The Cutest Way to Document Baby’s First Year

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When I was pregnant with my fourth (and definitely last) baby, my sister was a huge fan of Pinterest. She would scour all sorts of things, and in the midst of one of her search missions saw the cutest way to document a baby’s first year. Instead of immediately calling or texting me a screen shot of the cuteness—the way we would usually do—she made the decision to keep it a secret and give it as a baby gift.

What she did tell me was how excited she was to give me my gift and how fun she thought it would be to use. She was seriously building up the suspense! I, of course, was thinking, “What could possibly be so amazing that I don’t already have it with three little ones already running around my house?!?”

Well, I am so glad she kept it a secret! As I pulled out the tissue paper, I could see what looked like some of those great muslin blankets that are perfect for swaddling and snuggling and covering up for nursing . But! I was wrong!

What I pulled out of the package was a Baby Monthly Milestone Blanket^TM and a “My First” USA Baby Holiday Milestone Blanket^TM by BATZkids.

The Baby Monthly Milestone Blanket^TM is a white blanket with black numbers 1 to 12 and the word “months” at the bottom. Basically, you lay your baby on the right side of the blanket and indicate their age in months on the left side of the blanket. Sounds pretty basic, right? You would not believe how creative people get with these adorable blankets.

The “My First USA Holiday” Baby Milestone Blanket^TM is a white blanket with the biggest US holidays printed on the left side and “My First” printed at the top. Again, you lay your baby on the blanket and indicate which first holiday they are celebrating.

It was definitely extra fun that I had never seen them before that day. I. COULD. NOT. WAIT to look for examples and come up with my own vision!

Fast forward to today, and my sweet, last baby has turned ONE! I have been using our blankets for a year and have loved capturing these moments and memories.

What I Have Absolutely Loved

I am the documenter in our family. I am the one taking the photos and writing the stories and keeping the notes and making sure that the speed of our lives does not prevent us from recording our history.

These blankets allowed for me to document the first year of our littlest guy. It also “forced” me to keep up with it. I mean, what would the end product look like if I was missing a month? Ridiculous, right!

I loved that I could be as creative as I wanted. Some months I went all out with little outfits and props and banners, all of it. Some months, it was a simple, cute outfit and a simple circle around the month of his age.

I have been a tiny bit obsessed with the Target Dollar Bin (and $3 and $5 bin…). One of the things that I can’t help but buy for every new holiday is a simple, cute and cheap banner. These blankets have given me the best excuse to use them for something other than an entryway decoration.

I loved tracking his first year by holiday. The “My First” USA Baby Holiday Milestone Blanket^TM was perfect for getting a quick, cute shot of him at Halloween, Christmas, and other holidays. I also used this one for his birth shot, and it might be my favorite of the whole batch!

What I Would Do Differently Next Time

• Get out the darn iron. Some of my photos, in a rush to get them done for the month, have some pretty wrinkled looking blankets. I definitely should have taken the extra few minutes to quickly iron out the creases and wrinkles. You can only “blow out” the white so much with photo editing.
• Some months I planned ahead to make sure I had a cute outfit, props, whatever to make sure the photo was perfect. Other months, I didn’t have good plan in mind. I am glad to have the photos, and I am glad that I didn’t have to get creative every time. But….let’s be honest…I like the ones where I planned and went more “all out” than the more simple months.
• Take some photos with the other kids or with Daddy (or with ME!). I was so focused on getting the perfect shot for each month and holiday that I took very few photos with the siblings and zero with the adults. These blankets are really so flexible, and I could have had some other cute shots that I didn’t even think to take. Hindsight is 20/20, they say.

If you are thinking of getting these for yourself or as a seriously thoughtful and amazing baby gift for some sweet mama, do it. There are also SO MANY other options to choose from now as BATZkids has grown their shop and their brand. You really just can’t go wrong.

If you want to see more adorable ideas, check out the BATZkids on Instagram or FaceBook. They regularly post not only their own creations but those of regular moms like you and me. You can even tag them on Instagram, and they might share some of the cuteness you created. If you want to shop their site to see these and other really cute baby items, go to the BATZkids website.

AND GUESS WHAT!?!?! From now until August 17, 2017 you can get 15% off your entire purchase by entering the BATZkids promo code CHAOS. You cannot go wrong!

Have you made any adorable creations using Baby Monthly Milestone Blankets^TM? We would love to see them! Do you have any other tricks to making sure you are consistent with taking photos during baby’s first year? Please share with us!