It can be a heroic challenge for parents to find the time to chronicle the most important moments of their child’s dynamic first year. During those maiden days of parenthood, time and energy are beyond maxed-out by around-the-clock feedings, diaper changes by the dozen, and learning to decode and calm a fussy baby, all on little to no sleep.
When Arizona-based designer Haily Meyers became pregnant with her first child, she was overjoyed to welcome this little life into the world, and began designing baby bump sticker sets as an expression of her happiness and excitement. And like many new moms, she purchased a baby book before her daughter was born and excitedly anticipated creating a beautiful, lasting record of her baby’s “firsts.” But once her little girl arrived on the scene, Haily found herself caught up in the exhilarating and exhausting whirlwind of motherhood. She only got halfway through before calling it quits, due to the labor-intensive process (see what we did there?) required to complete the book.
As a result, Haily, like many moms, developed a case of what she calls “baby book guilt.” But rather that beat herself up over the bespoke baby book she dreamed of crafting but could never find the time to complete, she conceived a design-minded solution that would put an end to “baby book guilt” once and for all.
Her Baby’s First Year Memory Book is an elegant, no-fuss baby journal that allows new parents to capture their tot’s most darling moments with minimal effort. Each lovely spread is fully decorated with a unique animal motif and requires only a photo of the child and a few hand-written notes, musings, or memories from mom or both the child’s parents.
Recently, she took the time to chat with us about how she designed her beautiful baby book, which real, sleep-deprived parents can actually complete.
Can you tell us, from start to finish, how the book is made?
I loved the process of creating this book. I started by looking at our top-selling sticker and closet divider designs and landed on creative with animals and flowers that I thought would translate beautifully in a book format. Once I knew the creative themes, I dove into the individual pages and content. This was so fun. I researched baby books, took polls from my mommy friends, dreamt up pages I would love to see in a baby book, and voilà! Baby’s First Year Memory Book was created.
What is your favorite part of the design process?
My favorite part of the process has to be the research. I love diving into projects, whether I’m researching animals, locations, or even participating in focus groups, I find that research inspires me to create.
How do you hope people react when they receive your design?
When people see our memory book I hope they love the illustrations and feel empowered to create a forever keepsake. The whole purpose of creating this book was to enable busy parents to document and remember their baby’s adorable moments forever in a stress-free way. This journal is unique in that it only needs photos and a few words added throughout, as each page is artfully designed to intentionally take pressure off parents without sacrificing a pretty aesthetic.
Do you have any memorable customer feedback you’d like to share?
My favorite feedback has to be when I hear customers buying the book for their child, who is now three or four, and they are going back and filling in the pages because it’s that simple. Usually this parent never got around to finishing their first baby book and it’s awesome to see them recognizing the ease of this book and purchasing it for the exact reason it was created.
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