Moms and dads will differ wildly on how to capture memories of little Johnny or Janie. Moms will want some felt, silver and bow-tied memory book with dainty tissue between the pages, while guys will opt for a new camcorder or the latest digital camera. Actually, mom might push you to buy either or both of these and you should take her up on it since it’s one piece of technology you’ll really need – people have lived for millions of years without bottle warmers and baby monitors, but throughout time proud parents have been making images of new babies, if only to scrawl them on the cave wall next to the pictures of the great deer chase. 

I have one more piece of memory-capturing advice for you. Get a calendar, any calendar (though we used one like these: baby calendar) and use it to write in milestones, events, new baby skills, words as they happen. It won’t be until many months in that you realize that so many things that seemed so precious and unforgettable meld into each new and precious moment. It’s obviously impossible to remember it all, but if you don’t write at least a little of it down, believe me, it will all be a big fuzzy patch in your memory. I can not tell you today when my son first smiled or when my daughter first walked, or what their first words were, though each of these events and so many more were major milestones in our lives. And perhaps it doesn’t really matter because I remember the emotions, but if I ever “need” to know, or want to remember, I know where the data is, and it isn’t in that unopened baby book with the satin bow on it sitting on the shelf.

– Paul Banas

San Francisco, California