microsoft OneDrive and iCloud provide free online storage for photos and videos but charge for extra space. Alternatively, using services such as CrashPlan and BackBlaze work automatically and you can recover any lost or deleted files.