Baby's First Year Photo Album: How to Plan It (Without the Stress)

In the first year, you'll take more photos than in the previous five combined — and have less time than ever to do anything with them. A first-year album is one of the most treasured things a family can own. It's also one of the most postponed.

Here's how to make it happen without adding to the to-do list.

How many photos?

Aim for 60–100 photos:

• Birth and first days: 5–10
• Each month: 5–8
• First birthday: 5–10

With one photo per page, that's a 60–100 page album: substantial enough to feel like the book of the year. (More guidance in how many photos to put in an album.)

A month-by-month shot list

You don't need a professional shoot. A few recurring photos make the album feel intentional:

• The same spot every month. Same chair, same blanket, same toy beside the baby — the growth tells the story on its own.
• Firsts: first bath, first smile, first food, first steps, first time at the sea.
• People: grandparents, siblings, friends meeting the baby. These become the most precious pages.
• Ordinary moments: sleeping on a parent's chest, the messy high chair, the pram walk. They're the memories that fade fastest.
• Hands and feet: close-ups that show how tiny everything was.

Make it easy on yourself

• Heart your favourites as you go. Ten seconds at the end of each week saves hours later.
• Ask the family to share. Grandparents and partners often have the best shots of you with the baby. Gather them into one chat or shared album.
• Split it if a whole year is too much. Two albums, 0–6 months and 6–12 months, are easier to finish — and make a lovely pair.
• Send in order. Arrange photos from birth to birthday. Your album follows the order the photos arrive in the chat, so sending them in sequence keeps the story in order.

Make a copy for the grandparents

A first-year album is one of the most loved gifts for grandparents. With Foreva, a second copy of the same album to the same address is €10 cheaper — order two and hand one over at the birthday party. More ideas in photo album gift ideas people actually keep.

Doing it in five minutes

New parents don't have spare evenings for design software. With Foreva:

1. Open WhatsApp or Messenger and say hi.
2. Send 30–100 photos straight from your camera roll, in order.
3. Type DONE and give the album a title, like "Leo's First Year".
4. See the full preview in the chat within seconds — you'll be told if any photos are blurry or too dark.
5. Pay only if you love it. Your 20×20 cm hardcover arrives in 5–7 working days.

Privacy, for peace of mind

Baby photos are precious and personal. At Foreva, the album is built by AI, and we don't look through your photos. We delete them from our servers 24 hours after your album is printed. Read more on our privacy page.

The bottom line

A first-year album doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to exist. Pick a few photos a month, send them in order, and let the album do the remembering.

See how Foreva works.