This post is sponsored by Little Bellies, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everymom editorial board. We only recommend products we genuinely love.
I Went ‘Analog’ for a Month, and It Changed How I Mother
I’ve always loved capturing moments. Before kids, my camera roll was full of golden hour dinners, coffee shop corners, and too many “this would look cute on Instagram” photos to count. But somewhere along the way, motherhood turned that creative outlet into something else entirely. What used to feel fun started to feel like pressure. I’d catch myself thinking, “Wait, don’t touch that yet—let me take a picture.” And my kids? They started to notice, too. The second I pulled out my phone, I could almost see them disengage. Like, “Oh no, mom is taking pictures again.”
Social media didn’t help. It’s hard not to compare when you’re constantly scrolling through perfectly curated versions of motherhood. And I had to ask myself a question that made me a little uncomfortable: Am I taking these photos to actually remember our life, or to present a perfected version of it? At the start of the year, after the usual holiday chaos, I felt this strong urge to reset. I’m not a resolution person, and I’ve never successfully committed to anything like “Dry January,” but this felt different. I decided to log off Instagram for 30 days. No posting, no scrolling. Instead of my usual monthly photo dumps, I’d print my photos and do something tangible with them—something that lived in our home, not on a feed.
It just so happened that “analog hobbies” are having a moment this year, which made the transition feel a little less random and a little more fun. But what I didn’t expect? How my new analog hobby would end up completely changing the way I see myself as a mom.
Shifting my mindset from “how it looks” to “how it feels”
I can’t lie–the first week was weird. I kept instinctively reaching for my phone, not just to take pictures, but to do something with them. But once that feeling started to fade, something else took its place: presence. I stopped worrying about whether the lighting was perfect or if the background looked “clean.” And slowly, I started to see things differently. Our life isn’t aesthetic. It’s messy living rooms, mismatched pajamas, snack crumbs on the couch, and toys in every corner. And honestly? That’s where the magic is—where it had been all along.
I also realized I had been taking fewer photos of my kids’ faces before my digital detox. Because I was subconsciously taking photos for a potential “IG dump” I wanted to make sure they’re faces weren’t all over my feed (a personal preference for me). But when I removed that layer entirely, my camera roll shifted. I started taking photos the way our parents did back in the day. Not for anyone else. Just for us. Blurry, imperfect, and completely ours.
Creating a “living” family junk journal
Instead of posting my photos at the end of the month, I started printing them. I bought a small mobile photo printer and dug out one of the many unused journals sitting in my office. Then I grabbed whatever I could find—stickers, washi tape, old craft supplies from the playroom—and started what I now lovingly call our “family junk journal.” And the second my kids noticed what I was doing, they were all in.
They wanted to pick the photos. They wanted their own pages. They wanted full creative control—and honestly, that was the best part. What started as my little analog project quickly turned into something we were doing together. We filled pages with everything: pictures of them in dress-up costumes or making silly faces, random drawings, notes from school, and even their favorite snack wrappers. All of the behind-the-scenes stuff I hadn’t considered capturing before. Now, they ask me to take photos for the journal. “Mom, take a picture of this!” while proudly holding up a toy or showing off a new creation. And it feels so different. It feels like we’re documenting their world, not curating mine.
What I’ve loved the most about this project is seeing physical manifestations of their little minds. And noticing how much of their inner world revolves around their favorite people, around me. It’s so easy to feel like we’re doing this whole mom thing wrong in the digital age of comparison. But when I got the chance to see our life through their eyes, I finally accepted that it didn’t have to be perfect to be magical for them. The magic of their childhood—and my motherhood—was right there in the everyday moments all along.
Inviting you to capture your own little moments (and enter a giveaway!)
If there’s one thing I can share from this experience, it’s this: You don’t have to denounce all social media apps or start a digital detox to connect with your kids—but it is important to be intentional about the little moments.
This upcoming Mother’s Day, consider this your invitation to celebrate the mundane in your own way. We’ve even partnered with Little Bellies to bring that celebration to life with their #LittleMomentsBigFeelings campaign. In honor of Mother’s Day, Little Bellies is giving one lucky winner a Lumix S9 Camera—AKA, the dream tool for capturing all those beautifully unfiltered, real-life moments. You can enter by visiting littlebellies.com/little-moments from April 10-23 and sharing your own story.
And if you’re feeling inspired to capture memories with your kids in new ways, take this is as your sign. Maybe that looks like printing out pictures for a family photo album. Maybe it’s starting a perfectly imperfect family junk journal or scrapbook. Do whatever makes the most sense for you, but don’t wait to take the photo until the moment feels polished enough. Because the truth is, the moments that matter most usually aren’t the ones we plan. They’re the small, quiet, in-between ones.
Since becoming a young mama in 2020, Steph finds joy in creating beautiful yet relatable stories surrounding the raw realities of motherhood. She uses her real-life experiences and eight years of marketing expertise to produce authentic branded content that aligns with our reader’s interests.
McKenna Pringle, Assistant Editor of Branded Content
As the Assistant Editor of Branded Content, McKenna collaborates with our sales team by creating both written and social media content, collecting and analyzing performance data to report back to our partners, and assisting our editors with their everyday tasks to ensure a smooth and productive process.
This post is sponsored by Little Bellies, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everymom editorial board. We only recommend products we genuinely love.
