Baby Books: does anyone still do this?

by Karen Walrond (Subscribe to Karen Walrond's posts) Dec 29th 2005 11:25AM

Prior to joining Blogging Baby, I did an interview with Stefania Butler where I said that "Mommy/Daddy Blogging was the new baby book." Recently, I attended a baby shower where the guest of honor received a baby book as a gift -- and I couldn't help but think, "Yeah, she's NEVER going to fill that up." I certainly never completed one, and frankly, why bother? The first year of my weblog chronicles my daughter's every move. I've actually printed it out for her to read later. Trust me, this kid is going to learn more about her first year of life than she wants to know.

So I wonder: does anyone actually do baby books anymore? With all due respect to scrapbookers, scrapbooking doesn't count -- in my mind, people who scrapbook are artists, and scrapbooking is an art form. I'm talking about those books that have places for you to fill in "baby's first tooth," or "baby's first words" -- do you parents out there still manage to complete these? Or have you found that blogging and scrapbooking have taken over? What do you do to record memories of your children's lives?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Comments (14)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jennifer 12-29-2005 @ 11:45AM

I keep a baby book, a blog and have recently started scrapbooking. I am the ultra obsessive parent. Hope it lasts when I have #2.

MelissaS 12-29-2005 @ 11:59AM

I kept one for both my kids. Now they're a little old for regular entries but I add to it on their birthdays.

I think my website is great, but I try not to talk about the minutae on the internet but I love remembering the minutae of their babyhood.

It's amazing how quick we forget.

Duane 12-29-2005 @ 12:04PM

My wife does indeed keep the traditional baby book. Of course she tends to let it languish for weeks or longer at a time and then in one sitting she'll sit there saying, "When did Elizabeth get her first molar? Was that October 20, or before that?" And of course I have no idea. She's not into blogging at all, and rarely ever even reads what I write.

I tend to only blog the funny stories. And, at that, mostly for the benefit of my parents (who are avid readers/printers) and my brother, all of whom live far enough away that they don't get daily telephone updates like my wife's parents do.

CG 12-29-2005 @ 12:12PM

I enjoyed reading my husband's baby book so much that I've made a point of keeping one for our son. I have also started a blog, but I don't intend for that to replace his baby book.

Christina 12-29-2005 @ 12:36PM

I keep a baby book for my daughter. While I'm not always precise on dates (walking happened sometime in early December), I do fill it with lots of pictures and stories about her likes and dislikes. I keep a blog also, but a lot of the little stuff would be boring to most people, so I don't include it on my blog.

I think it will be helpful for her if she decides to become a mom someday. I know I've relied on my baby book to see that I was a slow walker, and I never mastered crawling forward but was excellent at crawling backwards. It's helped me see her development in the terms of the individual instead of those milestone markers.

Ann Adams 12-29-2005 @ 12:36PM

They used to show up as shower gifts. I'm not sure that still happens. I'd always start out well with the vital statistics, etc. and then I'd forget the darn thing. Crawling, walking, first tooth? Thirtyfive years ago with my youngest and I don't have a clue anymore when he did what.

I do have lots of photos in albums and I'm beginning to save them online as well.

chelle 12-29-2005 @ 12:47PM

I totally kept one for our daughter. My husband had one as a baby and it was never "filled" completely but it is sucha treasured item! I filled Becca's to a point (mind you it does need updating!)

I keep a blog and a website, but there is something about a physical book that is sweet!

chelle

Kerri 12-29-2005 @ 12:59PM

I do keep a baby book. Granted, I'm only on my first child, so who knows what will happen in the future. But my mom kept one for me, and I like being able to look back at what she wrote. I hope that, someday, Conner will be able to look at his book and say, "I actually did that?!"

eden 12-29-2005 @ 1:52PM

I filled one out for my daughter (now 28 mo) and for my new son I have a blank scrapbook to fill. I plan to use hers as a template. Hers was a Hallmark baby book, with pre-made pages for "firsts" and "gifts" and such. When I went back to Hallmark to get one for the new baby, I found they don't carry baby books anymore -- only photo albums. Disappointing.

I also kept a baby blog for both pregnancies and keep them up as time allows, chronicling milestones and every day amusements.

Sarah 12-29-2005 @ 3:30PM

Yes and no. I filled out all of the pages detailing the family, the birth, gifts, etc. But I definitely didn't bother with making a entry about her accomplishments each month. As a working mom I want to spend as much time as possible enjoying her milestones. If they get recorded, great. If not, I'm certainly not going to beat myself up over it. I don't know why baby books have pages that chronicle the emergence of teeth and immunizations. That's a little excessive in my opinion. Even though every page is not completed, I still think it will be a good rememberance for my daughter.

MamaChristy 12-29-2005 @ 3:59PM

I love filling in my son's baby book. Like MelissaS, my blog isn't for the minute details of my son's life. It's for me and I talk about him on it - a lot. I actually like having an extra record of his shots and first teeth and all that.

Kate 12-29-2005 @ 4:13PM

We bought a baby book when my daughter was about a year old. We just guessed the dates for stuff as close as possible (having digital photos filed by date helped). I really prefer your basic photo albums to baby books and scrapbooks. And I never considered my blog something that Morgan would read someday.

mama muse 12-29-2005 @ 4:51PM

Someone should invent a way to represent a baby blog in a book format. Some sort of online service, which would take your blog and print it and bind it into a book.

I definitely use my blog as a baby book, etc, but I would pay money to be able to hold it in my hand.

Chad Norman 1-02-2006 @ 5:04PM

We, and I mean my wife, did a great job of keeping up with our first son's baby book. I on the other hand, kept up a 'fan site' of photos for the family. But blogging never entered the fold...too much time, and way to much information out in the ether.

But, I do recommend keeping a 'Klog', or kid log. This is where I'm writing down all those tiny details that I'm sure we'll all forget. Check it out here:

http://www.echohive.com/blog/?p=59

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