As parents, we recognize that time goes fast in the first years of your baby’s life. Even if you haven’t experienced it yet (ie-you’re pregnant with your first), you’ve heard plenty of parents who’ve gone before you talk about how time with your kiddo flies by sooooo fast (I'll add to that chorus...cuz it does). We all want to remember the special moments along the way, and if you’re anything like me, you get a bit sentimental when it comes to your little squish and their stuff.

Baby books are the “traditional” way that new parents attempt to keep track of photos and milestones from baby’s first years. But I think we can do better while actually spending LESS time and effort on keeping track of things (cuz ain’t nobody got time for extra work as a mom…)

I give you - the Keepsake box

What is the point of keepsake box?

A keepsake box holds not only printed photos but also physical, sentimental items that you don’t necessarily want to put on display, but that you want to preserve in a safe place.... So when you feel like reminiscing (eh hem...telling your child about his birth story), you can pull out the box to look through photos and other physical keepsakes from when they were born.

Why should I do a keepsake box when I already have a baby book?

I am sooooo glad you asked. Here are 3 reasons why a keepsake box is better (and easier) than a baby book:

1. You can store more than just photos

I love me some printed photos (I kinda made a career for it…), but I also think the trinkets we have along the way are special, too. Why not have one place to store it all? With a keepsake box, you can keep everything from your positive pregnancy test to a lock of hair from your babe’s first haircut. My kids have their first outfit, hospital bracelets, footprints, and other special items that help tell their story.

2. A keepsake box doesn’t end at 5 years old…

I had fun filling out my son’s baby book when he was little, but I have to be honest - I was super sad when it ended at his 5th birthday. Like...are his milestones no longer worth remembering now that he’s older than 5?!?! SAD FACE.

With a keepsake box, you can save all of the super special items from birth, and keep adding things as they get older. Maybe your kiddo won first place at the science fair and has a fancy ribbon, or maybe you save the tickets to your first football game together. By the time they are old enough to appreciate it, you will basically have a time capsule of all the sentimental items from their childhood, right from birth. Imagine how special and warm-and-fuzzy will they feel digging through all of those memories?!?

3. A Keepsake box is more customizable

Instead of following a pre-determined template, you get to document and save what’s important to you in your keepsake box. Maybe you could care less about when your baby got her first tooth, but you definitely want to save her first mother’s day gift to you. You also get to customize the design on your keepsake box with your baby’s name and birth stats - which is just freaking cool and beautiful.

You can also say goodbye to the unnecessary mom guilt from forgetting to fill out parts of the pre-determined baby book template. It's hard enough most days to remember to take a shower, let alone stop what you're doing to get out the baby book and write down that she just said mama. You (and your kiddo) will never see the things you forgot to add to your keepsake box - all you’ll have is the stuff you remembered and the all the feels it gives you as you look back through your baby’s time capsule.

In case you were wondering, I’m not hating on baby books (I love mine!) but if you’re like me (a bit scattered, forget things easily, but oh so sentimental), then a keepsake box will be the perfect replacement for, or addition to, the baby book.

While you may not want to put your birth photos on the wall, there are still plenty of ways to preserve and enjoy them outside of the hard drive. Check out some more ideas here