Baby’s First Tooth

If you thought baby could scream before, wait until they start teething. Some mothers use traditional teething rings with the liquid inside but I was always afraid that my son’s budding teeth would puncture the plastic. Frozen waffles work just as well and if baby bites down, there’s no harm done.

Baby can also spike a fever when teething. Children’s liquid pain reliever will bring it down fast and help with the teething pain. Baby will become fussier and crankier than usual at bedtime. The upside of the whole ordeal will be the sight of that pearly white tooth in baby’s mouth. Every cute little smile from that moment on will be dotted with a shiny tooth.

Picture Ideas:

When you first feel an extra bump along baby’s gum line, start with the pictures. Entice baby to smile so that you can get a shot of baby’s entire gummy mouth.

Each week, take a new picture. This will be a slow process but you’ll have the benefit of catching every sparkly tooth coming in during baby’s first year of life.

Also, take pictures of baby chewing on a toothbrush.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

Find stickers of giant teeth with smiling faces. Punch a half circle in the top of each tooth sticker. Affix them to the page around the edges of the page with the top of each tooth angled towards the center of the page.

Take a piece of string and paste it around the outside of the page to represent dental floss. Make sure that the string lies across each hole to resemble a necklace of teeth.

Use your silly quote stickers on the teeth to have the teeth congratulate baby on finally growing a tooth. Place baby’s pictures in the center of the floss necklace.

You’ll be able to find some adorable toothbrush stickers to put on this page, as well.

Daddy Loves Baby.

Fathers are special people. Even the strongest, most macho man becomes an overgrown teddy bear around their own child. The most important part of dad’s life is resting in his arms. My husband was afraid to hold our son at first. When he got the hang of it, I would tiptoe around the house and catch him humming to our son as he rocked him to sleep. He was becoming every bit the caring and loving father our son would need throughout his life.

Picture Ideas:

Since mommy is usually the one caring for baby during the first six weeks of life, whenever daddy steps in to help is a good time for a photograph. Shots of daddy and baby when neither of them is aware of your presence produce loving memories.

Let daddy get up one night and take care of baby. Watch him rub the sleep from his eyes and give his best zombie impression as he staggers off to the nursery. Grab the camera and follow him to the nursery. Watch him carry baby to the changing table. Is he awake enough to put baby’s diaper on correctly? If not, you’ll catch it on camera.

Be sure to take regular photos of baby with Daddy to show baby’s growth. Playtime is oftentimes the best time to catch daddy at his best.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

Title your pages “Daddy’s Little Girl” or “Daddy’s Best Man”. If baby is a boy, design the scrapbook page with father and son activities in mind. Boys play catch with their fathers and build things. Let the decorations reflect all of the wonderful memories father and son will share in years to come.

Use stickers or foam in the shapes of basketballs, baseballs, and other sporting items. If your bouncing baby is a girl, decorate with father/daughter moments in mind: tea time, bike riding, ballet, and roller skating to name a few.

Baby’s First Steps

Baby can crawl over to tables and chairs and pull themselves to a standing position. When you walk into the nursery in the morning, baby is standing up and shaking the rails. Baby is ready to try walking. Begin with a good pair of shoes.

The day my niece took her first steps she was at my house. I stood her up next to my knee. My sister sat across from me at the other end of the couch. When she called to my niece with her arms outstretched, I aimed my niece in her direction and waited to see what would happen next. She wobbled and swooned a bit, but kept on her feet.

Our mouths hung open as we waited to see if this would be the day that she would take her first steps. One…two…three…and she dropped to the floor. My sister picked her up and we all cheered. My niece laughed, too. Another milestone had been reached.

Picture Ideas:

When you are preparing baby to walk keep your camera close at hand. Take pictures of baby pulling up to a standing position and walking hand-in-hand with you and daddy.

To make sure you capture those first precious steps on camera, have someone else ready to take the picture as daddy aims baby in your direction. Before you applaud her steps, send her back the other way towards her daddy’s waiting arms for another memorable picture. Also, take pictures of mom and dad hugging and celebrating baby’s accomplishment. Now, is also the time to get a great “foot” picture of the baby, too.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

Find some foam building blocks and use them to construct a ladder design on the scrapbook page. On top of each block, paste a picture of baby’s walking progress. The top blocks should hold the pictures of baby walking to you and then to daddy.

Naughty Baby Pictures

Over the course of baby’s first year, they will have many occasions to behave badly. During their daily explorations of the house, baby is bound to try a few things they shouldn it. You must have a sense of humor about baby’s antics. As long as baby has n’t done anything dangerous, it is okay to capture it on camera.

My niece loves Cheerios. To keep her from eating too many at one time, I would hand them to her. One night I left the sandwich bag with the cereal in it open on the couch and went to check on dinner. When I returned, my niece was sitting in on the floor in a pile of cereal, stuffing them in her mouth. Then, she proceeded to stand up and stomp all over them. Grinding cereal into my carpet was definitely a no-no.

Turning over the trashcan would be another example of Baby Behaving Badly. Sometimes it is hard to know if baby is purposely doing naughty things, but I would give them the benefit of the doubt.

Picture Ideas:

Since you never know what baby may do, grab your camera whenever you notice them being really quiet. Given a chance, baby will pull the tablecloth off the table and everything along with it. The funniest naughty baby moments will be photographed at mealtimes and diaper changes. Giving baby a plate of their own is sure to bring out the naughty in them.

Be sure to take pictures of any large messes baby makes or any naughty climbing he does. Even though, at the moment you may be mad as a hen, years from now, you ‘ll love those naughty baby pictures.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

When baby gets in trouble they are usually relegated to the playpen where they can ‘t escape. Construct a large playpen on the page. Paste your naughty baby pictures inside the playpen. You can even draw black and white bars on the playpen.

Baby Sleeping Like an Angel.

I liked to watch my children sleep. They would curl up into a little ball or pull their knees underneath their bodies, pushing their butts in the air. If they were lying on their backs, their tiny chests rose and fell with each precious breath. Your beautiful baby has been entrusted to your care. What a miracle of God!

IÆve heard it said that if a baby smiles while they are asleep, it means that they are playing with the angels. It brings a whole new meaning to the blessing, ôSweet Dreamsö. Does your baby sleep like an angel? I pray that all babies dream of heaven when they close their eyes at night. The sound of my childrenÆs breathing was music to my ears.

Picture Ideas:

Babies, just like adults, sleep in many different positions. Each of babyÆs sleeping positions is cuter than the last. Capture baby in the crib, on the blanket, on the couch, and in the playpen. Sometimes baby will sleep wherever they fall after playing.
Take a picture of baby sleeping on top of a teddy bear or mommy and daddy. Baby may even fall asleep in the corner of the couch. I have a picture of my youngest son sleeping in the corner of the couch wearing a pair of 3-D glasses. I laugh every time I see it.

If baby has a ôlovieö or blankie he sleeps with, be sure to get lots of pictures of baby sleeping with it.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

A background of clouds and angels would be an appropriate setting for babyÆs pictures. Paste a picture on each cloud. Or, crop your pictures in the shape of clouds with a blue construction paper background.

Take a cotton ball and glue pieces of it around each picture to emphasize the cloud effect. Add angel stickers to round out the page.

Reading to baby will familiarize him with words, shapes, and colors. My favorite book for my sons was “Pat the Bunny”. Baby can actually feel bunny’s fuzzy body, ears, and tail. Books like this keep baby’s attention while you read. Picture books are also good “first” books for baby.

My oldest son had a book made of cloth when he was a baby. There were numbers, letters, shapes, and animals in it. If he ever spit up on it all I had to do was toss it in the washing machine. My children loved when I read to them. Story time will provide many shared moments that you and baby will cherish for years to come.

Picture Ideas:

Take pictures of baby being read to by mommy, daddy, grandma, siblings, and whoever else will volunteer. Photograph baby turning the pages or even chewing on the book. They like to help you with the book. I have pictures of my baby son sleeping in the middle of his cloth book and sleeping with the book on top of him.

I laugh at those pictures because it looks like he read so much that he fell asleep! Take photos of baby’s favorite books so one day you can show them what books started them on the road to reading.

You can also do “smart baby” pictures and let him wear a pair of glasses while looking at a book. Get lots of pictures of your little Einstein.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

You could choose a night sky background with a lot of stars. When you know how to read, the sky’s the limit. Create an arch out of the book pictures near the top of the scrapbook page and another arch of pictures at the bottom featuring baby and family reading books. In the center, paste a foam rocket bearing baby’s name reaching for the sky.

Baby Meets Siblings

You never quite know how your other children will react when you tell them you’re going to have another baby. If they’re under five like my oldest son was, they might throw a tantrum. Children that age don’t want anyone or anything new invading their home to steal the undivided attention of their mommy and daddy. I was confident that he’d love the new baby once he was home.

Older children will love the idea of a new baby. They will want to play with the baby and protect him or her.

Picture Ideas:

Get all the siblings together to see the new baby when you come home from the hospital. A group picture of them surrounding the new addition is a camera worthy event. As the days pass, let each sibling have their own special time with the baby. Snap pictures of each one holding, dressing, diapering, and feeding the baby. Sneak pictures of the siblings watching baby in the crib or playing with the baby when no one else is around.

Candid shots like these will add surprises to your scrapbook. If baby’s siblings are very young, have daddy snap pictures of you teaching them how to stroke baby’s head and wiggle baby’s hands and feet. They may even want to kiss the baby.

Scrapbook Ideas:

Each sibling should have their own scrapbook page to highlight the time they have spent with the new baby. Let them have a hand in the creative process.

Show them the pictures you took and ask for suggestions about how to decorate each page. Ask questions about the baby and journal their answers onto the pages like “What will you teach the baby when he is older?” and “What’s your favorite thing about your new brother/sister?”

Make sure you include the name of each sibling on their page.

Baby’s Birth

It’s time! Your due date is nearing. My biggest worry was over where I would be and what it would feel like when my water broke. I had missed my due date so my husband and I knew that our baby could come at any time. Both of us longed to see our son’s face and kiss his forehead.

We were as ready as two nervous expectant parents could be. Was it that way for you, too? Two weeks before your due date, pack a bag for you and the baby. Daddy will make dry runs of the hospital route. Every family member will be on high alert.

Picture Ideas:

Capture the blow-by-blow excitement. Let daddy take pictures of you packing your essentials for a short hospital stay. Next is baby’s bag. Choosing the cutest outfit for baby to wear home deserves a picture.

If daddy is a nervous wreck by the time you reach the hospital, have a friend meet you there to capture everything on camera. Otherwise, the nurses oftentimes will gladly grab the camera for you and take some pictures, when asked.

Take pictures of the birthing room and you in that fashionable hospital gown. If your picture taker isn’t squeamish, let them take pictures of the actual birth and daddy cutting the umbilical cord.

Of course someone will need to take a photo of you holding your precious child for the first time. Other photo opportunities are a picture of the doctor holding the baby, a family photo and a family photo with the doctor or midwife in the pictures as well.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

Have a separate page for the packing and then one or two for the birthing process. Paste foam decorations in the shape of rattles, bottles, diaper pins, etc. around the page. Use colorful alphabet stickers for the title. Choose a title like “Getting Ready”. Scrapbook paper with a baby or cherub background would work well for the page with photos of the actual birth.

Baby Sits Up

My mother always said that it was important to support baby’s head when cradling them in one’s arms. If you’ve ever noticed, baby’s head will flop back if you don’t. Their neck muscles aren’t strong enough to hold up their little heads. But, baby will try. Curiosity will get the better of them and each time you prop baby up on your shoulder, they will try to look around.

It’s funny. Baby’s head wiggles like one of those bobble head toys and then it falls back against your shoulder. But, the day will come when they begin to push themselves away from the back of the couch or the car seat as they strain to sit up on their own. Pretty soon baby will be turning his/her head when they hear a noise. Can walking be far behind?

Picture Ideas:

Take a few photos of baby from a side angle to show that they are pushing themselves away from the couch or baby carrier. Have a family member or friend sit baby on their lap while supporting baby’s head and back. Tell them to slowly remove their hand so you can get a picture of baby sitting up on their own.

Take a picture with daddy and yourself and baby. Cheer baby on and encourage their newfound bodily control.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

This page would be another place to use silly quote stickers. Mommy or daddy could be made to say something like, “Hurray!” or “You did it!”

Try to find a piece of scrapbook paper that resembles a stadium full of people or, if you can only find an empty stadium, draw some spectators. Or find stickers of cheerleaders to put around the page. Have baby’s pictures showcased in the middle of the page. Give the crowd various cheering quotes to celebrate baby’s accomplishment.

Baby’s First Birthday

You and baby have made it together one full year. It’s hard to believe that your baby is walking, eating table food, and beginning to speak. Baby has developed a unique personality during this year and is not afraid to express it.

Now it’s time to celebrate the last twelve months. From one mother to another, don’t make too much fuss this time around. To baby, their birthday is just another day. Decorate with that thought in mind. The first birthday is more a celebration of baby than a celebration for baby. Throw on your party hats and blow out those candles!

Picture Ideas:

You must have a picture of baby wearing a party hat. It doesn’t matter if baby snatches it off later. Snap a picture of baby with each party guest. Randomly take photos of baby interacting with all the new people in the house.

When cake time arrives, let daddy sit at the table with baby. Take a picture of the beautiful birthday cake before and after you light the candle. Take a wide shot of all the party guests singing “Happy Birthday” to baby. As daddy shows baby how to blow out the candle, keep the cameras clicking.

Baby can help you with the present pictures by ripping the wrapping paper off.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

Scrapbook paper with a background of balloons will do. Use a glue stick to make streaks on the sides of the page. Shake birthday confetti on the page and pour off the excess. Crop the party pictures into big squares.

Cut photos in the shape of balloons, cakes, or the number one.

Create small bows from baby’s wrapping paper and put one on top of each picture to turn them into presents. The title of this page would be “Baby’s First Birthday”.