Baby Record Book > Reviews (6)

I think Baby Record Books are wonderful, an easy way to write down all those little details of childhood in the one place. I think they are just as important as the photo albums full of sun-kissed chubby cheeks. They are an invaluable record of a time which slips past faster than you would expect. It seems only a flicker of an eyelash and your squirmy, frustrated baby daughter is a quite grown-up ten year old with make-up and fashion aspirations.

I still own my Baby Record Book, which my parents carefully filled in throughout my early years. It is called Baby Days and has a cherubic painting of a thumb-sucking, golden-haired little creature on the front. Well, they got the thumb-sucking bit right anyway.

It looks rather dated these days, but it was only 1969. The side of the book (for it comes in a kind of presentation box) contains the legend 'PINK' for I was, and still am, female. This leads the poor baby on the front to be horizontal in a very pink, lacy Moses basket, with pink frills, flowers and a bow. Ugh.

The hardbacked book contained within is - guess ! - pink, with silver writing on. But it is the contents which are of most interest, of course. Apparently, I first sat on a circus horse aged 8 months, came 3rd in a baby show at 9 months (winning five tins of Heinz baby food, no less !) and on 5th July, 1970, I bit my Mummy on her finger. I doubt she has forgiven me yet.

Further pages reveal more trumpeting angels, gooing babies happily playing and yes, more pink. Plus more information that even my partner probably doesn't know about me.

I was 6lbs 11oz at birth, which is pretty comparable to the birth weights of my own four children, who weighed 6lbs 9oz, 6lbs 1oz, 6lbs 6oz and 7lbs 14oz respectively.

I'm not quite sure what 10/= means, but it was a popular amount to give a baby in 1969 anyway ! I also seemed to receive rather a lot of cardigans.

I apparently "Crept at 5 months. Crawled at 6 months" - and have been creeping and crawling ever since ! I walked at the age of ten months, again comparable to my eldest child (9 3/4 months), but my other three walked around a year old.

The Baby Record Book continues to give me a wonderful insight into my first few months of existence and first years of progress, in a way that selective memories and candid photographs don't quite achieve.

My first holiday at Butlin's, Skegness inspired this entry in my Baby Record Book - surprisingly enough, written in my Daddy's handwriting ! - "We went to the beach where Mummy let me wear my new bikini, and I got a sand bucket and spade - except I didn't get much time to play with them because Daddy kept digging with them. I didn't mind anyway, because I wanted to eat the sand."

My first Christmas presents and my first Easter presents are all listed too. Total number of cardigans now well into double figures.

My first words began simply enough - Ba-Ba, Da-Da, etc. until in August 1971, my Mother has written : "Nothing the little chatterbox cannot say. Hippopotamus, etc." And there began my love of words that I still flirt with today.

So I would recommend buying a Baby Record Book for your friends who have just had a baby, they will be a lovely keepsake that can be passed on through the family for years to come. They aren't too expensive and there are many available these days. And they are so much nicer than cardigans. Especially pink ones.