As a mom myself, I’m still working on my daughters baby book and have nothing in my sons. I just got too busy with both of them so close together. So when I was approached by Michelle LaRowe for tips on how to keep the baby book current and on-line I was sure it would be advice worth sharing. Here are her tips:
Easy Ways for Busy Moms to Keep their Baby Book Current
You barely have enough time to notice your baby’s milestones, never mind carefully track them in a handcrafted baby book. Fortunately for busy moms who want to chronicle their baby’s life journey, it doesn’t have to take a whole lot of time, effort and energy.
Move your baby book online
Sure, most moms love the idea of a handcrafted scrapbook, complete with stories, stickers and embellishments placed alongside carefully cropped photos. But since most moms don’t have the time or energy to craft such a baby book, their ideas and intentions are met with empty pages that never get built out. Fortunately, technology allows parents to take their baby journal online. With online baby books like Kidmondo, parents can update their baby book anytime, anywhere they can access the Internet (with Kidmondo you can even update your baby book by sending an email to it). With the easy to use platform you simply input your child’s information into professionally designed pages. There are even templates for tracking your child’s health, diet and which teeth come in when. The best part? Once you’re ready you can order a professional printed keepsake to treasure forever.
Schedule in time to update
The truth is, for updating to get done you may have to block out a little time in your schedule to do it. Carve out some time each week to update your baby’s journal to ensure you get it done. The neat thing about digital baby books is they are quick and easy to update. You don’t need any special supplies and you can update while lying in bed or while sitting in the car with the engine off, waiting to get an older sibling in the school pick-up line. Added bonus? Say goodbye to having to send each set of grandparents a personalized weekly baby update. If you use an online baby book after each update you can securely share your baby book with friends and family in an instant.
Text or email yourself stories and images to add to your journal later
Never mind dragging around a separate camera and video recording device. Take advantage of your smartphone and never worry about missing a magical moment again. Use your phone camera to capture everyday moments and major milestones wherever you are whenever they happen. If there’s a story or photo you want to add to your journal, send yourself a text or email with it included so you’re not left wondering what you meant to add to your to do list. Neat feature of online baby books? You can include video clips too.
Organize digital images as you go
Most often organizing photos is what takes the most times. Which ones should you include and which order should you include them. Using image file names like first_tooth can help you easy locate those images that you want to feature in your baby book. Create folders for each month and save the images too them to easily create your baby’s time line. Online bonus? Copping images is easier and leaves you with no waste. Resizing the photos to fit where you want to include them is a cinch.
Michelle LaRowe is a mom, parenting author, and the editor-in-chief of Longhorn Leads, parent company of KidMondo, www.KidMondo.com, one of the first online baby journals. Her books include Nanny to the Rescue! and Working Mom’s 411. In 2004 she was awarded the International Nanny Association Nanny of the Year award.
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