17 Creative Monthly Baby Picture Ideas For Monthly Milestones
You might think now that you won’t forget a moment of your baby’s first year—but for many parents, these 12 months can end up being a complete blur.
Want to make sure you don’t forget a single detail of this amazing year of change and growth? Monthly baby pictures can help you catalog every precious milestone so you can look back on them for years to come—plus they’re a great way to express your creativity and have some fun as a family.
While taking monthly baby photos is hardly a new idea, the idea of staging creative, one-of-a-kind milestone pictures to document your baby’s growth took off on social media with Pizza Baby in 2017, when mom and professional photographer Dani Leigh Giannandrea used pizza slices from her family’s favorite local pizza joint to track her son Enzo’s age and size. Giannandrea’s highly creative take on baby pics racked up the likes on social media and inspired other new parents to come up with their own approach to recording their baby’s milestones.
Ready to hop on this trend? Read on for baby's monthly picture ideas!
Preparing for Success: Setting the Stage for a Happy Baby During Monthly Baby Pictures
Great monthly milestone pictures start with a happy baby, so before you get started, make sure you’re receptive to your baby’s needs. Time your photo shoot so it takes place when your baby is well rested and fed, and be alert to their cues. If they seem uncomfortable or unhappy, take a break and wait to take pictures when they’re happier. Baby swings and rockers like the MamaRoo® Multi-Motion Baby Swing™ can be a great tool to help you calm your baby if they’re a little fussy—its natural, parent-like motions move like you do to comfort and entertain your baby.
Babies are very sensitive to their environment, so you should also pay attention to your surroundings—if it’s too hot or too cold or the sun is shining in your baby’s eyes, they won’t be comfortable and your monthly baby photos won’t turn out as well.
Creative Baby's Monthly Picture Ideas
Why not have some fun with your monthly baby photo shoot and take a series of milestone pictures that reflect your personal style (and maybe even a little humor)? We’ve rounded up 17 cool, out-of-the-box milestone picture ideas to help you capture how your baby changes month-over-month during the first year:
- In Your Arms: Don't miss a single memory with a heartwarming progression of monthly baby photos that document your baby mastering each new milestone—smiling at two months, holding a toy at four months, blowing raspberries at six months—as you hold them in your arms. Keep your clothing basic (think a crisp white blouse or black t-shirt) so the focus is on your baby.
- Rustic Minimalist: Does your style lean toward a rustic, farmhouse vibe? Set the stage for monthly baby photoshoots with a simple backdrop of butcher paper that has your baby’s age, likes and dislikes, and other of-the-moment information hand-lettered on the paper.
- Perfect Pennants: Score the picture-perfect shot every month with old-school pennants that mark your baby’s growth with style. You can purchase pre-made pennants or easily make your own with cardstock and a hot glue gun.
- Seasonal Themes: Mark your baby’s growth with photos that celebrate the passing of the seasons by incorporating seasonal themes into each photo—get inspired by our pumpkin-perfect milestone picture ideas for Thanksgiving photos.
- Dress-Up Days: Transform your baby into a character from your favorite stories and movies—we’re looking at you Baby Yoda.
- Prop it Up: Use props to document every month. Pose your baby with blocks that are pre-printed with numbers for each month, or get creative with and craft the numbers yourself with props like seasonal flowers or miniature cars.
- Digital Milestones: Not up to crafting a background for your baby monthly pictures? With editing software, you can easily add digital stickers or text for a modern twist on documenting milestones.
- Pizza Progression: Take pizza parties to a whole different level when you borrow the Pizza Baby’s idea! Order a 12-cut pizza from your favorite pizzeria every month; leave the same number of slices in the pizza box as your baby’s age and pose your baby alongside the pie.
- Balloons of Growth: Add a touch of whimsy to your monthly baby pictures with balloons—add one balloon every month until you’ve got a colorful dozen floating above your baby. Added bonus: older baby’s will often track the bouncing balloons with their eyes, helping you get a better shot of their delighted face.
- Stuffed Animal Comparison: Track your baby’s growth by taking your monthly milestone pictures with a favorite plush toy—you’ll be amazed to see how quickly your baby grows over the months.
- White Backdrop Simplicity: Sometimes, simple really is the way to go. Drape a white blanket and use it as a backdrop so the focus is on baby and how they’ve grown every month.
- Sweet Treat Time: Add a sweet twist to your monthly baby pictures by marking every month with a donut or cupcake; add one each month until you get to a full dozen. Once the year mark arrives, treat your baby to a smash cake and get a photo of them digging in.
- Colorful Candy Count: Here’s another sweet baby's monthly picture idea! Spell out your baby’s age with colorful candies, like Skittles or M&Ms. Be sure to keep these out of reach of the little one though.
- Chalk it Up: A chalkboard is the perfect backdrop for creatively showcasing your baby’s age and recording fun memories about the skills they’ve mastered every month.
- Quirky Quotes: Create witty speech bubble signs for your baby to “hold” for each monthly milestone photo. Ideas include “Hello, my name is…”, “They call me the sleep thief”, and “Here comes trouble.”
- Mirror Reflections: A reflective shot is twice as nice! Position your baby on a mirrored surface and snap a photo of them staring into their own sweet face.
- Make Your Own Backdrop: Get creative with your baby's monthly picture ideas. Use unique textures like bubble wrap as a background or create your own paper cut-outs for a fun backdrop that brings each month to life.
When Should I Take My Baby's Milestone Pictures?
As with everything with your baby, when it comes to taking milestone pictures you should always think safety first and take practical steps when setting up your baby monthly pictures so your little one is safe. Never leave them unattended, if you’re using chairs or swings as props, strap them in to avoid falls, and make sure TVs and furniture are secured to the wall.
To make the photo shoot go as smoothly as possible (and to capture the best monthly milestone pictures!), take photos after naptime so your baby is alert and more likely to be in a good mood.
While you’re setting up the shot, the MamaRoo Sleep® Bassinet is a safe, comfortable, and contained place for your baby to rest.
And remember that great monthly baby pictures are all about the details, so get close – close enough to hold their hand – before you start snapping away to artfully capture those rosy cheeks, darling dimples and shining eyes.
Take Your Best Shot
Milestone pictures are a wonderful way to remember every age and stage of your baby’s first year—and it can help you have fun together as a family as you set the stage and snap your monthly baby photos.
You can use the photos on your social media channels, of course, but you can also use them to create a sweet photo display in your home.
And if you’ve got great ideas for monthly milestone photos, we want to see them! Tag 4moms in your little one's photos and spread the joy of your baby's first year.
