From the first positive pregnancy test, morning sickness, first kicks and third trimester exhaustion, your pregnancy milestones are something that you'll want to look back on in years to come. 

Your baby's first year is such an exciting time! In the midst of the constant sleep deprivation, diaper changes and feedings, you're sure to forget all of the big (and little!) milestones that they hit daily. 

Let's be real - those first few months are all about survival! Keeping up with a baby book is the furthest thing from your mind. But, it's so, so important that you DO keep up with a baby book, because one day, you'll look back and wonder where time has gone.

We've designed our baby books to be short, simple and to the point so that you can fill the pages out without spending too much time doing so. Every milestone is covered and no memory will be forgotten. 

 

Here's the best way to document Baby's First Year.

 

 

Our friends at Little Nugget have the best baby milestone app that is the perfect compliment to your Polka Dot Print Shop baby book. The Little Nugget app allows you to capture baby's growth and milestones in a quick and easy way.

 

Simply download the app and upload pictures of your sweet baby. Add some Little Nugget stickers documenting baby's age, first outings, holidays or milestones. Print the pictures using the app and then add them into your baby book. Easy!

 

 

Set aside a little time each month to catch up on the monthly journal pages in your baby book. I like doing this just before baby turns another month older so that the memories + milestones are still fresh in my head!

 

 

If baby has been to the doctor recently, jot down their measurements on the growth page. Don't forget to keep up with their favorite things, eating + sleeping habits and of course their most memorable moment from the month! I like to keep a note running in my phone to jot these things down. That way, it's all there for me at the end of the month when I sit down to write in the book.

 

Grab your favorite scrapbook adhesives, stick your printed pictures from Little Nugget onto the photo page and call it good! 

 

Using this method to document Baby's First Year is not only easy, but also the best way to create an heirloom that can be passed onto baby when they're all grown up! And why stop documenting after the first year? Polka Dot Print Shop has Toddler Books and Little Nugget has tons of artwork and stickers to document the toddler years.

 

Take 15% off your Baby Book purchase using coupon code: BABYSFIRSTYEAR. Shop here now!

 

 

Our Polka Dot Print Shop books are perfect for documenting your pregnancy, baby’s first year and even those special toddler moments. We offer tons of patterns and colors to best fit your style. While our books have lots of unique pages to help make documenting memories + milestones easy, we often get a lot of questions about the supplies needed for the process! We wanted to share some of our favorite pens + adhesives with you to make your journaling simpler + long lasting!  

 

Adhesives 

 

Using the right adhesive can make all the difference when you are journaling in your Bump, Baby, Toddler and School Books. You want to choose an adhesive that is super easy, but also one that actually works.

Here are our three favorites: 

+ZOTS, clear adhesive dots : We love how simple these are. You just peel off the small sticky dot and place on the corners of your photos. Be careful when you place your photo down, because these adhesive dots are SUPER sticky. 

+SCOTCH DOUBLE SIDED TAPE : This double-sided tape is our favorite! It's inexpensive, easy to find, and works great. You can often buy packs in bulk, so you really save money. We like to put one strip on the bottom and top of our photos when putting them in our journals. 

+AD TECH CRAFTER’S TAPE : This adhesive dispenses out really easily. You just roll it on the back of your photos, and you are good to go! It's a bit on the expensive side, but a little bit goes a long way.

Pens

When choosing a pen to use in your Polka Dot Print Shop books, you want one that doesn’t bleed and is the perfect thickness. We realize that some people prefer different types of pens, so we wanted to share a whole bunch so you can pick the one that fits your style, best! 

+Pigma micron 01 * Our first favorite. These are great pens. They don't smear, they are extremely high-quality and they last a really long time before running out of ink.

+Copic multiliner SP 0.5 * Our second favorite. We love this pen because it's a bit heavier than most pens so it feels great while you are writing. It doesn't smudge and the tip is not too thick or thin. 

+Le pen * Our third favorite. This pen writes super smooth and we love the bold color it produces.

Other great pens to check out:

Shop Books Here

 

 

 

Being a mama is hard work and it’s often difficult to make time to write things down. But we all know that if we don’t write it down, we’ll forget it! There are so many moments throughout pregnancy and raising babies worth remembering!

 

 

Our Bump, Baby, and Toddler books make it easy to capture all of the moments leaving room for creativity, photos, and important information. As your belly and child grows, our books grow with you! The prompts allow you to capture important and mundane details that you won’t want to forget.

 

 

As a mom to 4, I know you don’t have all the time in the world to write paragraphs about your pregnancy or children! That’s why I created these books to help you track growth during pregnancy and beyond.

 

 

Our Bump Book allows you to track your doctor’s appointments, photos of your growing bump, milestones, and letters to your baby. The book takes you from finding out you’re pregnant through labor and delivery!

 

 

Once baby arrives, it’s time for the Baby Book! A unique spin on the traditional baby book, our Baby Book give you lots of freedom and creative prompts. Record all the firsts, weekly and monthly updates, and personal stories!

 

 

The early days of raising an infant are exhausting, challenging, and beautiful. Without writing things down, it’s easy for those days to run together and disappear. Those are days you do not want to forget but unless you write them down, they will be gone so quickly!

 

 

The days are long, but the years are short and soon your little one will be a running circles around you! To meet the changing needs of toddlerhood, we created our Toddler Book! This book picks up from your child’s first birthday and takes you all the way to Kindergarten!  

 

 

This book offers space for your child to record their own doodles! Without cluttering your fridge, you can keep their drawings safely bound in their Toddler Book. Write yearly letters to your child for their birthday and review memorable moments from years past.

 

 

With room for photos throughout the year, the Toddler Book is a great one-stop shop for keeping all sorts of memories from childhood.

 

 

There is so much value in having record of the funny moments, measurements, and daily life throughout pregnancy, infancy, and childhood! Our Bump, Baby, and Toddler books are perfect for every mama in your life!

 

 

 

To celebrate the launch of our blog, we're giving away a $50 shop credit. Join us on Instagram at 9PM EST August 29th to enter to win!

 ENTER: www.instagram.com/polkadotprintshop

 

Video courtesy of @gracefulmommy // www.instagram.com/gracefulmommy