What Kinds of Things Should be Included in Your First Year Video Baby Book?

Whether you choose to hire a professional for photo shoots or video shoots in the first year of your child's life, there are many things that you can capture on your own that your child will appreciate being able to look back on years down the road.  When people only did traditional baby books, the preformatted questions and spaces for specific photos made it easy to know what to include, but in non-traditional times and with such easy access to recording devices, creating your own video baby book will serve you and your child much better in the long run.

Start as soon as you can.  If you can capture on video your own reaction or your partner's reaction to finding out that you're expecting, that would be ideal.  Otherwise, any other family or friends reacting to the news would serve you as well. If you're sharing the good news over video conferencing, there are plenty of good screen capture programs or even setting up your own camera/cell phone to film you telling someone else will be a memory to cherish.

As I mentioned in my previous post to all the pregnant mommies, capture your ultrasounds on video.  If you're seeing a midwife and not doing regular ultrasounds, even capturing elements of your appointments, measuring your belly, listening to the heart beat, etc. will be something special to look back on. There are some great 3D ultrasound services that create videos for you as well.  But make sure you're capturing your reaction to the ultrasound, not just the ultrasound itself.

If you can, get some photos, video, or both of when you are in labor.  I really did not enjoy having my picture taken at that time, but looking back, I am so happy I have images from then because it really does become such a blur, time goes by in very strange ways when you're in labor.  I also did not feel particularly pleased that my husband wore a helmet cam during my son's birth.  But the fact that he ultimately helped guide my son into the world with his own hands and we have that from his POV on film will be cherished forever.

Definitely capture as many firsts as you can once you arrive home with your baby.  The first bath is something you'll want to remember. You probably will want someone else filming as it is a nerve wracking time washing such a tiny baby for the very first time. The first time members of your extended family visit and hold your little one, grab the camera and film their reactions. Prompt them to tell you their first thoughts holding your child for the first time. Along the same lines, if you have pets, document their first introduction to your family's newest addition.  Having my dog smell my son's hospital blanket before we actually brought my son home seemed to help with a more peaceful introduction. Other first include baby's first tummy time, first walk in the stroller, first time exploring new toys, your baby trying solid foods for the first time, etc.

Of course you'll want to capture the early milestones, like your baby holding his head up for the first time, rolling over, smiling, laughing, cooing, discovering hands, discovering feet, pushing herself up, scooting, crawling, and ultimately walking. But every day interactions will be the things that you will tend to forget as time marches on.  The days tend to go by very slowly, but the months fly by at the same time. Suddenly you'll have a one year old and you'll forget just how tiny your baby was only twelve short months prior.

Once you edit everything together you can include photos as well as audio clips documenting thoughts, emotions, and baby's sounds throughout the first year.  It really is such a special time that deserves immortalizing.

Why Create a Video Montage of Baby's First Year?

Even though my son turned one two months ago, it is still settling in that I have a one year old! I am so glad that I took the time to create a one year montage for his first birthday party. Although a great deal of my footage is shot from an iPhone or other cellular device, it was so crazy to watch his progression during the first year edited together into a thirty minute video with fun music and titles.  I stressed myself out to have the cut ready for his birthday party to play on loop on a television, but the truth is that it really was a video for my family and eventually for my son to watch himself grow during the biggest developmental year of his life.

When Xander was first born, each day seemed to take forever. I was just trying to fill our days with something until nighttime when I could actually get a little bit of sleep. I wanted to engage him and expose him to developmentally appropriate things, but every day was somewhat of a challenge to do so.  I was in love with my little guy, don't get me wrong, but adjusting to life with a newborn for the first time was very daunting.  Even though filming his twitches during sleep or playing on his activity mat did not seem like such a big deal at the time because I was watching him do these things every day, at the end of the first year you do start to forget those little details and I am so glad I captured them on video. With the video footage edited into a montage, I'm able to not only see them over and over again in the context of his development during the year, but I don't have to scroll through copious videos on my phone to find them among everything else I have shot.  In addition, editing only the best part of each video makes the whole thirty minutes very interesting and engaging to watch.

Some of the friends and family who attended his first birthday had only experienced bits and pieces of his first year, some had never even met him.  Allowing all of them to get a unique inside look at the ridiculous amount of changes he has already been through in such a short period of time made his birthday party even more about celebrating that whole first year not only for Xander, but for us as parents as well.  Overall, a video montage covering such an important year was key for me and I hope to be able to help other parents create lasting memories with their own home movies as well.