YearChapter Journal

Stories that stay.

Writing tips, gift inspiration, and stories from parents who already captured their year, for those who write, those who read, those who want to find it again later.

More to read.

All articles, most recent first.

A mother sits at a kitchen table with a cup of coffee and an open notebook, soft daylight coming through a window, warm and calm atmosphere

What to do when your child is growing up and you barely kept track of the first year

You did not keep track of the first year and now your child is getting bigger. What you can still do, and why it is not too late.

An open notebook on a wooden table, soft morning light through a window, a steaming cup of coffee beside a hand holding a pen

How to know which questions to ask yourself to truly capture a memory

Not every memory calls for a full story. But the right question makes the difference between a detail that stays and a moment that disappears.

An adult hand holding an open notebook on a wooden table, soft daylight coming through a window on the left side, warm tones, calm composition

What your child will have of you when you are no longer here

Not as a grand thought, but as a simple question: what remains of who you were as a parent? Leaving memories for your child starts small.

A smartphone showing photos of a baby on the screen, resting on a wooden table next to an open notebook, warm daylight coming through a window

Why a digital photo is not a memory but only a file

You have thousands of photos of your child, but when you look back at them you sometimes cannot remember what you felt. That is not a coincidence.

An open notebook on a hospital bedside table next to a small soft toy, gentle daylight coming through a window in the background

What to do with memories of when your child was ill and you would rather not look back

Not everything you have been through is something you want to keep. But sometimes time changes what a memory means to you.

An open notebook on a wooden table, beside two small pairs of children's shoes in different sizes, soft daylight coming from the side

What happens to memories when your second child arrives

When a second child comes along, something shifts in the memories of your first. Not because you forget them, but because time starts moving differently.

Open yearbook on a wooden table in soft morning light, with a cup of coffee beside it and a hand turning a page

How to find what you wrote once the yearbook is printed

Making a yearbook is one thing. But what do you do when you want to find something specific in everything you wrote down?

A toddler sits on a parent's lap looking at an open book of photos, soft daylight falling through a window onto the pages

What you can already share with your toddler about who they were as a baby

Your toddler is long past the baby stage, but the story of that first year does not have to be lost. You can share it with them now, in a way that fits who they are today. Your toddler is long past the baby stage, but the story of that first year does not have to be lost. You can share it with them now, in a way that fits who they are today.

A small gift wrapped in kraft paper on a wooden table next to a cup of tea, soft daylight coming through a window

What to give when the baby is already here and you missed the baby shower

The baby has arrived, the baby shower is over, and you are empty-handed. What do you give now, without it feeling like an obligatory catch-up?

An open yearbook on a wooden table in soft morning light, with a small child's hand touching the page

Why a yearbook for your child is different from a photo book for yourself

A photo book you make for yourself. A yearbook for your child you make for someone who will one day want to know who they were, and how you saw them.

Two hands holding an open notebook together on a wooden table in soft daylight

What to do when you and your partner remember the same moment very differently

You were both there, but your memories do not match. That is normal, and it is actually something to value.

An open notebook on a wooden table beside a cup of tea, soft daylight from a window on the left, warm tones, quiet composition

What to give a pregnant friend when you don't want to give what everyone gives

Another onesie, another gift card for a photoshoot: sometimes you want to give something that truly means something. These are the options that do.

A mother and child sitting together on a sofa, warm daylight through a window, an old photo album open on their laps

Talking with your child about the early years when you have barely written anything down

Many parents only realise how little they have recorded when their child starts asking questions. That is not a failure, but a beginning.

An open journal on a wooden table in soft morning light, with a small children's shoe beside it and a cup of coffee in the background

What you forget when your child is no longer so small

The big milestones you still remember well. But the small things, what an ordinary Tuesday felt like, have slipped away more quietly than you ever expected.

An open notebook on a wooden table next to a steaming cup of coffee, soft morning light falling through a window onto the pages

How to know whether you are preserving memories or just storing them

There is a difference between storing a memory and truly preserving it. It is not about the number of photos, but about what you write alongside them.

An open notebook on a wooden table next to a cup of tea, soft daylight falling through a window onto the pages

When your child wants to know who they were as a baby

One day your child asks the question you did not see coming. How do you make sure you have something to tell them?

An open notebook on a wooden kitchen table, soft daylight through a window, a child's drawing and a cup of coffee beside it

How to write as a family without it feeling like a chore

Keeping memories together as a family sounds lovely, but it often falls apart over who does it and when. Here is how it can still work.

An open notebook with a few handwritten lines on a rumpled blanket on the sofa, a cup of tea beside it, soft morning light through a sheer curtain

How you can still remember how it felt later, not just how it looked

Photos show what your baby looked like. But how it felt to sit there, at three in the morning, with that small head against your chest — that disappears if you don't write it down.

An open notebook on a wooden table next to a small children's shoe, soft morning light falling through a window

Why your child won't want to know how perfect it all was

Capturing memories for your child is not about beautiful photos and carefully chosen words. It is about what was really there.

An open notebook on a wooden table, a hand resting lightly beside it, soft daylight falling from a window onto the pages

How YearChapter knows what to ask you

YearChapter does not present you with a standard checklist. The questions you receive are tailored to what you have already written, as though someone is reading along who truly knows your story.

An open notebook on a wooden table beside a small baby sock, soft morning light falling through a window

Keeping track of the first year: why it is harder than you expected

The first year flies by while you barely get the chance to capture anything. Here is how to do it anyway, without it becoming a chore.

Parent at home with a phone full of private photos of their child

Share your child without giving it to the whole world

You do not have to choose between putting everything on social media or nothing. This is how you let only the people you invite follow your child, without algorithm, likes or audience.

Baby hand gripping a parent's finger

Before you know it, they are crawling

You remember the milestones on your own. The small things fade. How to capture everyday moments with one sentence in the moment itself, before you forget them.

Pregnant woman writing in a notebook by the window

Starting before the baby arrives

You do not have to wait until your child is here to begin. The months before have their own story. What to capture during pregnancy, and how.

Mother and child on Mother's Day

A unique Mother's Day gift that lasts, beyond flowers.

What do you give a mother who already has everything? Not more things, a year of her child, captured by everyone who reads along. How to wrap it beautifully, and what to write inside.

Pen and notebook on a table

What do you write in chapter 01?

The first page is always the hardest. Three writing prompts that work, whether you start three days, three weeks, or three months late.

Grandad holding a baby on his lap

"The book her grandad never got."

A mother lost her father before her daughter was born. This is how YearChapter became a way to let him read along in his granddaughter's book.

A wrapped gift with a ribbon

5 gift ideas for an expecting mum

Not yet another baby-shop voucher. Five gift ideas for an expecting mum, including one gift that runs for a whole year: capturing memories.

Grandad holding a baby on his lap

How to get grandparents writing along

Not everyone is comfortable with an app. Three gentle ways to get grandad and grandma writing in your child's YearChapter book, without hassle or extra accounts.

Open book with linen cover

The yearbook up close: paper, cover, print

What makes a YearChapter book different from a photo book? FSC paper, linen cover, printed in Europe. How to keep the first year on paper that lasts generations.

Father holding his baby

"Only after a year did we understand what we had captured."

Parents Sanne and Tijmen leafed through their YearChapter book after a year. This is what they saw, what they had forgotten, and why they keep writing.

Coffee and notebook by the window

Writing when you have no time

Three minutes a day. Three sentences a week. How to make YearChapter work for people who would never sit down to write.

Baby shower gift with ribbon

Baby shower gift: 3 things they will not get twice

Three baby shower gifts they will not get twice. No onesies or blankets, but a gift that runs through the whole first year and ends in a printed book.

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