If you’re a new parent, or just got your #BFP like us, then you might be thinking about LGBTQ+ friendly baby memory books to record all those important milestones that will soon be happening.
I have a terrible memory! To save me any embarrassing moments in the future I need the perfect LGBTQ+ friendly baby memory book where I can record our family’s special moments. I want something fun to share with our future child when they’re all grown up. Something I can get all misty eyed over whenever I’m feeling sentimental.
When we started our search we kept thinking we’d found a good possibility only to then hit the back button when seeing that it included pages like ‘When Mummy met Daddy’. Not for us!
To save our lovely readers the same hassle here’s a list of all the LGBTQ+ friendly baby memory books we could find. This post is not sponsored and we haven’t seen any of these books in person. Hopefully this list will be a handy resource to save you from trawling through all the heteronormative offerings out there!
1. Our First Story
Our First Story create baby books for two mummies or two daddies. These books sound great to cover your whole journey as there’s a section for information about your donor and/or surrogate and pregnancy – no matter the route taken to get pregnant. There’s also plenty of space for photos as well as the usual milestones through to baby’s 1st birthday.
These books come as standard using mummies and daddies as the names of parents. Personalised versions, with different parent names or for a single parent, can be requested and printed individually.
The creators have other exciting projects in development including a record book for families who adopt and an IVF storybook. This site is one to watch!
Cost: from £25 plus shipping from the UK (Use the discount code MEEMAMAS10 at checkout for 10% off )
Available here: https://www.ourfirststory.co.uk
2. Ugly Duck Books
My Amazing Family and Me is a children’s record book created by friends Jesse and Kat. Jesse grew up with two mums, Sandi Toksvig (broadcaster/TV personality) and Peta Stewart (hotel business owner). Whilst Kat had a more conventional up bringing, with her mum, dad and three sisters.
This book is designed for alternative families and doesn’t specify the child’s age nor the gender and status of the grown ups in their lives. This means that all types of families can enjoy the fun of documenting a child’s life and personality.
If you are looking to record pregnancy and birth stories you might need a companion book to go with this purchase. The illustrations are cute and quirky and it looks like a lot of thought has been put into making this book as inclusive as possible.
Cost: £15.99 plus shipping from the UK (Use the discount code meemamas10 at checkout for 10% off )
Available here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/UglyDuckBooks?coupon=MEEMAMAS10
3. Rag & Bone Bindery
These books from Rag & Bone Bindery look stunning and have a range of different covers available so you’re sure to find one that makes you smile. You can choose to have pages for two moms, two dads, single parents or adoptive families. Other parent names, such as mum or mama, are available on request. The books are handmade and bound with ribbon and would make for a beautiful memento of baby’s first year.
Because of the quality of these books they’re on the higher end of the price scale but this family owned company have kindly offered a 20% discount for Meemamas readers!
Cost: from $65 plus shipping from the US (Use the discount code SHARETHELOVE at checkout for 20% off )
Available from: https://www.ragandbonebindery.com/collections/baby-s-first-book
4. Lilla Design London
This inclusive baby book by LILLA might be a bit plain on the outside but the inside is bursting with whimsical illustrations. I really love the style of this book. The illustrations are beautiful and it could also turn into a proper craft project if you want because they can be coloured in. There’s also the option to jazz up the cover with a calligraphy copper foiled name.
The page titles are thoughtful, with headings such as ‘The first time we saw you’. This means that those adopting or meeting their child a little later in their life can record their special moments without having to cross out titles.
The book uses plurals (us/we) when talking about parents, so might not be as suitable for single parents. It goes up to your child’s 2nd birthday and finishes with space to write a letter to them for the future.
Cost: from £29 plus shipping from the UK (Get £5 off orders over £20 with the code MEEMAMAS at checkout)
Available here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LillaDesignLondon
5. Little Pickle Crafting
Little Pickle Crafting is owned by a lesbian couple who started creating their own baby record books after being gifted ones that didn’t work for their family. Emma (mom) and Nat (omie) have created books that work for different types of families and allow them to use the terms that they are comfortable with. They sell books for couples, single parents and single/dual adoptive parents, as well as a ‘growing up book’ for older children.
The baby record book doesn’t include much space to record details about pregnancy, though it does have a ‘Before you arrived’ page. However, they sell a separate pregnancy journal which is also LGBTQ+ friendly. These books are great value at £20 each so I have to admit I’m very tempted to buy both!
Cost: £20 plus shipping from the UK (Use the discount code MEEMAMAS at checkout for 15% off the whole new site – updated January 2021)
Available here: https://www.littlepicklememories.com
6. Bushel and a Peck
This book from Bushel and a Peck is full of proper tongue in cheek humour and is definitely different to your standard baby book fare. The two mum’s who created this book spend time making stuff that is true to life. They create things about farting, babies being difficult, life being hard sometimes and life being great sometimes.
Although it does mention ‘mummy’ on occasion it pairs it with a more inclusive ‘my grown ups’ option to try and make it fully inclusive of everyone with children. For example – ‘mummy pee’d on this stick on (write in date) OR my grown ups found out I was joining their family on (insert date).’
This one could make for a fun present at a baby shower if the person you’re giving it to is up for a laugh!
Cost: £20 plus shipping from the UK (and they’ll even personalise the cover for free!)
Available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/672759844/baby-memory-book-funny-and-a-bit-cheeky
7. TheSweetRhino
The ‘Hello Baby’ range covers baby’s first year. These spiral bound books are quite simple and minimalist on the inside with a variety of covers and personalisation available. The book doesn’t mention parent names and pages referencing family include ‘All about your parents’ and ‘Family Tree’. One great thing about this book is if you want something with a bit more longevity you can add toddler pages to your purchase.
Cost: from £31.36 plus shipping from the US
Available here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheSweetRhino
8. Fabula Mundi
These books are spiral bound and feature incredibly cute hand drawn animal illustrations. It’s worth having a look at the different versions on offer as some allow you to choose the parents names and others are available in 11 different languages. You can also order custom books for not a whole lot extra money. The basic book covers your baby’s 1st year but you can choose a 3 or 5 year baby book if you prefer.
Cost: from £27.83 plus shipping from Italy
Available here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabulamundishop
9. Illustries
These ‘Hey Baby’ memory books have a contemporary design and are available in yellow, pink and blue. There’s plenty of space to record your pregnancy journey including scan pictures and a place for you to list pregnancy cravings and eww moments.
The book is gender neutral throughout and includes the question ‘when your parents got together?’. Because of this, and the pregnancy section, I think this book is most suitable for couples where one person is carrying the baby. It covers your family’s first year together, finishing with a very cute first year review.
Cost: £20.38 plus shipping from the UK
Available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/205637024/baby-journal-and-memory-book
If you’ve used any of these LGBTQ+ friendly baby memory books or have other recommendations please let us know in the comments!
God I wished this article existed 18 months ago! Felt so lonely trying to find the perfect book for our little one. Luckily found LoveLeafBooks on Etsy. Its perfect, you can customize it with the names you give each other, add pages in regards to your situation for example we have a donor page. And plenty of little details that makes it perfect. It goes until 5 years old. Love filling it out ?
Thank you so much for the lovely comment. I’m sorry this blog came too late for you but really hope it helps out a future parent who’s going through the same thing. I’ve just looked up LoveLeafBooks and they look like a great option, thank you for flagging them up! I’m glad you’re enjoying filling it out still, it’s really fun to have a record of all these amazing things – can’t wait to start on one ourselves! :)
We have the Our First Story book and it’s so lovely. We took it with us to our son’s first birthday party and everyone passed it around to have a read of it. Would definitely recommend that one. Very colourful and lots of spaces for photographs. It has a section with photos for each month, the usual ‘firsts’ and when everyone first met baby, how you conceived, the pregnancy etc.
That’s good to know, thank you for the recommendation! :) I love the idea of it being a talking piece at their first birthday party, that’s a great moment to look back at all those firsts and fun to share with friends and family. Will have to remember that!