What Should I Do Before My Baby Turns One?

Your baby’s first birthday is getting closer, and suddenly you may find yourself wondering:

“Is there anything I should do before my baby turns one?”

Perhaps you’ve started thinking about their birthday celebration. Maybe you’re looking back at newborn photographs and wondering where that tiny baby went. Or perhaps life is simply so busy that you haven’t had much chance to think about it at all.

There’s no checklist you have to complete before your baby turns one.

But there are a few lovely things you can do to help you notice this chapter before you move into the next one.

At almost one, your baby is becoming wonderfully themselves.

Perhaps there’s a particular expression they make when they’re excited. A favourite toy they carry everywhere. The way they scrunch their nose when they laugh. Their determination as they crawl towards something they absolutely shouldn’t have.

These tiny details can become so familiar that we barely notice them.

So before their birthday arrives, spend a little time simply noticing.

What makes them laugh?

What are they fascinated by?

What little mannerism feels completely and unmistakably them?

You don’t need to write everything down or turn it into another motherhood task.

Just notice.

Because this is the little person you’re celebrating.

And if you’re wondering how on earth we’ll create beautiful artwork when your little one never seems to stop moving, I’ve written about what happens when your baby won’t sit still for their first birthday portraits.

It can be surprisingly emotional to look back at photographs from your baby’s earliest days.

The tiny fingers. The sleepy expressions. The clothes that once seemed enormous.

Then look at the little person in front of you now.

So much has happened in less than twelve months.

Your baby has grown — but your family has grown around them too.

If approaching that first birthday is making you unexpectedly emotional, that’s something I explored in an earlier Moore & Moore Journal article about why your baby’s first birthday can feel so emotional.

That mixture of pride, happiness and where did that year go? is something so many parents recognise.

It’s easy to start with what you think you should organise.

The party.
The decorations.
The cake.
The guest list.

Instead, try beginning with a different question:

How do I want our family to feel when we celebrate this?

Joyful?

Relaxed?

Connected?

If that’s what matters most, let those feelings guide your choices.

A meaningful first birthday doesn’t need to be a big production.

In fact, if the thought of organising everything is already making you tired, you might enjoy our Journal article about [celebrating your baby’s first birthday without feeling overwhelmed].

There is no prize for making this milestone more complicated than it needs to be.

This one matters.

Take a look through the photographs from your baby’s first year.

How many are you actually in?

Mums are so often the person taking the photograph, arranging the moment or standing just outside the frame.

And yet, when your child eventually looks back at their first year, you are part of what they’ll want to see.

Not because you had the perfect outfit.

Not because you looked particularly polished.

Simply because you were their mum.

You were there for the cuddles, the difficult nights, the first smiles and the ordinary Tuesdays.

Your place in their story matters.

Your baby’s first birthday also marks something else:

you’ve completed your first year together.

There may have been moments when you wondered whether you were getting any of it right.

And yet here you are.

Your baby has been loved, comforted, encouraged and cared for through an extraordinary year of change.

That’s worth recognising.

We explored this more deeply in the Journal article about why the first year of motherhood deserves to be celebrated too.

You don’t need a medal or a grand announcement.

But perhaps you do deserve a quiet moment to look at your baby and think:

Look how far we’ve come.

The balloons eventually come down.

The cake disappears.

The tiny birthday outfit is outgrown.

But something created to represent this chapter can remain part of your family’s everyday life.

That’s one of the reasons I believe so strongly in creating artwork rather than photographs that simply disappear into a phone.

Imagine walking through your home years from now and seeing your one-year-old looking back at you from the wall.

You’ll remember the little expressions.

The personality.

Perhaps even how their laugh sounded.

And your child grows up seeing something else too:

This is me. This is my family. This is where I belong.

For families who visit us from across Hampshire and Surrey, that’s the part of a First Birthday Transformational Experience that matters long after the birthday itself has passed.

So, what should you do before your baby turns one?

Notice them.

Look back.

Decide how you want the milestone to feel.

Make sure you’re in the story.

Give yourself some credit.

And, if it feels right for your family, create something meaningful from this chapter that you can continue to enjoy as they grow.

You don’t need to squeeze more into the weeks before their birthday.

Quite the opposite.

Perhaps the loveliest thing you can do is give yourself permission to notice what is already here.

Your baby.

Your family.

And a whole first year of love.

If your baby’s first birthday is approaching and you’d love to mark it in a way that feels joyful, personal and beautifully guided, we’d love to hear about your family.

Let’s Chat About Your Baby’s First Birthday →

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