My Dears,
I've fielded a few questions about Ben's Baby Book, specifically about the details. I had so much fun putting it together and am happy to share the information we included in the final version.
Below is the general layout with links to specific questions that we used in the journal and interview sections. Let me know if you have trouble viewing/downloading the journal pages.
First a few details:
I made (and ordered) the book using MyPublisher. It requires a free software download but I found it exceptionally easy to use. Once you've completed your book, you upload it to their site and pay for it. It'll arrive at your door a week or two later.
We waited until they had a special going: 100 pages plus a free cover for $70. You can also get a standard-sized book for $40. Not a bad deal.
We added on a few extras: a book case ($15) and I decided to have them remove the MyPublisher logo from the back ($10). And of course you have to pay shipping ($10-ish). This was not a cheap book. BUT, you only have one baby book and I thought the quality was excellent - hopefully it'll be around for a long time.
Additionally, a friend loaned me this book: Your Birthday Book, A Keepsake Journal.
And another friend told me about these 20 interview questions.
We incorporated questions from both sources into our final book.
xxoo,
Sonja
The Book of Benjamin
Layout:
Cover: The Book of Benjamin
Inside leaf: This Book belongs to Benjamin
Section 1: The Year in Photos
This section is divided into two subjections:
- Monthly Photos (One photo from every month of Ben’s first year)
- Weekly Photos (One photo from every week of Ben’s first year). Also included are some of holidays and some of his ‘firsts’: valentine’s day, first vacation picture, first food, 4th of july, first sick day, halloween costume, christmas, etc
Section 2: Baby Journal
A few sections are in here are:
- Birth Journal (including heigh, weight, name, parents, coming home, world events/leaders, popular authors, movies, the Price of... etc) [You can find our list HERE]
- Baby keepsakes pages (blank pages with room to paste in hospital bracelet, lock of hair, birth certificate, etc
- Growth Chart (height, weights, head circumference, etc)
- Stats (first smile, first bath, first cold, rolling, crawling, eating, walking, speaking, etc). Leave room for new ones, too: riding bike, doing a summersault, etc. [You can find our list HERE]
- Baby Journal (optional): The first year I kept a journal of little tidbits that I thought were interesting: it’s mainly commentary on events (when he rolled off the bed, went in a pool for the first time), Ben’s personality (his first smile, how he’s not sleeping at night), and any other little thing that I didn’t think I’d remember if I didn’t write it down
Section3: Family Snapshots
This section is not the formalized photo montage that is found in Section 1. These are the family pictures of everyday life with Ben’s parents, grandparents, pets, etc. It's very casual. Pictures of his birth (appropriate ones), his first bath, celebrations of holidays and other events, first airplane ride. etc. It’s organized by season actually: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Section 4: The Birthday Book
This starts with his first birthday and ends with his 18th birthday. Each year has at least two pages and is organized in the following manner:
- Birthday / Year in Review Page (includes a description of his party, who came, what kind of cake, etc) (Also includes a place to write in a description of his year, what he’s doing right now, who his buddies are, funny things he’s said etc). There is also a place for a few pictures [You can find our list HERE]
- Interview Page (The questions change depending on the year but we always end with: “What do you want to be when you grow up” and then he signs it. [You can find our list of interview questions, starting at Year 3, HERE]
- Keepsake Page (pictures from the year, his handprint, cards, artwork etc can be pasted in here)
Back cover: Another picture and a short message from his parents.
