Every new mom wants a record of her baby’s firsts, from their first hospital bracelet when they are born, a place to record height and weight, and, of course, a place for first photos. This personalized pewter photo album by Corner Stork, called Baby’s First Book of Love, would make the perfect gift for a new or expectant parent. The album holds 100 photos in 50 photo slips. The pewter cover can be engraved with baby’s name and birthdate and also has a background of engraved alphabet blocks and a teddy bear. Pewter just makes this album even more special, adding to the uniqueness of this gift. The album measures 6.5″ x 5.5″ and can be purchased for $21.99 at CornerStorkBabyGifts.com.

I think this would be a perfect baby shower gift because of its pure soft look. Take along a Polaroid Instant Camera (they’re still around) and add photos from the baby shower to include in this Nature’s Purest Hug Me My First Book. Another idea would be to include a gift certificate for developing digital photos at the Mother-to-be’s local photo store or for ordering online. With its soft, natural cotton cover, this photo book holds twenty-four 4″ x 6″ photos on 12 PVC-free pages.

You can view this product at ToysRUs.com where it has a listed price of $19.99.

This Baby’s First Year Deluxe Scrapbooking Kit would make a great baby shower gift.  Everyone wishes that they had started scrapbooking earlier than they did, and now you can give the new mom a head start.

Offer to take pictures of the baby shower to include in her scrapbooking project. There are many scrapbooking how-to’s and suggestions on the Internet to help the new mom if she’s never done scrapbooking before. This could be a gift that keeps giving because you can include seasonal and special occasion scrapbooking accessories with gifts throughout the year: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, Baby’s First Birthday. It’s a fun way to keep in touch and up-to-date with baby’s first year.

The scrapbook comes in Pink, Baby Blue, Ecru, and Kiwi for $120 at  UltimateBabyBoutique.com.

I haven’t been particularly pleased with either of the baby books that I have for my girls. I’m not in love with the way they look, or the way they are organized. Maybe that is why I just keep jotting things down on the calendar and telling myself I will get my notes transferred to the baby books one of these days! This has made me curious about what alternatives there are to these very traditional books. A little research reveals that one of the hottest baby books out there at the moment is this book made by Baby Feats. What makes this book unique is that it is made with a Baltic birch cover, which is available in pink, blue, yellow, or natural wood versions. It was featured on the CBS Early Show and is popular with celebrity parents, including Julia Roberts. While the outside of the book is innovative, the inside is fairly traditional, including pages for a family tree, and important firsts such as first bath, first picture, etc. Overall, this is a very sweet baby book, but it doesn’t wow me. You can buy one of these books for $60 at babybox.com.