There are many resources available to help you in this endeavor. You can ask other parents how they preserved their babies' collections of “favorite things,” or you can surf the Internet for a wider range of ideas. Some of you artsy, nontraditional types may choose to capture your baby's precious memories in your own personal style.

One popular method is to dry mount all of the items in a large binder with plastic page protectors. This method will keep all of your papers neatly preserved for many years. You can add pages when necessary or remove some for show. Or you could preserve each item in a clear plastic bag (the ones that are self-sealing work best), placing the bags on top of one another in a large decorated box.

Memories to Keep

After you've made the commitment to collect as many memories of your baby as humanly possible (between diapers and feedings, of course!), the next step is to decide what to include in baby's keepsake. Here are some suggestions:

• Early photos

• Baby's birth statistics and other details about the birth experience

• Baby's first gifts and well-wishers (and perhaps a collection of greeting card wishes sent to baby upon arrival)

• Information about baby's looks: What color hair and eyes did baby have? Whom did you think baby looked most like? Whom did other people think baby looked most like?

• Details about baby's ride home: What kind of car did you bring baby home in? Did you stop anywhere first? Did baby seem to enjoy his or her first ride?

• Photo and address of baby's first home

• First visitors

• Copy of baby's first footprints and birth certificate

• Newspaper clippings announcing baby's arrival

• Printout of baby's Web page (if applicable)

• One birth announcement (whether you had some professionally made, or created them yourself)

• Brief stories about baby's favorite things: songs, toys, people, stories, and activities

• Favorite (and not-so-favorite) foods

• The time, date, and place of baby's first steps

• Baby's first words and nicknames for siblings (especially if the sibling has a hard-to-pronounce first name)

• Items related to baby's first holidays (Halloween costume, Christmas photos, Hanukkah celebration, or other event)

• Special trips baby took (to Grandma's, to Walt Disney World, etc.)

• Handmade items from siblings or relatives that carry a special significance.

Durability Keeps Memories Better

Whatever form in which you choose to house your child's earliest memories, keep in mind that it should be something fairly durable. In just a few years, this will be baby's favorite thing to look at again and again, and you'll want it to be able to stand the test of time. Some parents even keep an online photo gallery, CD-ROM, or DVD backup of everything in their baby's memory box, just in case baby (or baby's canine friend) wears out the original.