5 Easy Baby Books for Scrapbooking Dropouts

Inside: Easy baby book ideas for busy moms, no scrapbooking required!

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I am a collector of memories. A moment curator. A true nostalgic. The type of person who should DEFINITELY be making baby scrapbooks for her kids.

But I’m not. Not really.

For as much as I cherish little moments and love to document the everyday milestones that make up our lives, I’m honestly just not that crafty. I pretend to be sometimes, and my Pinterest boards will tell you a VERY different story. But realistically my creativity tends to flourish in electronic written form, not in scrapbook form.

I also just don’t have the time! Working mom life is capital B busy and this just wasn’t making the cut.

To tame the mom guilt on this one, I’ve found several other no glue stick required ways to help ensure my kids have momentos of their past while I maintain a semblance of sanity. My non baby book easy baby books may not include locks of hair and they don’t utilize the adorable embellishments aisle of Michael’s but they definitely tell a story.

Easy Baby Books Ideas – No Ribbons or Glitter Required!

Baby Box

If I did actual baby books, this is where I would keep all the supplies for the baby book. Each of my kids has an oversized shoe box filled with photos, first footprints, hospital bracelets, deflated “It’s a Boy/Girl” balloons because my kids are TOTALLY going to want those, and a couple tiny outfits that I couldn’t part with.

It’s like a DIY baby book box! A future craft project for my children! Parental laziness! The box that my kids will take one look at in 20 years and say “Cool, Ma…” TomAto, TomAHto.

Birthday Book

Okay, real talk, the Your Birthday Book: A Keepsake Journal does require tape. But very minimal tape.

This book is very plug and play and requires a one time a year commitment to give highlights of your child’s birthdays for 18 years. There is a space in this birthday book to write about their birthday party, favorite toys, nicknames, and friends. And I’m guessing when you get to year 18, a fill in the blank scale for how clueless your kid currently thinks you are. Plus in scrapbooking for dummies fashion, a clearly outlined space to tape in a photo from each birthday.

Photo Books

This one takes a little more time but in a super digital age, I like having something hard copy that gives some photo evidence that we did things that year. I’ve been making a photo book a year since before the kids were born, but post child birthing the books have gotten MUCH more adorable. Maybe not the easiest of easy baby books, but no glue required.

Use this link to get a free 8X8 photo book from Shutterfly! Why? Because Shutterfly is wonderful.

Photo Albums

Mini Photo Albums are my go-to Christmas stocking gift for the kids. Santa does the real heavy lifting on the stockings, but I try to pull my own weight by filling up a little plastic photo album for each kid that has pictures of them with their family and friends from the past year. Easy baby book – done and done!

If you’re already using Shutterfly for photo books or calendars, download their app and you can upload pictures and then order prints for free. Just pay the shipping. (This is where I should disclose that I own stock in Shutterfly or that they paid me $4,500 to write this. But I don’t and they didn’t. I’m just a fan girl.) 

Or head over to your local CVS. If you live in my town tell Kim the CVS cashier that I said hello and that I’ll probably see her later today. She’ll definitely know who you’re talking about.

One Line a Day Journal

If you haven’t already read about my love affair with the one line a day journal, here’s a quick synopsis: It’s a five-year memory book that gives you space on each page to write one line a day for five years. I include funny things the kids said, milestoney things, and doctor appointment stats so that I’ll have proof one day that my son really was 33 pounds on his first birthday.

Sometimes I don’t write about the kids at all and instead talk about work, Girl Scout cookies, or my emotional reactions to This is Us. It’s a mixed bag.

If you want an easy baby book to write down some stats, quotes, and memories but can only commit 45 seconds a day to the task, I highly recommend the one line a day journal. There’s a pink Mom’s journal on Amazon that I’m currently using, but there’s not a blue Mom’s journal, or a Dad’s journal. But regardless of the patriarchy, there are lots of different one line a day journals that are the same on the inside. Because aren’t we all? #Equality

Bonus Idea

If you’re reading this and thinking, “This all sounds great, Bec. But I don’t really care for boxes, albums, handwriting, printing pictures, or privacy and would really like all of my memories to live on the internet for the world to see.” Great minds, my friend, great minds.

So start a blog! Then send me the link, because I’m totally going to want to steal all your parenting ideas.

Read More Working Mom Hacks:

15 Game-Changing Working Mom Hacks: Make Life Easier and More Fun

Newborn Hacks They Didn’t Teach You in Childbirth Class

My One Line a Day Journal Taught Me Five Important Lessons