What to capture in your baby's first year (beyond the milestones)
You already know to photograph the first smile, the first steps, and the monthly milestone shots with the number blocks. Those are important. They'll make the highlight reel.
But the memories parents miss most aren't milestones. They're Tuesdays. Here's a month-by-month guide to the everyday stuff worth capturing.
Months 0–3: The blur
You won't remember this period as well as you think. You're too tired, and the days blend together. That's exactly why it's worth saving small things.
Capture:
- •The way they sleep on your chest (that specific weight)
- •The 3am feeding setup — your water bottle, the dim light, the show you're watching
- •Their hands. Seriously. Those tiny, wrinkly, clenched fists change fast
- •The first bath (it's always a bit chaotic)
- •Your partner holding them for the first time
- •A voice note of yourself talking about how you're feeling. You'll want this later
Don't worry about: Getting good photos. Phone-in-one-hand, baby-in-the-other shots are the real ones.
Months 3–6: The smiles start
This is when they start reacting to you, and it's magic. They're still mostly in one spot, so you have time.
Capture:
- •The first real belly laugh (video, always video for laughs)
- •The way they stare at their own hands like they've discovered something incredible
- •Tummy time face (the determination, the frustration)
- •The specific toys they're obsessed with this week
- •How they look in the car seat — they'll outgrow it before you notice
- •Your morning routine together
Months 6–9: The personality emerges
They're sitting, maybe crawling, definitely opinionated about food. This is when their personality starts showing.
Capture:
- •First foods — the faces are priceless
- •The way they crawl (or scoot, or army-crawl)
- •Whatever game currently makes them laugh hardest
- •A voice note of their babbling. The sounds change week to week
- •The mess. Highchair aftermath, toy explosions, the state of your living room
- •How they react to other babies or animals
Months 9–12: Everything accelerates
They're mobile, they're pulling up, they might be saying something that sounds like a word. Things change weekly now.
Capture:
- •Standing up for the first time (and the face they make when they realize what they've done)
- •The foods they love and the foods they dramatically reject
- •Their "words" — even if only you understand them
- •The way they wave, clap, or point at things
- •A video of them just… playing. Doing their thing. This is the one you'll replay most
- •The books they want read over and over (and over)
The things that apply all year
Some moments aren't tied to a month. They're the connective tissue of the year:
- •Sounds. Record the ambient sound of your home — the specific mix of TV, toys, white noise machines, and baby sounds that is the soundtrack of this period.
- •Quotes. If you have older kids, write down what they say about the baby. "Why is he so small?" "Can we return him?" "I love him so much I want to eat him."
- •The boring routines. Diaper changes, car rides, grocery store trips with a baby. Mundane now, nostalgic later.
- •Your spaces. The nursery, the living room floor, the park bench you always sit on. These backgrounds change, and you'll want to remember them.
- •Yourself. You're in this story too. Take selfies with your baby even when you haven't showered. You'll never care about how you looked — you'll care that you were there.
How to actually do this
The trick isn't knowing what to capture — it's making it fast enough that you do it when you're exhausted, which is always.
Set a daily reminder. When it goes off, capture one thing. Just one. Photo, video, voice note, or a sentence of text. It takes 10 seconds.
At the end of the year, you'll have 365 small moments. That's not a photo album. That's a story.
That's what Smalldays is for. One moment a day, turned into a book at the end of the year. Join the waitlist to be the first to try it.