Having a baby is the perfect reason to begin scrapbooking
and chronicling the momentous events can be a simple and
fun thing to do. For many the desire to capture every
precious move and moment takes on new meaning when a
newborn enters their lives.

Keeping a photo archive and documenting events in a
scrapbook of your beautiful new baby can be as easy as
organizing photos into a simple photo album.

For others interested in adding colored papers, stickers,
and other popular scrapbooking embellishments, there are
countless ways you can enhance your child's every
captured moment.

One popular and timeless theme for both beginning and
advanced scrapbookers is to create a scrapbook centering
around your child's 'firsts.' 

A scrapbook about your child's milestones would include
notable event's such as photos of baby's birth, first teeth,
first bath, etc. The photos and happenings can include just
about anything, but a short list of baby firsts could include
any of the following:

- Baby's birth
- First feeding
- Being weighed at the hospital
- Baby's first bath
- Baby being introduced to siblings
- Meeting grandparents, aunts, uncles
- First car seat ride
- First time in a stroller
- First time eating solid food
- First time using a straw
- Holding head up
- Crawling
- Sitting up
- First time "cruising" - using furniture to walk
- First steps
- First teeth
- First hair-cut
- First holidays - Halloween, Christmas, Chanukah
- Baby's first birthday 

This is an important time for any family and photographs
only tell part of the story.

A great way to complement your photos would be to add
short journal entries, captions, and details of the day - who
came to hold your baby, what siblings might have said,
what your thoughts and feelings were, etc.

Even the simplest of scrapbooks will benefit from
handwritten or typed notes that mark the event.

To add even more interest to your baby's firsts include
mementos in your scrapbook such as a hospital bracelet,
congratulatory cards from family and friends, a lock of
baby's hair, or a birth announcement.

You can easily incorporate them into a colorful scrapbook
page with a pocket envelope. These can be purchased or
created by hand with paper that matches the page's
theme.

For those inclined to prepare a simple photo album you can
use a plain envelope instead to hold the cherished item for
safekeeping.

You can also enhance your scrapbook by adding stickers
that match in style, color, and theme to the rest of the page
and event. The growth in popularity of the scrapbooking
industry has produced many wonderful sticker
embellishments ranging from simple one color to multi-
dimensional stickers of many colors and shapes. 

Another alternative to creating your own scrapbook is to
purchase a pre-designed scrapbook. Many of these come
with embellishments and there are selections for just about
any popular event or theme.

You can also follow as a blueprint a scrapbook page already
created by someone else. This is perfect for when you need
a little guidance in regards to spacing and embellishments.

Seeing the work of others allows you to envision what your
completed page will look like and it is simple to do. You can
find many examples of page layouts in online layout
galleries, scrapbook sketchbooks, and most of the popular
scrapbook magazines available at newsstands.

Get started today. Start slow if need be, and add to your
scrapbook regularly. You'll soon see that chronicling your
child's precious firsts will be a joyous part of your day and
you will relish in knowing that you have created something
that will certainly be looked at often and with delight by
many.