Did you keep any of your childrens baby stuff for when they're older?

[heartbroken22]

I'm slightly panicking because I haven't kept anything for my first from when she was a baby. I only have a blanket as I grew up parents who were hoarders and it just freaks me out keeping stuff. I don't want dd thinking why I didn't keep anything from her baby years.

From my 2 children I kept scan photos, card in cot from birth and hospital tag , the cards we got from their birth plus first baby gro , hat and a shawl . Other than that I kept the first football kit my DS had when he was 1 and a little teddy of my DD . I have no idea if they would ever want these things but I love looking at them sometimes if I'm up in the loft 😍

My friends mum was clearing out the attic when she gave each of her kids a memory box that she had kept for each of them from when they were babies/small kids. When presented with the box, my friends brother said, "why would I want that? Those are your memories, not mine." It was a bit mean but those words have always has stuck with me when I want to keep items that are really just for me, for when i want to hold on a little longer. Keep one or two small things but that's it. It's just stuff.

@Sar90 my MIL did the same, she gave us a massive box of DH baby things and things from school but he said the same, those are her memories, he honestly doesn’t want to look at things he drew in reception or his baby clothes. I felt awkward when he asked her to take it back but I could see where he was coming from. I’ve kept first babygrows and some little bits but they are for me and not for them really

There's probably a spectrum from parents who kept absolutely nothing, to ones who have bags of baby clothes, every piece of artwork sent home from playgroup and every school report, plus a box of all their baby teeth. Keeping very little or lots isn't right or wrong, it's all dependent on your inclinations, storage space, how much you move house, etc.

I have literally not one thing from my childhood because I became estranged from my family. So I have kept some things, not loads but the hospital wrist bands, a onesie, the little hat they put on them after they are born etc. I keep significant pictures or cards - my middle one drew one of all of us together once after he struggled to accept his baby sibling, so I kept that. But you can't keep all their 'art'.

These things do matter though, but unless you don't have them it can be hard to express how much.

Oh also, I have mainly kept them for me - I don't imagine presenting the kids with them or anything, but they are here if they want them or ever want to look at them.

I've kept a few bits - the first babygrow and shoes, partly as a reminder of how small she was. It seems implausible when you see them adult sized even if they're petite!

I've got a little metal suitcase with her preg test, umbilical clip, baby grow she wore home from the hospital, a little jumper with her initial a friend knitted and some little special things that have been added. I'm not necessarily going to give them to her (maybe the baby grow if she'd like it/has her own baby), but I'm not ready to get rid of them yet.

She's currently a grumpy difficult to manage teen so having the memory of the tiny squishy lovely baby helps at the minute 😬

I've just about saved everything they had so that their kids, if they have any, can have their old wooden toys and nice clothes if they want them. I am a horder aspiring to be like Marie Kondo though. Most of it is in the loft, but I keep whittling it down. My aim is to photograph their art work/writing from school etc and make a photo book for each of them and then I can at least sling most of their art work and a lot of toys/clothes.

I kept their newborn hospital hats plus the pink card they got at birth, and one newborn sleepsuit each. The rest all went to the charity shop.

I wouldn’t worry about it OP.

Me and DH come from totally different families in this respect, my DM keeps absolutely nothing, his DM still has the parking ticket stub from his graduation, she’s now slowing starting to declutter and it’s a nightmare.

Similar to others, we’ve just got a little box for each DC with first onesie, the hospital wristband and first hat. That’ll do.

I've saved a few bits, but can't imagine they will want that much. I chucked bags and bags of stuff away that either my mum saved, or I saved when I was older. No one needs every maths exercise book and uni lecture note. As with others above, I don't remember wearing the christening gown, so it meant nothing to me.

I haven't thought about it much but anything I keep will likely be for me rather than DS. I found birth and the first few years of parenting very distressing so I was very quick to clear everything out and forget about it. I might regret that one day but I do have his hospital ankle band and I'll keep that safe.

My mother offered me my baby teeth and I was a bit horrified. She has been saving them for me and didn’t want to take them when she moved house.

I went home and threw away all of the DC teeth I had been saving. I can’t even get in the head space now of why I was keeping them.

Likewise I never loved putting my baby in heirloom clothes. I haven’t saved much at all. Photos are enough.

I kept my DD first little dress she wore and a matinee coat my Mum knitted for her. I've kept DS1 his first romper suit and a beautiful hand knitted shawl my exMil knitted for him and DS2 his first romper suit and a knitted blanket my ExMil knitted him. I've also kept their christening gifts which I gave to them in turn they got their own homes. My DD kept her favourite teddy bear she was given when she was 2 and I've kept a Bonny doll that DS 1 loved and his Brio train track and trains. I kept a Playmobil Castle for DS3 and a Duplo zoo with lots of extra animals. I thought they might want to give them to their own DC. So far only DD has any children and she said she's keeping her teddy as her DC might wreck it. DS1 did give his Brio trains and track to his eldest nephew. DS1 doesn't want DC of his own and his partner already has 2 older DC. DS2 not keen on having kids but you never know. He told me he prefers his cats.

For myself I've kept 1 bootie each of my DC wore.

I’ve kept hospital band, clothes he came home in, babygrow and nappy - he was tiny when born. Blanket, first shoes, teddies, first nursery and school jumper plus a few other bits and pieces. It’s not my things to throw or give away.

I am about to have one.
I've started a photo album with the scan pictures, probably do a small memory box too and..... only because I did this for several clients, that I got the idea, I'll probably keep a few special clothes and sew up a quilt with them as a sort of keepsake.
I had one client do this, did a post about it on my work insta and suddenly others asked for one too. One even said her daughter liked hers so much (as a teenager) that her little brother also wanted one so I made one with his clothes too. Then the mother went and bought fabrics she liked and asked me to make her one too! Then her mum, kids grandma found a quilt she started hand sewing but never finished so they asked me to finish it off. That was quite an honour actually as it was someone else's work that they trusted me to finish so everyone had their own personal quilt. Very sweet idea.
Quilts are not for everyone though (and you need at a minimum a full to the brim supermarket carrier bag (those larger, stronger ones that you pay £1 or £2 for)
Instead, people also make a little Teddy bear from baby /toddler/kids clothes too which won't need nearly as many things, so it's much less "stuff" if you're not keen on keeping lots of things.

I never really got anything from my mum to be honest, neither did my partner. So while I'm not sure mine will want something, I'll do it anyway. For me more than anything! But if he has my partners or my personality and sentimentality he will hopefully appreciate it!

A lot of my friends haven't bothered though, one posted me all her kids clothes! I asked if she wanted to keep anything of sentiment but she didn't. She actually wrote journal instead as she said its easy to forget little details and plans to give them that book later in life. I thought that's just as special to be honeat as its literally a book of memories, moments in time you can easily forget.

Myself and my partner are just sentimental soppy people so we do like to keep stuff with meaning!

I didn't keep anything. I'm not sentimental about things like that. I did do a small baby book tho, so she will have that.

We have first shoes and two blankets.
We do have a box with stuff, sash with Brownie badges, her Pony Club jumper and badges, leavers hoddie and book from primary, some certificates.

Definitely not 7 years of primary arts and craft plus 3 years of nursery, some things are on display or in the Christmas ornament box.

I see what happens with it when we ever clear out the house.

I have a few bits and special art goes in a scrapbook, not everything.

My MIL arrived over with a giant bag of stuff from when DH was in school, from primary to secondary. We only looked at a few things before it got chucked. She had loads of random crap like boarding passes from a rugby trip, dinner menus, just no!! Can't be dealing with that, I love my MIL but they hoard stuff and expect us to do the same and it's very annoying.

Only keep what you want and don't expect your children to want or appreciate it.

I think that’s the point @unicornpower is making, though — they are only technically ‘his’ things. You are the person to whom they are important.

The adults to whom those kinds of baby belongings of their own are important tend to be adoptees or people who lost their parents young. Or are estranged.

We have two boxes per child - they are quite large.

One is for our memories - I.e. things DH and I want to keep - one is for theirs, so when they bring home a load of artwork, they choose what goes in. They enjoy looking through their memory boxes, they do it every month or two. Sometimes they want to get rid of something and I move it to our memory box instead.. I encourage them to edit it down every time they look so they keep it to things they care about.

They have been able to do this since about the age of 3/3.5

I have a a tiny baby vest that they both wore, and a blanket that I knitted that they were both wrapped in. But they aren't for them, they're for me.

In my experience most children/ young adults only have a passing interest anyway.

Most of the time when parents keep these things, it's more for themselves.

I honestly wouldn't worry.