Preserve the Memories

Babies grow so fast, how to record all the changes?

Take Photos. 

LOTS of photos.  Personally, I’ve always thought the best photos were in-the-moment, not posed.  The best part about digital photography is you aren’t wasting film; you can take 20 photos and trash 19 to get the 1 perfect shot.  

Journal

Formal journal- Some moms take the time at the end of each day to journal about their day, their dreams, memorable Baby experiences. 

Yearly letter – Every year on New Years, write a letter to each child, reflecting on the year and what an amazing person the individual is.

1 liners – A journaling style where you just jot down one sentence a day.  Kind of like an old school twitter.  J

Calendar – Keep a calendar in baby’s room, jot down events as they occur.  This was my favorite method, personally, as I found it the easiest to keep up with.

Slips of paper – Perfect for the busy parent, you just jot down the experience and the date, toss it in a box or jar.  Organize it “later”

Post-it notes also work great for this.  The trick is keeping pads of paper and pens handy for you, but out of the hands of your little ones.

REMEMBER:  Don’t be too self-critical.  You can re-word it later.  Your child won’t care if your grammar and/or spelling aren’t perfect, or if your thoughts aren’t organized.  Capture the moment, that’s what’s important.

Child Interview – Once your child begins to talk, you can do an interview every year on his/her birthday.  There are many great printables out there, but some favorite questions to ask:

            What is your favorite color?

            What do you want to be when you grow up?

            What makes you laugh?

            What makes you sad?

            What is your favorite food?

            What is your favorite song?

            What is your favorite thing to do?

            What is your favorite book?

            If you could have 3 wishes, what would they be?

Organize

Traditional baby books and scrapbooks are popular.  The new trends are my favorite:

Personalized Photo album – add in quotes from the journals,

along with stats, favorites, accomplishments, etc. 

You could even scan in artwork. 

I simply LOVE this Photoalbum by Ashedesign on Etsy (right).  What a beautiful way to treasure all the little details.  An elegant template, it’s a well organized way to display the pictures, details and a letter from Mom/Dad/whomever for each age level.  I’m sure Baby will treasure the keepsake when he/she grows up. 

A less formal photo album example below:

 

A great way to cherish the key memories at a glance.  You could collect the info; every year put it on the wall, or after several years, put it together in a photo album.  The adorable photo to the right is from Farrah Jobling Photography.  - She does beautiful work, you should check out her site. 

What have you done, or will you do to Preserve the Memories?

Want to meet some great resources?

Some of my favorite Baby Planners….

and why….

Part 1

Now, some of these amazing women will consult over email or Skype, so if you see someone who you might jive with, shoot them an email, or say hello on twitter or Facebook.  These intelligent, creative women will help you any way they can to make this baby-prep process easy-peasy.

So.  Let’s get started.  In no particular order…..

            It’s no secret I adore Julie of BabyNav Baby Planners.  She’s an incredibly sweet, personable, open person, willing to help in any way.  I know for a fact she DOES offer skype services, so do check her out.  Plus, she’s in the New York Area, which does tend to be further along on the trends than the Midwest and smaller towns around the country.  Many Baby Planners are here today, gone the next, but her business just keeps growing, 3 years strong.  She’s an expert at keeping up with safety, all the latest gear and tips to make everything easier for patents.  She’s also very pro- working mom and can help with that transition.  Fantastic Lady, just chatting with her will lower your stress levels.

            Sarah is the amazing owner of Storkologie, out in Colorado.  She’s in the middle of revamping her website a bit, so if it’s still in transition, bookmark this page and see her another time.  Her business in Baby Planning as swayed more towards the Green-Proofing, eco-friendly focus, which is so important, with all the changes in our environment.  Sarah’s blog and services focus on creating a healthy pregnancy and healthy home.

Kristen, out of Boston, has been running The Baby Coordinators

since 2006.  She started as a post-partum doula, so has extensive experience working with new moms and will help smooth the transition of your new addition.

Weeplan Baby Planners out of Colorado offers some great services including virtual baby planning.  She also specializes in adoption preparation and return-to work transitions.  You can check out her blog. 

Anne emphasizes that after working with thousands of parents, she has never seen two families with the exact same needs.  That’s the principle that we follow at Diaper Dabbler; as babies come in different shapes and sizes, have different sensitivities, and moms have different economic and ecologic priorities, their diaper needs will vary.  It’s the professional’s job to respect, not change, those needs and provide individualized services.  

So you have a favorite Baby-prepare person I should meet / feature?  Let me know!

Diaper Ratings and Reviews - Got an opinion?

So,

What’s the most popular diaper? 

Depends who you ask.  You can’t choose based off popularity.  Below are 5 popular websites where people leave reviews of diapers, along with the 6 top-ranked brands.   As you can see:

Rankings as of April 2014, in Size 1:

	Diapers.com	Toys R us	Amazon.com	Target.com	Consumer Search	Walmart.com
1st	Luvs	Huggies Pure and Natural	Pampers Swaddlers	Huggies Snug n Dry	Pampers Swaddlers	Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive
2nd	Pampers Swaddlers	Huggies Snug and Dry	Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive	Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive	Earth’s Best	Pampers Swaddlers
3rd	Earth’s Best	Pampers Swaddlers	Luvs	Luvs	Seventh Generation	Huggies Snug N Dry
4th	Naty	Babyganics	Naty	Seventh Generation	Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive	Huggies Pure and Natural
5th	Bambo	Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive	Earth’s Best	Naty	Huggies	Nurtured by Nature
6th	Huggies Pure and Natural	Earth’s Best	Huggies Little Snugglers	Nurtured by Nature	Luvs	White Cloud

Problem: 

-          Different brands work for babies differently, based on body shape and skin sensitivity.

-          Reviews tend to be subjective

Solution: 

When doing reviews, ask about specific features, characteristics.  THEN, compare brands based on rating for a specific feature.  Then we will know if Brand XYZ works better on babies with chubby thighs while brand ABC works better on babies with Thin thighs.  But Maybe EFG works better on children with sensitive skin. 

We need your help!!

We need as many people as possible to fill out this survey:

When we have 50+ reviews of a brand, we will post the results.  The more surveys come in, the more accurate the results, and the more brands we can make comparisons with. 

Is there a brand you’ve been wanting to try?  Come see us at www.DiaperDabbler.com and we’ll get you all set up, we’ll even throw in some wipes samples. 

As Peg + Cat would say…

“Problem Solved.

The Problem is Solved!

We solved the problem (now everything’s awesome),

The Problem is Solved!”

(and if you haven’t watched PBS Peg + Cat, I highly recommend it for your little ones)

What do you think?  Will a chart like this help you out? Leave your comments and thoughts below.

  

FYI, if you are more into cloth diapers, you must check out the genius over at Padded Tush Stats.  She is our inspiration for this plan.  Even if you don’t cloth diaper, head over there and check out her site, as she is amazing.

New Parent Resource to find the Best diaper for Their Baby, Their Budget and Their Priorities

The average mom tries 4-7 brands before finding their favorite diaper.  The diaper that works for friends, family and reviews, might not work for you.   Diaper Dabbler LLC offers parents to save time and money:

• Research about each diaper brand, all in one place, including features, contents, and environmental considerations, when available.
• Then, when parents narrow down their choices, Diaper Dabbler LLC offers a cost-effective way to Sample the brands.  Trial and Error is the only way for sure to rule in/out brands and not waste money on bad diapers.  Diaper Dabbler carries over 20 different options in 4 sizes for parents to easily sample diapers before investing in a large pack of a single brand. 
• Printable Diaper Rating Chart to keep track of which diapers you have tried, which diapers you love, which diapers to avoid, and which diapers will work in a pinch when you find yourself scrambling in the middle of the night!
• Resources are provided for parents considering a baby planner and planning a baby shower.

Diaper Dabbler LLC saves parents time and money in the search for the perfect diaper that works for her unique baby.