The easy way to create your baby's journey when you didn't start it or finish it

Don't panic...it's not too late to create your baby's journal when you didn't finish it or make one.

I know this can be the worst feeling ever, well it is for me. Never finishing my kid's baby's journal really sucks. I feel annoyed at myself & guilty for it. I had all the intentions in the world, but life got in the way. 

Let's be real, being a Mum is so incredibly busy. There is always something to do, & if you haven't slept well, or just physically exhausted, most of the time when everyone is finally in bed, you kind just want to hit the couch & zone out with the mindless TV.

Who's hearing me on that??

But there is no point in getting all glum about it because I have decided to just restart & finish it. I want to be able to compile a journal for both of my kids so I can hand it over to them, just as my Mum did for me.

At first, the thought of it was incredibly overwhelming, I was honestly thinking OMG how am I going to do this? Those memories seem so long ago, & I know there will be intricate little memories I possibly might forget. 

But I am OK with that, I have cut myself some slack & I am going to create this baby journal anyway. I have all the photos, all of the cards, the videos, & so many memories still in my head. Even though you may not have every detail recorded in your head, as a Mum, we don't lose too many I believe.

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for technology.

Having our lives literally in our phones will be the saving grace for all of us. We will be able to slowly piece all of our memories together. Also, nine times out of 10, once you look at a photo all the moments & feelings will come flooding back. 

Show creating a baby journal whether you have a precious newborn, or the kids are much older, is so much easier to recall than you think. 

Let me know show you how.

Here is a list of photos required to complete my new printable baby journals.

1. Ultrasound photo - If you don't have a photo of that, a photo of you when you found out would be just as lovely.
2. A photo of you pregnant.
3. A photo of Dad
4. A photo of siblings - Just ignore this if this is your first sweet bub.
5. A photo of your birth.
I see a lot of photos of women sharing their time of labour, or their birth. I didn't take photos so I can't share this in the journal. Instead, have a photo of you holding your baby for the first time, or a photo of them wrapped in their hospital blanket. 
6. A photo of your baby leaving the hospital
7. A photo from 1-12 months.
You can capture these with milestone cards, that are also available in my shop.
8. First birthday.
9. My first Easter.
10. My first Christmas
11. My first Christening/Baptism
12. Photos of your first holiday.
13. Photos of your grandparents

In total, if you were to be conservative & add one photo for each of the above baby moments it's only 24 photos.
That is so little considering I know, we all have hundreds even thousands of photos.
Pretty easy hey?
In my printable journals, I have added lots of blank pages for you to go wild & add as many photos as you wish.

Finding your photos to create your memories.

OK so let's start with your iPhones or any smartphone you own, & look at your photo albums in the camera roll. Search for photos from a specific date & year. Unless anything has been deleted you will have a tonne of photos from that time frame. Each photo will have an exact date for every memory you want to record in your baby's journal.

Also, make sure to hunt around for baby photos on your social media channels like Facebook & Instagram. Check your comments & the little milestones you told the world about. You may have given family, or friends living abroad, little snapshots of current moments. It's those comments that will be the golden memories for your journal.

Don't forget to check your other camera/s. If you own a DSLR or similar, be sure to check any filecards & USB's.

Lastly, there are all of your family & friends, who I am sure to have photos they have taken too. You will also be able to add & select them for your baby's journal.

How amazing is that??

Seriously thanks the heavens for technology I say!!
Everything is literally at your fingertips. I am positive when you see your photos memories, laughter & even some tears will just flood back. Go through the memories with your partner & family members, as I am sure everyone will have a different loving perspective of that moment.

I know on my iPhone all I have to do is tap favourite on my photo, so I can keep them together in an album. It will save time, & save you going backwards & forwards scrolling for them. 

Search for your photos, maybe keep a notepad beside you so you can write down your memory, or any little notes. Once your photos have been chosen & any memories have been written you'll be ready to go.

Make it fun, & don't let it be a chore. You have the technology to keep your photos filed away, so just enjoy the process.

Now depending on how detailed you'd want it to be, in regards to adding photos, I honestly think you could complete this in a week or so. A little bit every night, even in front of the TV if that's how you'd like to make it.

So all you have to do now is print them off & make a start on creating your baby journal. There are so many options to print photos from home to your local office supplies stores like Office works, or big chain stores like KMart or Big W.

Once you have printed your baby journal pages, make time to select your binder, chose pens, & grab supplies to stick in your photos. Are you sticking photos with glue or double sided tape? Having everything at hand will make your baby journal process a breeze.

Tip....I would write your memories in your baby journal first before you stick in photos. If you make a mistake, no problem you can always reprint your page. It removes the pressure of perfection too!

I have a whole blog post here on what is included in my printable baby journals, which also includes a detailed page of some help & suggestions writing your pages.

You can download journals here.

If you need any help or have a question to ask always feel free to contact me.

Enjoy creating your memories,
Kylie x