Lil’ Grams is a recently launched website that creates modern, online baby books for busy parents. They promise to help parents organize baby’s most important moments and photos to share with family and friends. It helps parents by suggesting different “grams” to send out, including milestones baby might be doing at their current age, such as “babbles a few words repeatedly” and “shakes head to indicate ‘no’”. There is a tool to help upload photos to your grams as well. Parents control who sees each “gram,” ensuring privacy, unlike many websites. You can check it out for yourself at lilgrams.com, where a free trial is available, and plans start at just $29 for one year of service. In addition, UpscaleBaby readers can receive a 15% discount on plans using the code “UPSCALEBABY” .

This is a great idea for a future gift for your new baby, or as a gift to new parents. Writer Suzanne Loring has started A Storied Life, a company that writes personalized stories of events in one’s life, including the birth of a baby/baby’s first year of life, wedding stories, and anniversary stories. Each book is handmade, including the binding, so you can choose the color and style of the design. The book will be written based on Loring’s interviews with the person involved and family and friends. The descriptive story she creates serves as a keepsake and memory for years to come.

Books are priced based on size, starting at $295 per 18 pages. If you want more information about this unique, innovative idea, check out YourStoriedLife.com. Gift cards are also available, if you prefer to give your gift to someone and let him or her work with Loring directly to create a special book.

The Baby Journal by Frittabello is a wonderful gift for new parents, or for yourself. It is a book that is designed to be a chronicle of your child’s life for the first five years. In gender-neutral colors, the Baby Journal provides ample space to record your child’s most memorable moments, both in prose and in photos. It has a spiral binding so the book lays flat, and acid free paper to preserve memories of your child. Right now you can purchase the Baby Journal at its introductory price of $28.95 (regularly $32.95) at Frittabello.com.

I have to admit that I am not very organized when it comes to my children’s keepsakes.  We recently came home from the hospital with our newborn’s hospital bracelet tucked into an envelope with her discharge papers.  Unfortunately, that is where both remain over a week later.  When I saw this picture frame from Pearhead, I knew it was right up my disorganized alley.  This great product allows you to find a perfect home for this important early keepsake where it will remain out of harm’s way.  While a picture goes in the top portion of the frame, the cut-out at the bottom displays a hospital band.  You can purchase one for a very reasonable $25 at tottini.com.  A white finish is also available.

I just stumbled upon this growth chart by Miss Natalie which is like none I have seen.  Created by designer Natalie Davis, this Growth Chart comes beautifully packaged in an heirloom wooden box.  It consists of a four foot long jute cloth that is hung with a bright red satin ribbon.  The set includes twenty tags (half  red, half cream) for you to write your child’s name, age, and the date.  You then affix the tag to the jute fabric with the enclosed safety pins.  When your child is fully-grown, you can pack the growth chart back in the box as a special memory.

I love the idea of this growth chart and I find its handmade, simple look to be very appealing.  It would definitely be a great conversation piece in any child’s bedroom.  You can purchase one for $56 at fawnandforest.com. I think it would also make a very unique and thoughtful gift for a baby shower.

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.

This Silver Leaf First Year Frame would make a terrific baby shower gift. A picture-a-month will preserve  baby’s first year and will astonish parents at how quickly their child is growing. There are twelve 2×3″ photos and one 4×6″ main image. The entire frame, made by Pottery Barn Kids, measures 22×1x11.5″h and is also available with personalization  for a small additional cost.

This would make a lovely gift for grandmother, especially if she lives far away. Sending her a monthly addition to this Silver Leaf First Year Frame is a considerate and fun way to involve grandmother in your child’s life.  Visit PotteryBarnKids.com to view this item, priced at $59.

I always take a lot of photos at Christmas time, but I never seem to do anything creative (or even sensible) with them.  This Once Upon a Family Christmas Day Book Photo Album offers an attractive way to keep your family photos organized from year to year.  This silk album features an ornate cover and 25 fold out pages.  You can either fill it with a year’s photos, or gradually add to your collection over time.  Either way, you will be preserving your family memories in an easy to share format.

You can purchase one of these books for $32 at OnceUponaFamily.com.  A Hanukkah version is also available.

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 think my kids were 5, 6, and 8 years old when I finally decided to make a photo album for each of them. I had collected tons of pictures over the years including family times at home, outings, vacations, holidays, pre-school, kindergarten, you name it, I had a picture of it. What I didn’t have was any kind of organization and I ended up spending a whole summer sorting and choosing and laying photos in each child’s album.

Baby’s First Year Photo Album Storage Box has a very simple method of organization - you just have to keep up. Don’t be tempted to let the photos sit in the desk drawer or shoe box year after year. Just slip the photos into the appropriate album as soon as you’re done oohing and ahhing over them or making copies for family and friends. You could make a label for each album with the dates already listed as a helpful reminder of when to start and end each album. Mark your calendar as another helpful reminder. It will take a little extra effort but when it comes time to go through your baby’s photos you’ll really be glad that you took the time.

This set of 4 Photo Albums in an adorable storage box comes from Two’s Company. It includes: 0-3 Months, 3-6 Months, 6-9 Months, 9-12 Months. Each Book Holds 48 4″ x 6″Photos, on  Acid Free Paper. The storage box measures approx. 5″ x 6 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ and can be purchased for $38.99 at CecisTreasures.com

I wish I could say that I have meticulously documented all of the big moments in my children’s lives.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.  I always have the best intentions, but it is just so hard to find the time to write about your kids when you are so wrapped up in caring for them.

Clearly, the people at Tiny Tales know this feeling.  They have put together sets that any busy mom can appreciate.  This great Infant Memory Kit includes two 4×6 notepads that help you quickly document all the important firsts in your baby’s life, a cute little storage box, and four themed dividers to keep it all organized.

The set retails for $30, and you can purchase extra cards at any time.  This is something that even I could keep up with, and it looks a lot better than my usual chicken scratch on the calendar method.  You can pick one up at TinyTales.com.  Sets for toddlers and expectant moms are also available.

Although I’m not too excited that my baby will be born in the year of the rat, I am pretty excited about these great little keepsakes boxes based on the Chinese zodiac.  The Birth Year Box by Tree by Kerri Lee certainly beats the Kiehl’s box in which I’ve been storing all of my two year old’s baby mementos.

The lid of the box features a colorful illustration, along with the year, the words “Year of the Rat (or Rabbit, etc),” and the words “Welcome Baby.”  Each side of the lid is imprinted with the personality traits associated with the animal.

These fun little boxes are available in pink, turquoise, or mint and for the years 2004-2008.  You can purchase one for $38 at Tree By Kerri Lee.  This would also make a unique baby shower gift.

Here is a great photo album to capture and preserve all the memories of your new baby.  The album is hand-crafted to be extra special.  It has a linen-colored cover and a gold tassle that ties around the book’s binding.  I like the stork illustration on the front of the book, which has an antique look about it.  The album measures 9″ x 9″ and can hold up to 200 4″ x 6″ photos.  The pages are made from archival quality paper that is guaranteed to be acid-free.  There is space next to each photo for you to record additional notes and/or memories.

This would make a great gift for new parents, or a treasured heirloom for your own home.  You can purchase one for $39.95 from BlueberryForest.com.

The Binth Baby book is a nice alternative to all of the mass-produced baby books on the market. Created by the talented designers at Binth, this book features a woodland theme. Screen-printed on white recycled stock with a cloth cover, this book is simple, clean, and very aesthetically pleasing. It is 52 pages long, and the dimensions are 7.75 x 10.5. It is designed to hold memories and photos from the first three years of your child’s life. Even with a hefty price tag ($110), this book is so popular that it is sold out in many online shops. You can order one directly from Binth at binth.com.