In today’s post, Jessica Turner brings us some great ideas for scrapbooking and journaling your baby’s first weeks of life. Journaling makes all the difference and many times you just have to sit down and let your thoughts and emotions out on paper. Jessica does precisely this on her pages and demonstrates why traditional scrapbooking continues to be favored by so many over digital.. thanks for inspiring us with these ideas.

Tiny Baby Boy

Tiny Baby Boy

When my son Elias was born, I marveled at how tiny all his little parts were – his hands, his feet, his little head. Our friends and talented photographers, Amber and Josh Ulmer at Ulmer Studios, came over to our home and did a photo shoot of Elias when he was just three weeks old. My favorite pictures are the ones that really capture his tinyness.

When scrapbooking these pictures, simple is best. Select paper that is muted so that it doesn’t distract from the images. Also, don’t over-embellish. Too many accents will take away from the pictures.

Pictures of your baby when he is really small also provide a springboard for thoughtful journaling.

Journaling is the heart of scrapbooking. While a picture may say a thousand words, the words you chose to write in your baby’s scrapbook, will be cherished for generations to come. No pressure! When I journal on pages about my son Elias, I usually write directly to him. I find it easier to write to him than writing in third person – and I think it will be more meaningful in the years to come.

On the layout Dear Elias, I chose to write a letter to my son. The photo of me holding his little naked body was beautiful on its own, so the simplicity of the letter, which takes up much of the page was more than enough for this scrapbook page.

Dear Elias

Dear Elias

Here are a few questions to get you started when scrapbooking photos of your sweet baby’s little parts.

  1. What do you think when you hold your baby’s hand?
  2. Does your baby do anything funny with his hands?
  3. What do you love about your baby’s hands/feet/etc.?
  4. What are the dreams you have for your baby?
  5. What do you want him to know?
  6. What joys has motherhood brought that you did not expect?
  7. What do you never want to forget about your baby at this age?

If you don’t feel comfortable writing your own words, you can also use pre-printed cards or poems that express how you feel, as I did on the layout, Sound Advice.

Sound Advice

Sound Advice

Another way to scrapbook a baby’s smallness is to scrapbook “big” expressions or gestures, like I did in A Big Yawn and Big Stretch.

Big Yawn

Big Yawn

Big Stretch

Big Stretch

However you choose to scrapbook your little one’s smallness, take time to reflect on the miracle of his life. Reflection is an important part of scrapbooking.

Similar Posts: