The GENIUS Reason You Should Make An Email Address For Your Newborn Baby

By Lauren Turner

From personalized baby books to convenient apps, there are countless ways to track your baby's big milestones these days. But documenting your children's lives when you're busy raising them often falls at the bottom of the to-do list. The two empty baby books I received at a shower that are sitting in a closet somewhere come to mind! 

Which is why my friend's advice to start an email account for each of my kids is so genius.

It's as simple as signing your little one up and then emailing them whenever there's a memory that needs capturing. Pro tip: you might have to fudge their age since some services won't allow users under a certain limit. 

Just got their first steps on video? Email them the footage with the date in the subject line. Cracked you up with a hilarious phrase? Shoot them a message recounting their words. Scrolling through pictures of them after they fall asleep? Send a sweet note along with your favorite snap. 

I opened accounts for each of my boys, and not only do they now have emails with their names to use in the future, but I have an easy way to capture memories of them that's a little more lasting than the notes section on my phone. 

Beyond sharing those obvious milestones and fun photos, for me, it's become something more. I also use their accounts as a sort of journal to share stories about my husband and me or family history that I want them to know one day.

I've written about our vacations and even documented their birth stories. I find it's such a sweet way of communicating with them that I hope captures the nostalgia of these early years for them when they're older. 

I'm hopeful their full inbox will be something they cherish and read through fondly after I pass the accounts off to them some day. But for now, I've loved being able to keep track of all those memories in one place, all from my phone.