Watching your baby grow is one of the most incredible things you can witness. The first year of an infant’s life includes so many changes and milestones that you feel like you will miss something if you blink. Monthly baby pictures are an adorable and wildly popular way to document your baby’s first year in the world, and there is no shortage of adorable ideas to grab inspiration from.
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Monthly Baby Picture Ideas
There are endless baby picture ideas in many different themes. You can find themes for boys, themes for girls, and gender-neutral themes. There are apps that make it super easy to put together monthly milestone photos yourself, so you no longer have to fork out loads of money for professional photos. Plus, It’s easier than ever to find props and themed templates to use.
Monthly Themes for Boys
One absolutely adorable monthly baby photo idea is a “Gentlemen’s” theme. Take your little man and set him up with a fancy man’s hat and glasses. Let him interact with them as he pleases for a variation in the pictures each month. You can get nostalgic and use one of his grandfather’s or father’s favorite hats, or you can add a little clip-on bow tie to his onesie.
STICKERS: A popular feature in monthly baby pictures is stickers that tell the number of the month. These kinds of stickers can be both themed and non-themed labels. Some boy monthly sticker collections are this rustic animal theme and this Dumbo theme that are found on Etsy.
Monthly Themes for Girls
A beautiful monthly baby photo idea for girls is a “Floral Wreath” theme. Design the number of the month out of flowers and pose your baby girl next to them. You can dress her in pastel colored onesies or whimsical dresses or handmade tutus. You can use your favorite flower or flowers that reflect the month of the year during which the picture is being taken.
STICKERS: If you’re looking for monthly stickers to use for your precious girl’s photos, you can take a look at these: pink floral theme, beachy girl theme, and princess theme that are found on Etsy.
Monthly Baby Picture Apps
Since it seems like everyone has a smartphone these days, one of the most convenient and easiest ways to record your baby’s monthly photos and milestones. There are multiple apps that you can choose from in order to pick the one that fits your preferences.
Four of the best apps to record your baby’s first year are:
Blinkbuggy
This app lets you photograph moments when they happen, add funny or sentimental quotes or sayings, and even record milestones in the Notes section of the app. You’re able to upload the pictures to your computer with a secure Blinkbuggy account, and it’s completely up to you to share them or keep them private. You also have the ability to print postcards with your pictures straight from the app.
Mementobox
This app is a full virtual baby journal. It is separated into three sections: My Birth, My First Year, and My World.
The My Birth section is for pregnancy photos, ultrasound photos, and the baby’s birth story. You can even take pictures of your baby’s first visitor’s and let them leave messages for your baby.
The My First Year section allows you to record your baby’s major milestones with photos and text options. It also has a section where you can keep track of your baby’s health information.
The My World section is a fun addition that lets you link to other media like newspapers and film trailers and music that reflects what’s going on around your baby as he or she grows. You can add pictures and videos of where you live, your street, and your hometown, as well.
Kidfolio
This app is a digital scrapbook and kid tracker that makes keeping up with your baby easy. You can track growth, first memories, immunizations, and more. The app puts together a timeline of your baby’s life that can include pictures, videos, and audio clips. Another great feature of this app is its comprehensive health tracking.
Collect
This app is a photo-a-day app that acts as a modern journal that can turn your pictures into memories. You can date, caption, and add notes to each picture. You can also share your baby’s milestone with family and friends by making collages and sending them to DropBox or Flickr.
Monthly Baby Picture Props
Props are a huge part of monthly baby pictures. They let the world know how old your baby is in each picture, and they help to make the pictures even cuter with fun themes.
Popular Props
1. Blankets
Milestone blankets are the perfect prop for your little one to grow into! There are SO many out there. Depending on your theme, you will find blankets for just about any style!
This blanket happens to be one of my favorites… I love that it’s round and isn’t too busy!
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2. Wooden Plaques and Cutouts
These are super versatile and gender neutral. I love that about wood signs. Whether your theme is rustic or floral, these will be the perfect touch to your photos.
Check Price + Reviews on Etsy >> Click Here
3. Baby Blocks
Blocks are another simple prop to showcase your baby’s growth. These come in a couple different colors which is nice!
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4. Chalkboards
How adorable is an old fashioned chalkboard?! You can get these personalized which is such a sweet touch. It can be a keepsake that your little one will hold onto forever!
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5. Onesies
The simplicity of these onesies make them perfect for any theme. Whether you want to change the color of your daughter’s hair bow or your son’s bow tie, these onesies will be perfect for every month!
Check Price + Reviews on Etsy >> Click Here
If you want to keep things simple, the Monthly Photo Apps have stickers and digital props that can help you out!
How to Take Awesome Monthly Baby Photos at Home
More and more parents are taking their monthly baby pictures at home because of the convenience and ease that it can be done with their phone. Here are three tips for making your baby pictures as professional-looking as possible:
- Use natural lighting.
- Use smart positioning.
- Have a helper.
- Keep it simple.
1. Use Natural Lighting
Choose a place in your home that has windows that you can use to let in natural lighting for your photos. Natural lighting is the best type of lighting to get beautiful color in your photo.
2. Use Smart Positioning.
- You can hide pillows behind blankets to help prop your baby up for a better picture.
- Take a few photos from different angles.
- Try kneeling or standing a bit higher than your little one. This makes for a more candid shot.
- If you are taking photos with a milestone blanket, try taking the photo directly above your baby. Just be sure to have a sturdy chair to avoid falling and don’t drop your phone… 😉
3. Have a helper.
If dad, grandma, or siblings are around, have them help you out! Having someone there to get baby to smile or just to fix little detail things is super important to capturing the perfect photo!
4. Keep It Simple.
Avoid using backgrounds that have busy prints on them. This takes away from the baby and the milestone marker in the photo. The background doesn’t have to be completely solid but keeping it simple creates the best photos.
Turn these Photos into a Keepsake
Now what do you do with all these sweet photos? They are too precious to not share! Plus after all the planning and effort put into these milestone photos, they should be displayed. There are a ton of cute ways to show off your baby’s photos!
Some great ideas for showing off your photos are:
- Customized photo books can be made in many places. You can order beautiful books from Etsy like this baby memory book that shows off your child from newborn to age 5. You can even use Amazon to order gorgeous photo albums to place your pictures in like this memory book for baby’s first year.
- Baby photo collages are incredibly popular ways to show off your baby photos. You can design poster-sized collages or collages in the shape of the first letter of your baby’s name. You can even design blankets with your baby’s photos.
- Cluster photo frames make it very easy to make collages without having to order them or design them online. You can simply pick up a frame at a local store and place the photos you want inside of it.
Baby monthly photos make amazing gifts, as well – especially for grandparents! You can order customized photo lanterns that make gorgeous displays. Custom photo pillows can be made that feature the names “Granny” or “Pops” or whatever name your baby will call his or her grandparents. Small gifts like Christmas ornaments, socks, and oven mitts can be made to feature your baby’s picture. You can trust that any gift made featuring your baby will be a gift that his or her grandparents will love on any occasion!
In Conclusion…
Cataloguing your baby’s first year in photos has never been easier. From convenient baby milestone photo apps to easy photo prop access, you can put the memories of your baby’s first year (and beyond) together simply and quickly. This article has only scratched the surface of what is available online when it comes to monthly baby photo ideas and themes – there are many, many more to choose from.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. share with your momma friends!!
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