Baby's Journal: Recorded by Mother and Father

This is a journal for new parents based on a 1930's French book. It is to be written in instead of the traditional paste a few pictures of the baby book. Not for the "scrapbooker" but certainly for the discerning parent. This certainly sounds esoteric but the book is beautiful. The drawings are typical of the 1930's. This book was once available through the Metropolitan Museum and I immediately thought of it when my own grand nephew was born. They no longer carry it and I was pleasantly surprised to find it here.

I have been trying to find a baby book that had lots of space to record all of my thoughts and also lots of room for photos. When I first received it, I was very impressed by the construction. It is also very thick, with tons of room to write for pages and pages or just paste a bunch of pictures. At first I thought that I hated it because it didnt have a section to do month by month development, but after I started filling it in, I realized that it has so much space to use as you like. The pictures are very simple. I haev a boy and didnt want to give him a cutsy thing with butterflies on it when he has his own children. Definitely great for a boy or a girl. Also great for parents who are adopting. The only pre-birth page there is is "preparations for baby" All in all I have fallen in love with this book, and can't wait to fill it in every night after my son goes to sleep. Also ordered the matching calendar.

I looked through several baby journals. This one is printed on thick, acid-free paper which will matter more over the years. The binding is strong and well-made and can withstand the child flipping through the pages many times. Many of the other baby journals are pretty flimsy with poor-quality paper. This journal is beautifully designed with clean, sparse graphics without the usual maudlin, frilly baby designs which I can't stand. It is very thorough, with many different pages for things such as first trip, first Christmas, etc... Finally, a baby product which respects the baby and the parents as rational people with good taste.

When I was expecting my third child I poured over all the baby journals in several book stores and chose this one. I liked it so much, I bought another for my fourth child and am now ordering two more for my first two children. Because of the format of this book you are prompted to record stories for your child about their early years rather than simply jotting down a date to fill in the blanks. It is so much more personal.

I received this book as a gift for my first child and am ordering a copy for my second. The best part about this book is that it is uncontrived. The page titles identify key moments in a baby's first year (and beyond) and gently suggest content. The rest is up to you. No silly blank lines; few pages that you'll never use. Plenty of space for journal entries, too. Beautifully illustrated. I'm not surprised to see that this book (published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art) has been around since 1978.