Your baby's first year, made into a book for you

• Parents with 5,000 unsorted photos. You meant to make a baby book and the year got away. Pick your favourites in a few minutes and let the sorting, captions and layout be our job.
• Papas planning a gift. A first-year book for her first Mother's Day or the first birthday, made from the photos already on your phone.
• Parents-to-be. Volume 0: the bump months, the cravings and the godh bharai, while the photos are still fresh in the family group. We never ask or guess the baby's sex.
• Masi, bua and friends invited to a ceremony. A small book of the naamkaran or annaprashan, from photos the family shares with you, makes a gift they will keep on the shelf.

• **Soft pastel watercolour**: muted peach, sage and powder blue washes. Our default.
• **Marigold heritage**: genda phool garlands and toran borders, made for naamkaran and the first birthday.
• **Regional ceremony motifs**: alpana for mukhe bhaat, kolam for valaikappu, phulkari for a first Lohri.
• **Minimal editorial**: lots of white space, full-page photos and small captions.
• **Polaroid scrapbook**: tilted instant-photo frames, washi tape and handwritten-style captions.
• **Dadi-Nani large print**: big type, Devanagari captions and fewer photos per page, for grandparents' copies.

Naamkaran

Often in the first weeks after birth, though the day and the customs vary by family, region and community. A book of the day the baby got their name.

Annaprashan, mukhe bhaat, choroonu

In many families around six months, though practice varies. The first bite, the plate and the object baby picked.

First birthday

The whole year leading up to the cake. Start a few weeks early so the printed book is there for the party.

Baby's first Diwali, Oct to Nov

The first diyas and rangoli, in a first-year chapter or a small book of its own.

First Lohri, Pongal or Sankranti, Jan

Bonfires, til and new clothes. A favourite chapter for winter babies.

Godh bharai, seemantham, valaikappu

In many families in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy, with customs that differ by region. The start of Volume 0.

Mother's Day and Father's Day, May and June

A new parent's first. The baby's year makes a gift that needs no explaining.

When grandparents visit or leave

A printed copy to carry home, or a digital one to open every evening.

You confirm you have the right to use the photos before every book, and we never use photos for ads. For illustrated books, up to three photos are used once to draw the character and then deleted.

Read how we handle your data

• Your baby's first-year book: what to include, month by month
• Indian baby ceremonies from godh bharai to mundan: what happens, when, and what to photograph
• Annaprashan: at what age, what happens and what to photograph
• Baby milestones from 0 to 12 months, and the Indian ceremonies that fall alongside them
• First birthday album titles: ideas in English, Hindi and Hinglish
• Godh bharai, seemantham, valaikappu, shrimant: India's baby showers explained