There is no doubt that I am an extremely nostalgic and sentimental person. I love family stories from the past, places that my family has marked as ours over the years, and treasures passed down through generations. I love looking back over albums of as well as letters to and from my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. As such, I want to do as best of a job as I can collecting and creating lasting memories, mementos, and treasures for my children. This starts with pregnancy! It is important to me to remember and document the milestones of this pregnancy and hopefully future ones to come.
This blog allows me to create digital memories of my pregnancy but nothing replaces the tangible. I know there are other mothers and mothers-to-be out there like me so I’m excited to share a few keepsakes items for remembering and marking the fleeting, beautiful, special time of pregnancy and of having a newborn baby. Keep reading for my pregnancy keepsake ideas.
P.S. I’m wearing an old Sail to Sable dress in these photos that was part of a collaboration they did with Palm Beach Lately. Also, the two baby books you see are written up below (the Sugar Paper Baby Book and the LouLou Baker Baby Book). Here are my desk links: desk, chair, lamp, lamp shade, pen holder, similar pens.
Pregnancy Keepsake Ideas
Baby Books
Baby books are the best way to record your pregnancy and mark pregnancy memories. I have two baby books that I absolutely adore, the LouLou Baker Baby Book and the Sugar Paper Baby Book (also available here). I have two baby books because the Sugar Paper Baby Book covers more of pregnancy and the LouLou Baker book covers more of the baby’s first year. Also, with a first baby, one baby book just wasn’t enough!
Baby books are special because they act as pregnancy journals for pregnant women and mothers to write notes to their children, record special moments, save photographs of their baby bumps, save hospital keepsakes, and take note of pregnancy memories like pregnancy cravings and the first kicks from the growing baby. I also love the idea of baby books because pregnant women and mothers can sit down and write in them from time to time as their pregnancy progresses or as their baby grows. It is an experience for mothers that lasts so it is enjoyable, exciting, and not stressful (aka you don’t have to sit down and complete the book in one sitting).
If you want to record your pregnancy journey and the life of your newborn, then take a peak at these beautiful baby books:
LouLou Baker Baby Book // Sugar Paper Baby Book
The Story of You Baby Book // Customizable Monogrammed Baby Books
Baby Memory Book // Baby Journal // Le Petitie Baby Book
Keepsake Baby Kit
Hannah Bergen has created a line of beautiful items and keepsake kits to encourage story gathering. I honestly can’t think of a concept I love more! Her keepsake baby kit is a simple, lasting way to collect, keep and share the cherished mementos and stories of a baby’s birth and childhood milestones. Everything you will need to record and preserve baby’s memories can be found in this paper covered hinged box with sections for archival quality tags, books, pen and much more. A personal collection created with love, this special kit is sure to help create a personalized heirloom-worthy collection to celebrate the newest addition to the family.
Her keepsake baby kit (also available here) is one such special item that allows parents to cherish the ins and outs of their little one! It is a great alternative to or add-on to a baby book.
Memory Trunks
The company Petite Keep started with the goal of preserving and cherishing childhood with their memory trunks. Their memory trunks offer a beautiful way to classically preserve your mementos for generations to come. I love these as a beautiful alternative to large plastic bins with each child’s name sharpied on them that collect dust in the attic. Each trunk is curated with a handmade, custom liner adding to the elegance of these trunks. These memory trunks are perfect for you or anyone you know who is deeply sentimental!
Milestone Cards
As your baby grows month by month, you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss a minute. That goes for not missing an opportunity to record your little love bug’s growth. Milestone cards make this incredibly easy! Photograph your baby’s first year of life with charming milestone cards so you can easily see your baby’s growth and look back to know exactly how old your baby was.
There are a few adorable options out there that will allow mothers or fathers to simply snap a photo of their baby at each month. Bonus: you can add these milestone cards and corresponding photos to your baby books! I love the selection of milestone cards from Dixie Designs. This set of woodland animals milestone cards is particularly fun. LouLou Baker also has a sweet collection of watercolor animal milestone cards that corresponds with her baby book (see above).
Birth Announcements
Birth announcements are just about the sweetest piece of snail mail their is to receive! There is nothing as joyful as bringing a new life into this world so why not shout your excitement from the rooftops by sending out a birth announcement? If you know the gender of your baby, you can start selecting or designing a birth announcement while pregnant and then finalize it once you know the name, birth date, weight, and length after the baby arrives. Otherwise, you can do your birth announcement after your sweet baby’s arrival one day when your baby is napping.
Your favorite Instagram artist or favorite local paper and stationery store can certainly design you a gorgeous birth announcement. I also recommend browsing the beautiful, whimsical, and unique birth announcements from Dixie Designs as they curate a gorgeous selection from artists around the country. Minted also has a wealth of lovely options for birth announcements that aren’t to be missed.
Silver Treasures: Baby Cups, Bubble Blowers, and Rattles
My mother and one of my grandmothers have always put a great importance on beautiful, heirloom, traditional, craftsman fine silver. They both have gorgeous silver pieces from around the world and stunning silver collections. One of my mom’s silver collections happens to be baby cups. She hunts for baby cups and has found them with names of our family members as well as beautiful ones she finds to be particularly special. My siblings and I each have baby cups from our grandparents, which are treasured items.
At my recent baby shower in California, Edwin’s mother and sister gave me Edwin’s engraved silver baby cup and his engraved silver rattle from when he was a baby (as seen in these photos!). I’m over the moon about them and so touched that they will now be cherished in our house! My mom recently gifted Allison a hand engraved bubble blower for her son William with his name and birthday on it. Such a special gift idea!
If you want a lasting heirloom status pregnancy keepsake or are looking for a treasured baby gift to give a loved one, then I highly suggest a silver baby cup, bubble blower, or rattle. If you are wondering where to find such a special gift, then you’ve come to the right place! You can visit your local antique stores that have a wide selection of silver and talk with them about what you are looking for.
I also can’t recommend two of my favorite most one-of-a-kind Charleston destinations enough:
Croghan’s Jewel Box and The Silver Vault. Both stores are run by absolute pros in the industry. They can help you here locally, over the phone, or online as both have great e-commerce shops. Both Croghan’s and The Silver Vault offer hand engraving services too so you can personalize your silver baby cup, rattle, or bubble blower. There is also always Tiffany, which has set a standard for beautiful silver baby gifts.
Charms and Charm Bracelets
Starting a charm bracelet for a baby girl is an incredibly lovely and sentimental pregnancy keepsake idea. My mother started my sister and I each a charm bracelet when we were born that she and my two grandmothers all contributed charms to. Charm bracelets are so special because they become collectors items that end up telling the story of your life as you can find charms for special life milestones, travels, and so much more. Fore more thoughts on why charm bracelets are so treasured, read this book, “My Mother’s Charms.”
When it comes to collecting charms or starting a charm bracelet, I’d suggest making your first stop be Charm Co. Charm Co has the most incredible, unique, and diverse collection of charms out there! What makes Charm Co so special in my mind? Well, they have it all! Charm Co collects vintage charms from all over the world for a touch of history.
They also have engravable charms that can be specialized with names, birthstones, places, and dates.
I have this custom calendar charm that was a wedding present from my parents with a diamond on October 28th, 2017 (our wedding date). I cherish it! Charm Co also has enamel charms, gemstone charms, and more. My mom even found me a University of Colorado charm (where I went to college) once on Charm Co. They find such unique charms! Charm Co also has bracelets to choose from to start your charm collection around. P.S. Should I work for Chair Co? Haha I clearly love them!
In addition to Charm Co, Croghan’s Jewel Box is always adding to their selection of charms and Tiffany has timeless charms as well (I love their keys!).
A final charm suggestion I have is Helen Ficalora charms. I have a few Helen Ficalora charms that I wear on necklace chains. I think her charms make for beautiful pregnancy keepsake ideas for mothers that also double as push presents. She has initial charms and birthstone charms that are wonderful push present ideas as well as this cute mom charm!
Specialty Baby Clothing
My mom was amazing at finding us the most adorable smocked and uniquely embroidered outfits as babies and children but we don’t have specialty heirloom clothing that is passed down through generations in our family or clothing of ours that my mom saved for our children. However, I know families who have pieces like beautiful baptism outfits that are passed down from generation to generation and child to child, which I think is so special. There is definitely some necessary clothing preservation that goes into this but any dry cleaner that specializes in preserving wedding dresses could easily handle this.
If you are looking to start your own tradition of speciality baby clothing as a pregnancy keepsake, then I suggest taking a look at the gorgeous outfits at Over The Moon. They have clothing in cotton, satin, taffeta, and organza.
Photo Locket
Simply put, I just adore lockets. There is no better way to keep your loved ones close to your heart at all times than to tuck their photo away in a locket to be worn daily or for special occasions. When it comes to push presents or pregnancy keepsake ideas that double as gifts for mothers, a locket is my top choice! Lockets also become beautiful family heirlooms that can be passed down to your daughter or your daughter-in-law. They are worth the investment as they will be cherished for years to come.
There are a lot of locket options out there from affordable plated options to Tiffany locket options but my favorite lockets by far are the lockets designed by Monica Rich Kossan. They are stunning and special in every single way. It is hard to choose a favorite but if I had to, I’d pick this feminine oval diamond star locket. I’m just in love! This ‘I Love You More’ Posey Ring Necklace is also a gorgeous push present/pregnancy keepsake idea.
Engraved Name or Monogram Ring
Jane Pope Jewelry designs the most stunning unique and beautiful jewelry. I have always loved her engraved name and monogram rings beyond words. I think this makes for an exceptional push present and is just a wonderful way for mothers to wear something on a daily basis that allows them to remember their pregnancy and hold their baby close.
Jane Pope Jewelry makes a lovely hand engraved name ring with the option of adding a diamond and the option of either cursive hand engraving or block hand engraving. She also designs a classic monogram hand engraved pinky ring. You can choose one, two, or three letters for the monogram pinky ring. I go back and fourth on which one I love the most!
Christmas Memories Book
This Christmas Memories Book is currently sold out but you can set a notification to tell you when it is available again (I’m guessing it will become available this fall closer to the holidays). While this isn’t specific to pregnancy, I still think it is a fitting item to include in this post because it is a way to take record of each holiday season. I love the idea of starting one for each child I have! I love Christmas and holiday cards so this has my name all over it!
This Christmas memories book is special because it is essentially a 20 year diary of the holidays. Each year features a pen and ink drawing of a different 19th century tradition, accompanied by an explanation of the holiday custom featured. Use the Christmas memory book to record holiday visitors and to save your Christmas cards, holiday family photographs, and other memories. If you’re expecting a holiday baby, this book could be especially sentimental because you’ll be celebrating a holiday season birthday every year in your family. P.S. I found it on Amazon here.
Christmas Stocking
My siblings and I are incredibly lucky to have had two grandmothers who needlepointed so we each have two beautiful Christmas stockings. Hanging my needlepoint stockings every holiday season, brings me so much joy and warms my heart as I think about my beautiful grandmothers. Needlepointing a Christmas stocking is a wonderful pregnancy keepsake idea because you can start it when you find out you are pregnant and have months to work on it. You can save the name at the top for last and do it once your baby arrives and you know the baby’s name for certain.
Needlepoint.com has a vast selection of Christmas stockings to choose from as well as a few cute items for baby’s first Christmas. I also recommend visiting your local needlepoint store as they always curate a wonderful selection of Christmas stockings that they plan way out in advance. Our local needlepoint shop, Cabbage Row, in Charleston has tons of stocking canvases year round. Needlepoint shops always have canvas painters on staff or that they work with too who you can create a custom Christmas stocking with (this is what my grandmothers did).
If you don’t have a local needlepoint shop, then I’d suggest reaching out to a needlepoint store or account you love on Instagram to see if they have a selection or if they themselves can paint or recommend you to a custom canvas painter. My favorite needlepoint accounts to follow are: Le Point Studio, JCB Stitches, Silver Stitch Needlepoint, Pip and Roo Needleworks, Plum Design, Sara Fitz Studio, Erica Wilson, Ann Kaye Studio, Lycette Designs, Anne Fisher Needlepoint, Stitch Haus, Morgan Julia Needlepoint, and Alice and Blue Needlepoint.
I See Me! Personalized Books
I See Me! is a company that makes personalized children’s books so every child can feel special and see themselves in the pages they look at and read. The goal of their books is to show each child how unique and special he or she is, to teach the child how to spell his or her name, and to build vocabulary skills. I See Me! has so many unique books to choose from around every stage of children’s lives, the holidays, and more. I love the idea of starting a baby his or her own collection of personalized books with his or her name!
I hope this post gave you some inspired or new pregnancy keepsake ideas! If you aren’t pregnant or are done having children, use this post as a guide for what to give loved ones who are expecting. I think each idea is extra special and unique!
Photography by Edwin Eversole
