Make me feel better about having 1 1/2 baby memory books and 3 red books all completely empty

[MilaMae]

The dtwins needed some baby stuff for Ourselves topic at school so unearthed the dusty photo/baby memory stuff box from under our bed. Found the really expensive Caz Clark baby books I bought before the twins were born(didn't even bother to get a 3rd for dd ).

The one for dtwin1 is half filled and is a joy to read, some lovely stuff I'd forgotten but it ends at 1 year. Dtwin 2s isn't even filled in and dd hasn't even got one!!!!!!! The red books have absolutely nothing filled in.

My dc are 4,4 and 3 so yes I have been kind of busy but some of my friends have red books like mini encyclopedias (they can recite the exact day each and every tooth popped out-they can really). I used to excuse myself with the twin mummy(then 3 under 18months) excuse too busy to notice let alone record but I'm kicking myself now-boo hoo!!!!!!!!

[purpleflower]

I've lost DS's red book. I lost it whewn we moved in Jan and he was 15 months old. It did have most of the dates till then in it. I'm still hoping it will turn up.

[MilaMae]

Look in the household filing cabinet with passports or the kitchen drawer full of crap. Always loosing ours,always pops up in either of those places.

[notsoteenagemum]

I may have erm written false information in DS's

[MilaMae]

Do you mean I should (whispers) make stuff up????

[TsarChasm]

Oh aren't they ridiculous things?! I'm the same as you with dt's and another one too.

They would be so lovely if only there was the time to fill them in. I've got a couple of empty books. Well, I managed to put some foot and handprints in them, but that was it and it was a huge palaver as I recall.

I found it was always on my 'to do' list and eventually dropped off the end. The list never got any shorter and dt's are 7 next week

[Reginaphilangy]

Why don't you just make it up have a rough guess - your dc won't know the difference and you'll feel a lot better about it

[MrsMattie]

I lost my DS's red book ages ago. I'm not overly fussed. I don't get sentimental about what he weighed when he was 6 mths old or when he had his vaccinations! I have religously filled out a baby book for him and got a little 'memory box', but he is my PFB. I'm pregnant with no.2 now and bet I won't be as obsessive with this one

[seeker]

I lied to the baby police so much that I have had to annotate the red books heavily, so that the dcs won't have a false picture of their early months!

[MilaMae]

At least I've got 1/2 a one to copy from I guess

[greenandpleasant]

oh don't worry ... you care now but really in 15 years' time will you or your kids want to know the EXACT date they lost a tooth or crawled?

in fact if you can wave the dates at them when they have children they will hate you - you'll be able to say "well when you were little you were walking / talking / pointing by now" and undermine all their efforts with their own dcs.

the only bits of ds red book filled in are vaccinations and his weight for the first 6 times I could be bothered to go make it to the health visitor's clinic.

[lovecamping]

i dont think ds even has a baby book!! and 2 uncompleted books for dds.. so dont worry u are not the only one!!

[notsoteenagemum]

Yes make it up, embellish the truth at the end of the day who's going to know!
I even made a footprint with my own hand in DS's this is the first time I've told anyone!!

[glasgowgal]

I am going to bin the red books when I next fall upon them, which is about once a year. But the only one with decent entries in it is dc1 and only then until I went back to work ft. With the others, I really did not see hv that often.

As for the memory books, I have a half full one for dc1 and about a thousand pictures of her every move in her first year. I have nothing like that for my others.[sad[

When mine are asked to do something like that at school I can usually find a funny picture and remember the story behind it but it is always the story they love anyway.

[Tryharder]

DS1 had 2 baby books both filled in, expensive photo sessions with photos of him all over the house, lovely clothes from expensive French catalogues...

DS2 has no baby book, nearly all second hand and handmedown clothes and as I said to DP the other night, we've hardly got a single photo of him and the photos that we have got are ones we've taken on the mobile phone camera and not actually printed out or hanging anywhere.

Does that make you feel better???

[MilaMae]

Oh yes Tryharder

[rachelp73]

My sister got me a baby book for DS1. Despite not having had a a child yet, I kind of hinted to her that I'd probably be too busy actually BEING a parent than writing down my experiences of it, and she poo-poohed it. Needless to say, I filled in about 2 pages, in between DS's screaming bouts of colic, and never bothered with the rest. My MIL got me a baby memory box for DS2 and I'm afraid it went straight to the charity shop after he'd been born . (he was a nightmare baby)

While I LOVE being a mum I guess I'm just not sentimental about all that kind of stuff. I kept DS1's hospital ID bracelet until he was about 1 and then looked at it one day and noticed it had a distinct yellowish taint from a disastrous early nappy change, and promptly threw it in the bin. I HAVE got a lock of DS1's hair that got too long when he was 2, and it was just so cute that I wanted to keep it, but I must admit I do look at it from time to time and don't feel THAT nostalgic, and wonder why I kept it. I have also kept a tiny newborn hat that both DSs wore, but it was hand knitted by my mum and it took her AGES, and that's more the reason why I kept it.

I am not at all a cold-hearted type of person and am hugely sentimental, just not about STUFF, possessions, first this and that or whatever. My memories are what is important, but now I'm thinking that when I'm old and forgetful that maybe I'll regret not having kept/written down anything, I don't know.

Are you really kicking yourself? If I want nice memories of them as young babies, I just get a few old photos out, give the kids a hug and all the warm, nostalgic feelings come flooding back. Mind you, my 2 are boys, and I'm pretty sure that when they're older, they're not going to be in the least bit bothered by the fact that I never kept their first pair of bootees. Oh yes,and I kept both huge sets of "new baby" cards for a while, then thought "why" and went through them and just kept a couple for each.

As for red books, I wrote quite a lot of details in DS1's. Nothing in DS2's and he only saw the HV twice since birth too. Totally normal, from what I've heard!

Be careful though - I was a first child, and when I was about 8 noticed that there were LOADS of baby photographs of me, and only handful of little sis, and I took it upon myself to inform her that it must be because she was adopted. (she wasn't ) She was paranoid about that for years!!!! My DS2 has hardly any baby photographs cos I was too busy trying to stop him crying to get him to look at the camera. Plus, he wasn't the best looking baby in the world, bless.

[MilaMae]

It doesn't help as dsis has just had twins and you name it everything is being photographed and recorded beautifully. Also her photos are all fab. Her photos just after she gave birth are like a Hello shoot. Just how she managed to make tandem feeding look glamourous is totally beyond me????????

I looked so heinous and haglike after the births I made dp let me bin most with me in. The ones we've kept are well hidden, certainly never for display purposes. So we're a little low on the mummy holding newborn pics too.