"It’s no secret babies change a lot in their first year. They start as tiny nuggets who love snuggling, then grow into wiggly, smiling creatures who eventually begin rolling, crawling, and some even walking before their first birthday. And many parents want to capture the amazing changes in their little ones by taking monthly baby photos.
Whether you want to share your monthly baby photos on social media, capture them for a baby book, or print them out for gifts or wall art, there are so many easy and creative ways to showcase your baby’s growth. Here, we’re sharing over 20 monthly baby photo ideas, with a few props to shop to add to your baby registry or grab after your baby’s born. Read on for these monthly baby photo ideas we love.
Easy Monthly Baby Photo Ideas
1. With a Pennant
Give your monthly baby photos a vintage feel with numbered pennants. Plus, you can use each one as a birthday prop as your little one grows.
2. In the Same Chair
For one of the easiest baby photo ideas, plop your little one in the same seat month after month and see how they grow and change—and whether they’ll stay still enough for a photo once they’re on the move!
3. With a Milestone Card
Monthly baby photo signs and cards are fun items to add to your baby registry, especially now that they’re available from most retailers, including tons of cute options on Etsy—from simple discs to fun shapes like this hot air balloon.
4. With a Chalkboard Sign
Add milestone details to a customizable chalkboard in each month’s photo.
5. With Monthly Baby Blocks
Whether you use numbers from your existing set of traditional baby blocks or purchase personalized blocks, these monthly baby photo props double as toys.
6. With a Letterboard Sign
Add a letterboard sign to your baby registry, and you’ll be able to use it from birth through those first day of school pictures.
7. With the Same Toy or Stuffed Animal
Placing a toy or stuffed animal next to your baby will help you see how much they’ve grown each month. And makes the photo that much cuter!
8. With a Laser Cut Sign
Using a wooden laser-cut photo prop sign is the perfect minimalist monthly baby photo option.
9. With a Monthly Blanket
Grab a monthly blanket photo prop that doubles as a play mat.
10. In Monthly Onesies
Buy or craft a cute monthly onesie for baby to wear in their photo each month. Make the photo even more interesting by including a few of their favorite things.
11. Mirror Selfies With Mom
Capture how you’re both changing each month with cute mommy and me mirror selfie pics!
12. Held Up by Mom or Dad
Another super easy monthly baby photo idea: Hold your baby up against a blank or meaningful background—like a wall in their nursery or outside to see the seasons change.
13. While They’re Asleep
No one wants to risk waking a sleeping baby, but photographing a sleeping baby can make monthly baby photos a lot easier whether choosing to shoot overhead in their crib or posing them on the floor. Adding props nearby like pillows, hats, or toys can add some interest. Just remember to remove them after the photoshoot to follow safe sleep guidelines.
14. In a Moses Basket
A Moses basket works as another fun prop for size comparisons each month.
15. With Seasonal Accents
A letterboard sign and a few seasonal accents make this monthly baby photo op clean and creative.
16. With Nature Accents
Grab some inspiration from nature using flowers, leaves, holiday garland, or other natural accents to create the number in your baby’s monthly photo.
17. With Their Siblings
Capturing baby’s growth alongside their siblings is another sweet monthly photo idea you’ll love looking back on.
18. In the Same Outfit
It’s no secret babies grow quickly. Buy a cute personalized sweater or outfit in a larger size, and watch your little one fill it out and eventually outgrow it through their first year.
19. On a Personalized Baby Blanket
Blankets create an easy background for monthly baby photos. Consider a pretty heirloom blanket or one with baby’s name or monogram for a special photo.
20. Using an App
No props needed! With baby photo apps like Baby Story, you can turn any photo into a monthly baby picture.
21. Use a Pizza to Mark the Months
The pizza baby monthly photo idea from mom and family photographer Dani Leigh Giannandrea went viral a few years back—and we can see why. Who doesn’t love a pizza pie?
Tips for Taking Monthly Baby Photos
From personal experience, taking monthly baby photos works best when baby is fed and happy. If using props, set them up during nap time so you can smoothly transition baby for their photo op. Use natural light, like a nearby window, and consider using your phone’s Live Photo setting since they can wiggle quite a bit as they get older. And perhaps the most important tip of all: don’t stress if you miss taking the photo on the actual day each month. Your baby will never know the difference.
Kathy Sisson, Senior Editor
A mom of two, Kathy is passionately committed to sharing the honest, helpful—and often humorous—stories of motherhood, as she navigates her own everyday adventures of work, marriage, and parenting. She honed her creative and strategic skills at advertising agencies in Detroit and Chicago, before pivoting from marketing to editorial. Now instead of telling brand stories, she’s sharing her own, with articles published across popular parenting sites—including hundreds of stories on The Everymom.