Opinions about baby book/scrapbook

[chicory]

I'm not the scrapbooking type, but as our twins' arrival slowly approaches, I've recently been thinking I should start at least a photo album for them. I read an article recently written by a photographer calling today's generation the "most photographed generation that in ten years, will not have photos of themselves." The idea being that, we're so into snapping photos of everything we do, but no one prints photos anymore; they're all floating around on social media sites or stored on various devices/storage media that may soon be obsolete. 

I'm a little old school (no smartphone, use my digital camera and save photos on the computer and back up to an external hard drive. I do have an iPad, but I don't have a lot of photos online.) So, I start thinking I should really make plans to make this album/baby book for the boys. I do cherish my own actual printed albums & photobooks. Of course they could be damaged in a fire, etc, but so would the external hard drive. Who is cooler than me and doing this non-old-school? What do you do? Blog? How to be sure it can never be lost? How to replace the feeling of pulling the book off the shelf or coffee table to reminisce?

Another question(s): We're very open about our IVF and absolutely plan to tell our children how they came to be...how and when to do that... (I'm sure it will be in stages as they get older and understand more) I'm not exactly sure. I have photos of them as embryos, which I love. What does one write on that page of the baby book? Do you even include the photo? I'll probably just put that it's a photo of them in the lab as embyros. I had this vision of our boys one day reading the book and freaking out that anything pertaining to their conception was ever put on paper, LOL. I mean, it's not like babies of fertiles have a page in their book that says "on such and such date, Mommy downed two bottles of wine, Daddy forgot his condoms, and they had fun and I was created." So should an IVF baby's book include anything about the dates of ER or ET? Maybe this is more just a memory so fresh and important to ME that I'm holding onto it, but not something that needs to go in the child's book. (I am thinking of this as a book that someday the babies would have as their own, not for me to keep.) But the embryo photo has to be in there somewhere, right? I mean, how cool is that? Not many people have a photo of themselves just five days after conception! 

Also, I just realized that with twins, this means I really need TWO separate books! I'll probably finish them during retirement, haha! 

Anywho...that was more thinking aloud than questions, but I'm curious if anyone who has their schtuff together more than me has a plan for this kind of thing...

[jessimi06]

My SIL got me two baby books/scrapbooks for the holidays that I'm filling out as I go. It covers pregnancy through the first 10 years, and has a lot of cute little details that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I'm putting their embryo pictures under the 'baby's first photos section". Side story- When our embryologist gave us our pictures, he said "hopefully these will be the very first pictures of your baby" and made a joke how we'd have an edge over other parents.

[ginnyjones82]

Since you plan on telling the twins about your IVF, I would absolutely put that in their baby books!

Since you have an ipad, you could back photos up to the cloud? That keeps them safe from fire or any other bad things.

If my baby book goes anything like my wedding photos, my kid will be 3 before I ever get photos to books! Yay for wanting to get a head start.

[amshark]

I just assumed I would do a baby book, but for some reason, it never occurred to me that I'll need to do two, because I'm having two babies. [smacks forehead] Of course I'll need two! What's wrong with me?!

I'm the youngest of 5 children, and apparently, my mom only had the energy to make 4 baby books. I probably wouldn't have noticed, but my older siblings all teased me about it - so, I've always wanted to do some kind of baby book for every kid.

I plan on telling my kids about IVF from the beginning. They don't need to know the details about injections, suppositories, and the dildo cam or anything, but I see no need to wait to tell them they were conceived in a special way. So, I was planning to include the embryo pictures. Too bad I don't know which embryo belongs to which twin - Does anyone have any solutions for this? Should I just make a copy, so I can put a pic of both in each baby book?

I'm also not quite sure if I'll do the traditional baby book with clippings from baby's first haircut and whatnot, or if I'll just use a site like snapfish to have a photo book printed.

Of course, all of this is just talk right now. There's a good chance I won't get anything in a book until they're in high school. (That's what happened for me eventually. My mom started to feel guilty, and when I was in high school, she made me a scrapbook - which was very nice).

Ohhhh... maybe I can cash in on any remaining guilt and get my mom to do the baby books for me! Now, there's an idea.

[Deleted]

I am 100% on board w a scrapbook! I made one for both my girls. One thing to keep in mind is whatever you do for one (or two in your case) you maybe inclined to do for future children. When i was pregnant w DD1 i thought she maybe my only pregnancy so i went hardcore into a homemade scrapbook. Now I'm pregnant w #2 and i have done nothing but bitch about having to do the same for her. That sounds so horrible but it's true. I have way less time now than i did w my first pregnancy. Anyway, i guilted myself into making her a handmade scrapbook as well. I actually just finished yesterday and i am so glad it's done.

May i suggest shutterfly or some other online site? You can scan u/s photos and add them too. I would also make a combined book for twins if i had them. A lot of your photos will be redundant since you will only have one belly shot for each week of development, one baby shower for the two of them...possibly even one nursery that they share.

It's totally up to you what you do. I just value my down time so much now. I told MH no more kids after this bc i just can't make another scrapbook!!

[ginnyjones82]

Also, since you said you were not the scrapbook type. I made this for my niece to remember her birthday trip to the beach. I also have a similar one for some of my wedding photos.

[amshark]

Ok, now I'm torn about one or two books for twins. I'm going to take this question to the multiples forum. I'll report back for those ladies who don't post on "Twins, Triplets and More."

[jessimi06]

Feb 26, 2015 10:21:40 GMT -5 amshark said:

Ok, now I'm torn about one or two books for twins. I'm going to take this question to the multiples forum. I'll report back for those ladies who don't post on "Twins, Triplets and More."

I'm doing two (out of personal preference) separate books that will probably end up being very similar. My mom gave me my baby book and photo albums to keep and have for my family (DH's mom did the same), and I want to to do the same for our kids. I feel like with only one book, you/or they would have to pick who gets it. And each book will be slightly different since they'll most likely have different first words, have different favorite foods, etc.

[luvboston]

Whatever pictures u have including the embryo pics and all ultrasound pics should be scanned on the computer before putting them in a book. The paper that they are printed on fades badly over time.

I would def include the ivf in my opinion it's something to be proud of and they should know your journey.

[IFinTN]

Feb 26, 2015 10:51:59 GMT -5 luvboston said:

Whatever pictures u have including the embryo pics and all ultrasound pics should be scanned on the computer before putting them in a book. The paper that they are printed on fades badly over time.

I would def include the ivf in my opinion it's something to be proud of and they should know your journey.

Ooohh, I did not think about the ultrasound pictures fading! SMH!  Thanks luvboston, I am off to scan now.

As for the question, I have started our first photo album with the embryo picture and all the ultrasound pictures. I don't know how much I'll get into documenting things in a scrapbook after baby boy gets here but I would like to at least print some pictures once a month during that first year for a photo album. I love my photo albums from when I was a baby!

[katemonster]

My DH got me a baby book for Christmas that I am filling out. It's nice to have some structure - makes it easier since I'm not crafty. I don't plan on putting in embryo pics because we aren't open about ivf with most people. Instead I am keeping them in a keepsake box with other ultrasound pics. Just a personal preference.

[ProfessorChaos]

I'm not good at cute crafts, so if anyone has a really good book to recommend please let me know. I'd love to start one but haven't found anything I really like.

[turquoisequeen]

ProfessorChaos I also would love baby book recommendations from others. I've seen some really cute ones on etsy but since there are only a few photos of a listing it's hard to know which might be best.

[daydreamernyc]

I'm planning on doing a photo book such as on shutterfly that will be for the entire first year. While its not a "scrapbook" I will take pictures of objects to so they can be cropped and added.

We have been very private about IF and no one other then our doctors know. (Seems strange now after the fact but we couldn't handle all the questions. It was too emotional and I would have broken to a million pieces if it was a topic eveytime family called or got together. Now I'd be fine admitting it but there's no point now). So we are not going to tell our baby how she was conceived.

[chicory]

Thanks, friends amshark's post on the multiples board was great, too. I think I'm going to go the snapfish (or whatever company) photobook route and make one for each boy. They'll probably be similar, but I'm going to try to individualize them. I think I'll do it less of a "baby book" style with all the milestones and more of an album. The embryo pics will be included, just not every single detail. Now I just need to commit to keeping up with it (probably just the first year.) I could even start now...or tomorrow, haha. Maybe it can be a HS graduation gift if I actually get them done by then

[amshark]

I said I would post on Twins, Triplets and More and report back, so, I'm reporting back for anyone who's interested, but doesn't post on that board.
The majority preferred one scrapbook/photo book for each baby - though, there was at least one who planned on doing a combined book.

If you'd like to read the thread, here's a link: goodbyecb.proboards.com/thread/16734/baby-scrap-book

[IFinTN]

Feb 27, 2015 21:40:43 GMT -5 chicory said:

Thanks, friends amshark's post on the multiples board was great, too. I think I'm going to go the snapfish (or whatever company) photobook route and make one for each boy. They'll probably be similar, but I'm going to try to individualize them. I think I'll do it less of a "baby book" style with all the milestones and more of an album. The embryo pics will be included, just not every single detail. Now I just need to commit to keeping up with it (probably just the first year.) I could even start now...or tomorrow, haha. Maybe it can be a HS graduation gift if I actually get them done by then

So I know you were joking about procrastination but I heard a great idea along the lines of HS grad gift. Get a copy of "oh the places you'll go" and have every teacher the kid ever has write a note in it to them.

[chicory]

IFinTN, that IS actually a cool idea! Might have to file that one away for a looong time from now! (Time is gonna fly, I know!)

[runawaylaurel]

ProfessorChaos, turquoisequeen, my mom got me this book www.uncommongoods.com/product/twinkle-twinkle-baby-memory-book and I adore it! She also got me this calendar for day to day little notes, like, "turned head toward my voice when laying on tummy" www.amazon.com/Hallmark-Sweet-Little-Sticker-Calendar/dp/B009H7MA9Q

I plan on doing a snapfish/shutterfly book for the first year pics.

[turquoisequeen]

Thanks runawaylaurel does the book start out with their birth or is there anything pregnancy related also in the book? I do see a picture where it looks like how parents met and family tree is.

Is there a place for baby's footprints?

[runawaylaurel]

turquoisequeen, there's a "my story begins" page where I put his u/s, embryo pic (need to make digital copies of those too!) and IVF stuff, then areas for family tree, how you chose his name, hand and footprints, birth announcement, story of mommy and daddy. Then it gets into normal Firsts, like car ride, bath, haircut etc. I like it a lot!