How to document your baby's first year without it becoming a second job

How much is enough?

Two or three memories a week, with a sentence each, produces well over a hundred entries by the first birthday: more than enough for a rich book. Aim for variety over volume: one photo, one voice memo, one note per week is a good rhythm. The first year journal that gets finished is the one with a low bar.

A month-by-month plan

• Month 0: the birth story (write it while it is raw), coming home, the first night, visitors. Photograph the hospital bracelet and cards.
• Month 1: what settles them, the noises, a letter at one month, the first smile if it comes.
• Month 2: the first laugh (record it), tummy time, the routine as it is right now.
• Month 3: finding hands, first outing somewhere real, how they look at you.
• Month 4: rolling, babbling (record it monthly from here), first proper giggle fits.
• Month 5: reaching and grabbing, favourite toy, reaction to the mirror.
• Month 6: first food and the face, sitting up, half-birthday letter.
• Month 7: teeth, the first “word-like” sound, what makes them cry now.
• Month 8: crawling or scooting, stranger reactions, the book they demand.
• Month 9: pulling up, waving and clapping, first trip or holiday.
• Month 10: cruising, pointing, first word candidates.
• Month 11: standing, the game they invented, how they show affection.
• Month 12: the first birthday, first steps if they have come, a letter about who they are at one, and the growth record.

Why Everkeep suits a first-year journal

Everkeep’s Book is made of chapters by month of life, so the plan above maps straight onto the app: open “Six months” and you are reading that month. Photos, videos, voice notes and written notes sit together. Everything is on your phone, with no account and no social feed, and it works in the hospital with no signal.

If you turn it on, a gentle reminder arrives on each month birthday, the day your child turns a month older. At the first birthday, Everkeep Pro gives you the year as a printed PDF, and saves each month’s film to your phone. That is the first-year keepsake, done.

How to keep a first-year journal in Everkeep

Set up before the birth if you can; otherwise start today and bring in what you have.

1. Open the book with the birth dateInstall Everkeep and enter the birthday. If the baby is not here yet, add it afterwards. Chapters and ages are counted from it.
2. Write the birth story earlyPress +, choose a note and write it in the first days, while the details are sharp. Add photos and a voice note if you like.
3. Keep two or three pages a weekA photo, a video, a voice note or a note. Follow the monthly plan loosely.
4. Record babble monthlyOnce a month, keep a voice note with 30 seconds of sounds. This series becomes one of the best parts of the book.
5. Add growth marks at check-upsAdd height, weight and head size in Growth. The marks go up a door frame, each with your child’s age.
6. Print at the first birthdayBuy Everkeep Pro ($9.99 once) for the printed book as a clean PDF and the month films. Save a backup file as well.

First-year journal FAQ

I'm starting late. Is it too late for a first-year journal?

No. Import photos from your photo library and Everkeep files them under your child’s age on the day they were taken. Write what you remember of the early weeks as a single catch-up note.

Can I include pregnancy in the first-year book?

Yes. Pages from before the birth are kept in a chapter of their own, “Before you arrived”, so scans and bump photos can open the book.

Can I keep going after the first year?

Of course. Chapters carry on by month of life and through the years, and you can print a new book each year or one big volume whenever you like.