9 Reasons I Took a Photo Every Week…

Until they were one year old exactly, I took a photo of both my children, mostly in the same place and position, every single week. There are 56 photos for each in total, as there were a few special occasions thrown in for good measure.

There are many ways to record the milestones of that first, breathless year but I found this was a way that suited us and here is why:

1. Life with a newborn is a blur. Even more so when you have a toddler to consider too. A photo a week is easily doable and you don’t have to worry if you’re a few days out here or there.

2. It didn’t involve any props except our changing mat. Although I think the recent trend for ‘milestone cards’ is charming, I am personally far too disorganised to find the appropriate card as soon as they roll or sit up for the first time. Or keep track of the cards full-stop.*

*As a side note, cheap changing mats are a false economy, as demonstrated by the fact my son’s changes half way through. I learnt my lesson second time around.

Collage of Biggest's first year

3. They change so quickly. A week is just the right amount of time to notice those changes, especially at the beginning. Their little pudgy faces even out and gain more character as they grow and it’s great to look back and compare week to week, month to month, beginning to end.

4. You get through an inordinate amount of clothing and some of those outfits, worn a handful of times, or even just once, before they outgrow them, were pretty damn adorable. And expensive. This is a great way to record your favourite outfits, and a few interesting things like their first swimming trip and first pyjamas. Keepsake soft toys are a wonderful way to do this too but I seemed to never get round to organising them. Plus I think I would have too many clothes to choose just a few! Not only that but I am absolutely drowning in soft toys. Even if you separate the keepsake ones, I think there is a danger they will be put away and rarely looked at again.

5. It’s a lot of fun when you have your second child and can do the same. I look at both collages together and I am amazed by the similarities between my son and my daughter – similarities I don’t think I would have noticed otherwise. It’s amazing how their poses and even expressions are similar, even in the exact same place on the collage (and most of it was entirely accidental!)

Collage of Littlest's first year

 

6. They make great gifts, or a great ‘birthday month’ page for photobook style calendars, which are very popular these days. Both sets of grandparents got a framed print of ours and they were thrilled.

7. They are a slightly more interesting version of the ‘baby photo’ and, as such, are more of a talking point. I think this means they are more likely to be kept on display, when the usual baby photos may get replaced in time with more up-to-date images.

8. There are lots of little details in each photo that have significance for us. For example the footprint changing mat that features in both is the one at my mother’s house in France. I like the fact that it features in both and that those in-the-know will remember they were visiting their nanny and grandad when that particular shot was taken.

9. Lastly, I think they will be invaluable when it comes to embarrassing children in later life – at eighteenth birthday celebrations and wedding receptions.

Whichever way you choose to document your child’s milestones, for the first year and beyond – whether you take a photo every day, every week, with milestone cards or without, if you have keepsake sleepsuit bunnies or not, there is no doubt that recording it in some way is an eminently sensible idea. Every time I look back at my son’s collage I am amazed by all the new little details and the memories they generate, and he is only three. I look forward to doing this with my daughter’s, and looking back at both, for many years to come.

 

Documenting their first year... A look at how parents can create a photo collage of baby pics. Makes a great keepsakememento for baby's first year.

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8 thoughts on “9 Reasons I Took a Photo Every Week…

  1. This is a great idea. It’s incredible how much newborns change even in the space of a few hours.

    4 makes a lot of sense. Now cub has hit the 3 month mark we’re putting away clothes into storage that have never been worn and still have the tags!

    #justanotherlinky

  2. What a great idea! I have so many pictures of my kids but most of my first are stuck on a computer that is broken and I am afraid to take it to a computer person to see if there’s any way of pulling off the photos. Luckily there is Facebook that has a lot stored on there as well. But this is so neat to see the change in them weekly. They do change and grow so fast. I thought I would just pop over and say hello to your blog as well. 💌Trista, Domesticated Momster

  3. Ah this is SUCH a great idea, I am gutted I didn’t so something similar! We have thousands of photos but they are all just random and mixed up and saved on a hard drive somewhere. Well done for thinking ahead and having such beautiful collages to keep forever! xx

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