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Best Baby Keepsakes and Memory Books
Updated on
January 4, 2024

Best Baby Keepsakes and Memory Books

Childhood goes fast. Here are touching (and modern!) ways to record your little one’s milestones.

By Babylist Team
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Best Baby Keepsakes and Memory Books.

It’s true: children grow up fast. While the days sometimes may feel very long, the months and years quickly slip by.

That’s why it’s so important to capture the special moments along the way. Photos and keepsakes help you remember all the beautiful, wondrous and sometimes hilarious things that happen—and share it with your loved ones.

We found some of the most touching (and modern!) ways to record your little one’s milestones.

Effortless Memory Books

When you have zero time, you need Chatbooks. The app connects with your phone’s camera or Instagram or Facebook accounts. Whenever you post images to social media, it also goes into your Chatbook. Once you reach 60 photos, the app automatically creates a photo album complete with your photo caption, posted date and location (if you included that in your social media post). You have three days to edit the book before it gets shipped to you. You can also create one-off books to record special occasions like a vacation or holiday.

If You Love Texting

There’s never been a better excuse to be staring at your phone than this. Qeepsake makes it easy for you to record all the great things that happen, and all the feels, of your baby’s first year (and beyond) through text messaging. The app texts you a question about your child and you send back a response. From the info, Qeepsake creates a digital baby journal. You can add photos and stories too. Order a print edition of your child’s journal (up to 300 pages per book!) whenever you like.

An Adoption Journal

Every family is unique, and adoption adds one more special layer to your family’s story. Capture your child’s adoptive journey and the rest of childhood with this gorgeous, hardbound linen journal. Thoughtful prompts include questions like: Why did you choose to adopt? Where were you and how did you find out you were receiving a child? And, how did you feel when you first saw your child?

Fast Scrapbooking

If you really want to scrapbook but can’t commit to the time it takes, this memory book is for you. Choose from four charming designs that come with fun, predesigned pages for you to paste ultrasounds, footprints, a baby announcement and photos. Additional pages let you document more from your baby’s first year all the way up to age five.

For Twins

Got twins? Meet the only memory book + baby tracker with side-by-side tracking grids for two babies at once. The memory book portion includes nine pages to write down memories from the day of their birth, the pregnancy and first photos. While that may not seem like a lot compared to other memory books out there, the bulk of this gorgeous, linen-covered book is dedicated to daily tracking pages for feeding (both nursing and bottle-feeding options), diapers, naps and any other notes from the day, so you can look back on this book in 10, 20 or 30 years and remember just what the day-to-day with your little ones was like. Also included are expert-backed tips on infant care. Have just one baby but still want a daily tracker to have as a keepsake? The Tiny Tracker makes a book for singleton babies, too!

Note: You can now use your HSA/FSA to pay for your Tiny Tracker!

Design the Ultimate Album

Dabble in design when you create a baby book with Shutterfly. They provide the tools you need to customize an album, from predesigned templates to a helpful autofill feature that arranges your photos in the order taken. You pick your paper and cover type, cover image and add all the captions you want. Or, you can go the easy route and have Shutterfly designers create a photo book for you.

For Baby Handprints & Footprints

Most parents keep tiny baby footprints and handprints tucked away in a memory book or forever saved in plaster. Even better, though, is getting those adorable prints framed to display in the nursery. Minted has many sleek frames to choose from—from whitewashed wood to matte copper—and the option to use standard, foil-pressed or letterpress printing to create a personalized piece of art. Just make a footprint or handprint on paper at home (using baby-safe ink), snap a picture of it and upload it to the site. The designers will do the rest, and you can review your piece before it’s printed. When your child is older, you can also create prints from their artwork.

Perfect for Grandparents

Grandparents love boasting about the latest addition to their family and sharing photos of your little one. Make it easy for them with this pocket-sized accordion book. Pinhole creates the perfect on-the-go album with eight of your favorite pictures. You choose cloth or leather binding—to protect those precious photos when they’re in a purse or a back pocket—and then hand this over to a proud grandparent.

Frame First-Year Moments

Pearhead’s keepsake frames are a great way to see how much your baby has changed over time. The frame holds 12 small photos—one from each month of your child’s first year—and has a simple, modern design. Hang it on a wall or display it on a shelf as a powerful reminder of how much you both grew during that first year.

Adorable Photo Props

Planning on taking one photo a month to create a timeline of your baby’s first year? These stickers can help. The set comes with 12 stickers to mark each month from first to twelfth. Just peel them off and stick them on your little one’s clothing before the wee photo shoot.

A Place for Everything

There’s a lot from your baby’s childhood you’ll want to save: ultrasound images, birth certificate, hospital bracelet, baby teeth and much more. But where do you put it all? This keepsake box has a bunch of drawers, vertical storage and small envelopes so you can have a dedicated spot for everything. Illustrated labels designate what goes where—you choose which labels to use—so you can quickly sort and later find all your child’s cherished mementos.

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