As moms, we all know that our babies sure do grow up fast. That’s why it’s so important that we cherish every precious milestone and keepsake that reminds us of those moments that we want to look back on for years to come.

Every parent gets sentimental about their baby and I know personally, I had a really hard time letting go of things that I wanted to keep to remind myself of when my babies were so tiny. And although I knew what I absolutely could not part with, I wanted to find creative ways to have these wonderful memories on display to share with others as well.

Here are 11 creative ways that you can document your baby’s first year and keep your memories alive.

*This page may contain affiliate links, however, I will never recommend anything that I do not believe in and use myself. You can read more about my disclosure policy here.

1. Hand Print or Foot Print Mold

One of the first memories I have of each of our little newborn babies is holding their teeny little feet in the palm of my hands. They were so small and wrinkly but the most adorable feet I had ever seen because I knew that we had created them.

And all of the times that their little fingers gripped tightly around my finger with such strength still gets to me even now.

By making hand and footprint molds of our newborn’s feet we were able to save that one moment in time when our baby was so small but still so strong.

2. Monthly Growth Photos

It really is miraculous to see how much a baby grows and changes from one month to the next. As parents, we sometimes miss it since it flies by so fast.

Taking monthly growth photos of your baby really does help you to see how much they have grown over their first year. And putting together a collage of the entire first year sure does put things into perspective.

3. Make A Keepsake Box

One of the best things I did when I was pregnant with my first baby was purchasing a keepsake box to put all of the small items that I wanted to keep forever.

Many store-bought keepsake boxes come with ideas of what you can put in them such as your baby’s first curl – from their first hair cut. Another idea may be their ultrasound pictures or even a pair of newborn socks.

4. Baby Book

If you have been around babies enough, I am sure that you know all about baby books. And while there are other creative ways to document your memories of your little baby, sometimes having a book that is all laid out for you to just fill in is the easiest thing to keep up with for new moms.

I purchased a baby book for both of my babies and loved filling in each milestone as they came to pass.

5. First-Year Baby Clothes Quilt

We all have that onesie that was our absolute favorite to dress our baby in. Or maybe you loved that small baby blanket. Either way keeping just a baby onesie may not be the most creative way to remind you of your baby when they were little.

But if you take several onesies and other favorite clothing items that your baby used to wear and make them into patches for a quilt, it’s something that you can not only remember your little newborn baby but also use later on after your baby’s first birthday.

6. Letters to Baby

Do you write letters to your baby?

I did. In fact, I started writing to our first baby when I was still pregnant. It seemed like writing to her was not only a way to put my thoughts on paper but also a way to keep those memories of my life alive.

And once my babies were born, I still wrote to them from time to time about their milestones and funny things that they did.

7. DIY Memory Journal

I created a memory journal for the first year of my baby’s life to make a sort of baby book but one that was more personal and customizable. I loved all of the ways I was able to put my artist mind to the test and make each and every page special.

Check it out here – How to Make a DIY Memory Journal for Baby’s First Year

8. Year of Firsts

Another really interesting way to track your baby’s first year of milestones is by making a photo collage or board of all of their firsts. Some really great ideas may be:

First bath
First Foods
First hair cut
First Smile
First Steps
First Words
First Tooth

9. Baby Videos

I for one am not the greatest when it comes to videos. However, I do have some really great videos of my babies (when I actually remembered to grab my phone and record) doing some pretty funny things.

And if you are actually good at editing videos one great idea is making a video montage of your baby’s first year by piecing different video clips together into one big first-year video.

10. Baby’s First Year Scrapbook

There are some really awesome scrapbookers out there that can turn a blank page into a masterpiece of memories. If that’s you then perhaps creating a scrapbook of your baby’s first year is right up your alley.

You could have pages dedicated to each month or even each week. Or you could have different milestones on each page. The possibilities are endless.

11. Baby’s Shoe Ornament

This is a new one that I just recently discovered but it is literally one of the most adorable keepsake ideas that I have ever heard. Like I said before, babies grow so rapidly before our eyes and sometimes we wish we could slow them down.

Although there is no possible way to do that yet, we can still cherish how small they were by keeping their first baby shoe and making it into a Christmas Ornament.

By simply wrapping a string around it and writing the date and name of the baby on the bottom or something like “Baby’s First Christmas,” it can be a memory that is looked upon each year at Christmas time.

11 Creative Ways to Document Your Baby’s First Year