You never know when you might need to refer back to when your first child started to sleep through the night, ate solids or mastered toilet training. While every child is different and will achieve major milestones in their own time I have found many occasions when I have compared siblings and having a record of their milestones really helped. This has more been out of curiosity than for any concerns I might have had for their growth and development. More so, I think it would be really cool to print it out when they are older and give to them so that they can read about what they were like when they were little. With each milestone there is a story behind it, what was happening in their lives at that time and how we felt as parents about their first words, first steps etc. I have no idea what I was like as a child, I've just not ever really discussed it with my parents, though my dad does reminisce with me occasionally, I would love to have some really good solid details.
Some things that I have recorded and fore warning, this list is excessive, but is a guide to what you might like to record. I have recorded all these details and more and have found many occasions when I have needed to refer to almost all of them, but each unto their own. You pick what you like from the list.
- First smile
- First time in big bath
- Rolled from front to back
- Rolled from back to front
- Found hands
- First gripped toys
- Hair started to fall out
- Started giggling
- Made real voice sounds
- Started yelling
- First sat unassisted
- Found feet
- First crawl
- First pulled self to standing
- First walk
- First step
- Walked unassisted
- Talking, what words and when
- Started night waking
- Started self settling and sleeping through
- First night in big bed
- Started side sleeping
- Started tummy sleeping
- First tastes
- First solids
- First started to understand simple direction
- First clapped hands
- Meals @ 6 months, 8 months 12 months
- First used sippy cup
- First used spoon to feed self
- Bottles
- Teeth, teething, first tooth, first 2 year molar
- First overnight stay away from mum and dad
- First illness, when, what it was, severity
- Started daycare
- First plane trip
- When you stopped sterilising
Every mother needs to buy one of those baby books that you fill in for the first year. They are an absolute must and again something that I am certain all children, teenagers and once adults with their own children will want to look back on. I have filled in one for both my children, still going with baby's and have added as much detail as I can. I have also written them letters at various stages in their little lives so far which I plan on continuing to write at various points when I have time which once they are 21 I will print off, bind and give to them as a gift. The journal types entries/stories contain all sorts of information about them, what they are like, what they like to do, what is going on in the world, in my world, in our families lives and is a great way for me to debrief and have included many of my thoughts on being a new mother.
3. PHOTOS
When I found out I was pregnant with my first child I decided now was the time to buy a fancy camera with a massive lens that did all sorts of great fancy things so I could take amazing pictures of my children all the time. I am hear to tell you that buying that big expensive fancy camera is not for everyone, for me it certainly wasn't the best purchase I had made and in the end, a complete waste of money. Unless of course you have the time and resources to read the 300 page manual, time to attend courses on how to use the stupid thing and to get the best results and considerable space to put the beast- this camera needs a bag of its own and will not fit into any handbag, not matter how much of a bottomless pit it might be. I have a few friends who are a real dab hand with a camera, my hat goes off to them, they take seriously wicked photos of all sorts of things, I however am not and I regret my purchase immensely as the camera has depreciated so much in price I can't even sell it for $100 on ebay and am still paying it off via interest free. I have missed many opportunities to take a photo of my kids doing funny, important, interesting things because I am fussing with the lens cap and the camera bag and the settings, or I end up getting the shot but 9/10 are blurry. I still haven't replaced this great big hunk of junk sitting next to me, but it is certainly on my to do/to buy list. Considering I can get a better picture with my iphone it's time to get me one of those cute little jobs that just get thrown in the handbag and take good clear pictures all the time, I think I like the camera that can skip across water in the add...Ummm...Lumix??
So, back to photography. Try and take pictures of your kids all the time and for the first year take a picture every month so that you can do one of those tacky calenders with a face photo of each month for 12 months, tacky as the actual calendar frame might be, I'm still so glad I did it and look at my little boys photos every day. Or, you could try something a bit more special and do a little photo shoot each month with some letters spelling out "I AM 3 MONTHS" etc (foam letters, blocks with letters and numbers or alphabet fridge magnets work a treat). Below is what I'm talking about, taken from The Daily Buzz.
Note: that cutie below doesn't belong to me.
There are more great ideas at http://
I've done this for my little girl and can't wait to finish it off and maybe even make it into a poster or a canvas for the wall.
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