It is true to say that a lot of people begin to get the scrappin’ bug after their child/children are born and usually their first attempt at scrapbooking is making a baby album.

Having a child is one of the most important events in our lives and baby’s first year is a busy, lively, ever changing journey of discovery. It is full of important milestones…

No wonder then, as parents we want to capture and record all those many memorable moments – preserving them in scrapbooks is a great way to safely keep and cherish those memories for years to come.

One timeless and extremely popular baby scrapbooking idea is to make an album that consists of ‘firsts’.

This is a relatively easy and flexible theme to follow, especially for someone new to scrapbooking and is a great way to create enchanting baby scrapbooks.

This kind of album usually consists of a scrapbook arranged in chronological order with individual layouts showing special and notable moments in your baby’s life.

New babies are so photogenic it’s hard to resist capturing all the big and little things that make up their day-to-day lives.

No doubt you will have lots of pictures to sort through – so here’s a small list of ‘firsts’ to give you some ideas for organizing your photos:

• sleep/nap
• bottle/breast feed
• diaper change
• dressed in their first outfit
• ride in a car seat
• smiles
• bath
• trip out in the buggy
• solid food
• teeth
• sitting up
• drinking from a cup
• feeding him/herself
• crawling
• walking with the furniture
• steps/walking on their own
• hair cut
• Halloween
• Christmas

To add a little more interest to your album try and vary the layouts, for instance make some events into double page spreads. Such as coming home from the hospital or bath-time, which always presents an opportunity for some great photos!

Give your pages a personal touch by adding some memorabilia, using a pocket envelope, to your layouts – like the birth announcement or maybe a lock of hair from their first hair cut.

If you are new to scrapbooking and you’re unsure about starting out on your new album then a good choice would be to buy yourself a baby scrapbook kit. These kits contain everything you will need to begin scrapbooking and are a great shortcut to creating super layouts that you can be proud of.

You can also enhance your pages with some of the many baby-related products that are available on the market. Decorate your layout with an adorable or cute baby scrapbook paper.

Then, embellish your page with some charming baby scrapbook stickers like rattles, booties, bibs, bottles etc and when they’re done display all of your beautiful pages in a lovely baby scrapbook album.

Go on… give it a go. Make yourself a baby scrapbook to savor and keep all those incredible memories. You’ll find it’s much more than just a scrapbook – it will become a precious family keepsake that you’ll treasure forever.

About The Author
Elaine Clay is the owner of Online-Scrapbooking-Guide.com :: your one-stop online scrapbooking resource. Find inspiration, increase your creativity and have fun with our helpful tips, ideas, articles and much more.

1. You cannot love, hug, kiss, cuddle, or hold your newborn too much. He needs your affection to feel safe in a world that’s all new to him.
2. This tiny person is totally dependent on you for everything in his life. He cannot survive without you.
3. Establish a routine. Your baby needs to be able to count on certain activities occurring around the same time each day. Feeding, naps, fun and affection should be a part of every schedule.
4. Sleepless nights may seem never-ending as your newborn awakens you with his cries. But time will fly by and your baby won’t be a baby for long. Treasure each moment of this experience.
5. Nobody can teach you how to be a parent. You will learn on the job. Trust your instincts. Nobody knows your baby better than you.
6. Being a parent will be the most challenging and most rewarding experience of your life. Cherish every day with your child.
7. A child is not a possession or a toy or someone to take for granted. A baby is a blessing.
8. Respect your child’s father or mother whether you’re still married to them or not. Your baby will remember how you treat each other. Children learn by example.
9. Being a parent is at minimum an 18 year commitment. You can’t quit halfway through.
10. Your life will never be the same. Respect the value of this little miracle and remember he will always be a part of you. Nothing in the world should compete with your commitment to love your child.

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About the Author:
Danielle Hollister is the Writing Host at BellaOnline and Publisher of BellaOnline’s Writing Zine. To subscribe send mail to: bellaonlinewriting-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.