Contributed by Info Guru Lindsay Shugerman

The days of babyhood fly by, and before you know it that tiny infant is heading out the door to kindergarten. But you knew that, right? That’s probably why you’re looking for baby scrapbook ideas that will help you preserve some of these precious first days.

The good news is that there are lots of ways to capture and preserve baby’s first days in a scrapbook they’ll treasure someday.

10. Have everyone make a page

Having a baby means sleepless nights, and incredibly busy days. And that’s even more true if you have older children or just added multiples to your family.

But that doesn’t have to mean missing out on making a baby scrapbook. Instead of trying to do it all yourself in your, um, “spare” time, why not invite friends and family to each make a page? Not only will your baby have a book, they’ll have a treasure created by so many people who loved them from the start.

9. Get the pages ready in advance

Sure there are some unexpected moments you’ll want to scrap. But the fact is most of a baby’s first year includes similar milestones like “First Solid Food”, “First Tooth” “First Christmas” and “First Steps.” So why not prepare for those special moments by creating pages ready for photos and journalling when the big day finally happens? (It sure beats spending hours and hours looking through photo boxes for that picture of that tiny first tooth when your baby is already in high school! Been there, done that!)

8. Create digital versions for grandparents

As much as your baby will someday love having a scrapbook, odds are the grandparents would love having a copy a whole lot sooner. With all the digital photo book companies out there, it’s easy to have multiple copies of bound digital scrapbooks printed for each set of grandparents. If they live far away, consider having a monthly small album printed from your digital albums or scans of paper scrapbook pages.

7. Create “Then and Now” pages

Babies grow so quickly, so why not document the changes with a “Then and Now” scrapbook? Just pose baby in a certain room, with a certain toy or next to a certain tree for a series of photos over that first year. Create a scrapbook spread for each setting or prop, then add photos as baby grows. You’ll be amazed at the changes from month to month!

As an added bonus, save a space for a photo with the same favorite toy or in the same room when the “baby” is ready to head off to college or walk down the aisle. You’ll have a scrapbook they will keep forever!

6. Keep it simple

No matter what kind of scrapbook you decide to make for baby, don’t get overwhelmed with embellishments and fancy designs. There will be time for artistic, more involved albums later on. Now is the time to make sure you capture memories.

5. Include sounds and video

Today’s technology makes it easy to include more than just photos. Burn DVD’s and CD’s of your little one’s sounds, her adorable silly faces and his so-cute backwards crawl. Tuck them into pockets in your scrapbook for a multi-media experience.

Save all those extra photos you didn’t scrapbook on DVDs, also. Then tuck those into the back of each scrapbook. (A word of caution…do make extra copies of the media, and make sure you transfer it to current media as technology changes.)

4. Create a theme album

If you and your partner have a favorite TV show, music style, film, sport or travel location, why not make a baby scrapbook using that common interest as the theme? A couple who loves to fly could make a “Launch and Flight” scrapbook, while a sporty couple could use team logos and sports images.

3. Let older siblings help

If there are big brothers or sisters, get them involved in making the new baby’s scrapbook. Get their own scrapbook out and show them what you did for them. Then ask for their ideas and contributions. You could even make a page in the baby’s book for each of their siblings!

2. Make sure mom and dad are in the photos, too

It’s easy to get so caught up in taking shots of the baby that you forget to include photos of mom and dad with their little one. Get out from behind the camera and hand it to someone else or use the timer and get some shots of each of you, too. After all, you’re part of the baby’s life, too! Make sure the scrapbook shows that.

1. Journal by hand

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they’re creating a scrapbook is using computers for all of the journalling. Think about it…someday, that story written in your hand will be a precious memento of who you were.

Don’t worry if your handwriting is messy…it’s all about preserving memories. And your words, your pen strokes, are an important part of that.

Don’t get so caught up in trying to sort through the latest and greatest baby scrapbook ideas that your forget what really matters: the pictures and stories of your baby’s all too short first years.