Baby photos and footprints are among the best ways to capture your child's growth and personality. When you take the time and make the effort to capture and collect them on a regular basis, you will be rewarded with memories you can savor for a lifetime.
Photos
Today's parents have a huge advantage with the ease and convenience of digital photography. Where your parents and grandparents had to rely on film, with the added expense of developing, modern parents can literally take hundreds of pictures at a time, review and keep the best ones, then delete and start fresh again.
There are several types of photos you should take of your baby. A professional photograph done in a studio session is good to have, especially if you make a point of having one taken regularly. These will be invaluable later on as you look back and see how your child grew and developed.
The next type of photo you should take is the casual or informal photo. Capture your child doing every day, normal things, without posing or stopping what he or she is doing. Sometimes the very best pictures are taken when your child is involved in something else and you are able to capture a look of intense focus, pure joy, or incredible excitement.
Another type of photo to take is the family photo. Make a point of taking plenty of pictures of you and/or your spouse with the baby. These are great for capturing family resemblances and also for strengthening family bonds. Be sure to get pictures of your baby with as many relatives as possible, especially those who are elderly. These will end up as precious memories in the years to come.
Footprints
The hospital will take a footprint of your newborn as part of the post-birth process, and most are happy to also put a footprint in your baby book at the same time. If for some reason this doesn't happen, you can do it yourself at home as long as you use non-toxic water soluble ink. Check your local arts and crafts store, they will most likely have what you need. Special note: do not use ink to do handprints of your baby because the hands inevitably end up in the mouth and you don't want to risk ingestion of any kind of ink.
Another fun way to capture your baby's footprints is to use clay. Take a piece of soft clay, imprint the baby's foot in the clay, and then either let it dry or bake it until it's hard. There are many different kits available that contain everything you'll need to do this, and you can even do handprints using the same method.
Many parents like to create displays that include multiple footprints. For instance, you might do a collage with each parent's footprint and the baby's footprint in between, or if you have more than one child, a collage with each child's footprint. Some parents will periodically make a footprint of their baby and place it in the baby book, making it easy to see growth over time.
Share And Display
Both of these things – photos and footprints – are tailor made for sharing and for display. Photos are especially easy to share with family and friends thanks to modern technology and internet. There are online sites where you can post digital pictures and then share the URL link with others, and many of these also allow you to order prints of pictures, too. You can even have pictures printed on all sorts of items, from t-shirts to calendars to coffee mugs.
If grandparents are located out of town and don't get to see your baby as often as you would like, use photos to keep them involved in your child's growth. Use one of the photo sites described above and order prints delivered directly to the grandparents. Or, buy them a digital photo frame and send updated pictures to it quickly and conveniently.
Make a point of displaying photos and footprints in your home as well. Now, you don't have to cover your walls or mantel with a large number of items; instead, get one or two nice picture frames and change out the picture in them periodically. Every time you put in a new picture, keep the old one behind it in the frame, and as they accumulate you can look back at them each time you change out the picture. Clay footprints can easily be displayed on a shelf or on a wall. If they are done in ink or paint, mat and frame them with the date or other important information inscribed where it is easy to see.
Although sometimes it seems like a lot of work to consistently capture these precious times (especially when you have more than one child), try to keep in mind how much these items will mean to you down the road. Babies grow and change incredibly fast, and once a moment has passed it never comes back again. If you are disciplined about capturing as many moments as possible you will have them in permanent form to enjoy for the rest of your life!